Photo credit: Christian Haugen
If you’re thinking of buying a new car using contract hire, car leasing or hire purchase, what colour vehicle would you choose?
In the past, the majority of drivers have considered black or silver cars but now research from a leading car valuation expert has found that white cars hold their value better than any other.
They may get dirty more quickly, but according to CAP, white cars typically hold around five per cent more of their value than the market average for a used car. Keep reading to find out more about how the colour of the car that you lease can affect its resale value and we reveal the top 10 best colours to choose when buying a new car…
White cars hold their value best – and that could be good for your pocket
In the past, dealers used to use the term ’60 day white’ to reflect the amount of time that white cars were expected to wait, unsold, on the forecourt. Now, however, white cars hold their value better than any other.
The research also found that blue and green are the colours to avoid with these cars languishing below market average values.
CAP analysed the trade market performance of hundreds of thousands of vehicles over five years and found that, for mainstream vehicles, white was consistently the top performer.
The analysis also revealed that purple was the colour most likely to cost owners heavily in depreciation.
The Daily Mail reports that ‘the resurgence of white means that a typical white car can be worth several hundred pounds more after three years than an otherwise identical blue one.’ And, under a car lease or contract hire agreement where your payments are partly based on the expected resale value of the car at the end of the agreement, this could result in lower monthly repayments.
In some cases, niche or sporting models prove especially popular in ‘quirkier’ colours. This helps to account for the strong performance of pink and yellow cars. However, in the mainstream car market, buyer tastes tend to be more conservative.
Chris Crow, chief editor at CAP, said: “Over the last five years black, silver and grey all performed consistently in line with the overall market. However, colours such as blue, orange and red underperformed while gold, green, maroon and turquoise were complete howlers, costing their unfortunate owners anywhere between four and six per cent against benchmark trade values.
“It is white cars which outperform the whole market beating other widespread colours, like blue, by up to six per cent and green by up to 8 per cent, depending on colour-type and condition.”
If you’re considering driving a new car under a contract hire or car leasing agreement than it is clear that the colour you choose can have a huge impact on its likely resale value. “Of course, it works the other way too – for the used car buyer there are real bargains to be had if you pick a less popular colour because most of the depreciation has already occurred,” added Mr Crow.
The top 10 best colours for new cars
According to CAP, these are the top ten colours in which to buy a new car, from the best to the worst:
- White
- Indigo
- Purple
- Pink
- Yellow
- Grey
- Brown
- Black
- Silver
- Red