What to Consider When Choosing a Car Color
Believe it or not, your car’s resale value, maintenance, and even your odds of being pulled over in it can all be affected by its paint color.
Written by Amber Reed
Reviewed by Kathleen Flear
Table of Contents
- What are the most popular car colors?
- Which color is hardest to maintain?
- Which car color gets in more accidents?
- Finding affordable car insurance
- FAQs
Load full table of contents
There are over 60,000 car colors available on the market today. While white, black, gray, and silver are consistently the most popular car colors in any given year, there is no shortage of other options to choose from.
There’s more at stake than just aesthetics, though—you might want to consider maintenance factors, safety issues, and what gets pulled over the most when picking a car color.
Depending on your situation, you may think the color of the car you’re about to buy is anywhere from very critical to virtually unimportant. Color options with names like “toxic tomato” and “intruder purple” are enough to raise anyone’s eyebrow, but it pays to take a moment to consider all the angles when picking a car color.
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What are the most popular car colors?
Fun fact: the car colors of any given era often reflect the times they’re in. Cars during the Great Depression tended to be dark, somber hues. In contrast, many of the cars of the optimistic post-WWII era came in bright, cheery candy colors. Red, white, and blue were the most popular colors during America’s 1976 bicentennial celebration.
Keep in mind that a color that looks great on one car might not work well at all for another one. That “viper yellow” that looks fierce on a sporty coupe will likely make a minivan look like a neon banana mobile.
Grayscales—black, white, silver, and gray
The particular rankings are constantly in flux, but in any given year, black, white, gray, and silver are consistently the most popular car colors across all makes and models. This is especially true for SUVs, minivans, and trucks. These colors are the ones that people are least likely to tire looking at, and they’re a safe bet for resale value consideration.
Blues and reds
These colors are more popular for luxury cars. Shades of red are ranked fourth in popularity for sports cars, coupes, and convertibles, knocking silver down to number five.
Go bold or play it safe?
It all hinges on what’s important to you. Depending on the color and the circumstances, a unique color choice could add to or detract from your car’s value. One person’s status color is another one’s eyesore. Sticking with a color in the grayscale family is the best bet if you are concerned about resale value.
On the other hand, getting that snazzy new convertible in a cool, limited-edition color is something that could add value. Many luxury cars offer unique or collector’s edition colors—a definite plus to a potential buyer.
But if you just have to have a purple car, be forewarned: it’s consistently been one of the most unpopular car colors for years now. It’s a great choice if you want to stand out, but not so much if you’re concerned about resale value.
MORE: Does car color affect insurance?
Which color is hardest to maintain?
Each color has pros and cons when it comes to maintenance. The weather and terrain you're driving in are also factors to consider. Let’s take a look:
White
White is easy to care for and tends to look newer longer. However, mud and splashes show up more easily than gray or silver.
Black
Shiny black is gorgeous on any car, but it’s an extremely difficult color to keep clean. If you live in a very hot climate, a black car can also be a challenge to keep cool in the summer.
Gray/silver
Grays and silvers are also easy to care for and hide dust and dirt better than white. Keep in mind the darker the shade of gray, the more dirt it will show.
Green
Green is also reasonably easy to keep clean, but imperfections like swirl marks from automatic car washes will stand out much easier than on a white or gray car.
Blue
Blue colors tend to show water spots more readily and require more effort to keep clean overall.
Red
Red hides mud splashes well but looks dull when it’s dirty.
Yellow/orange
These vivid shades are pretty easy to keep looking nice, but mud and dark-colored dirt will stand out like a sore thumb.
Pro Tip Overall, white and light gray or silver are the colors that require the least maintenance.
Which car color gets in more accidents?
Black cars have an accident rate of about 12% higher than other colors, followed by gray and silver. This can be attributed to the fact that darker colors tend to blend into their surroundings more, especially at night.
White cars have a 12% lower rate of accidents than average for the opposite reason—they’re easier to see in all lighting conditions. Yellow, orange, and gold cars also have a reduced rate of accidents because they are both uncommon and highly visible, making them difficult to miss.
Pro Tip If accident prevention is a concern, a bright, warm color is a statistically better choice. Good day, sunshine!
Which color gets pulled over the most?
Spoiler alert: it’s not red. White cars are actually the color that’s pulled over most often, but it’s likely because it’s an extremely common color. However, red does take the number two spot above the other more popular colors of gray, silver, and black, which suggests that driving a red car does increase your overall chances of getting pulled over.
Finding affordable car insurance
Picking out car colors is fun! Shopping for car insurance, not so much. But don’t worry—
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FAQs
What car color is the most popular?
White is generally the most popular car color. Ease of maintenance and broad appeal have made white a consistently popular color for many years. But white doesn’t have to be boring—pearl and metallic finishes are a fun option to add depth and character to the finish.
Will I get pulled over more in a red car?
It’s a possibility. While not the most common color that’s pulled over, red cars are stopped by police at a higher rate than is relative to their popularity. Sometimes eye-catching colors can get the wrong kind of attention, so be aware and drive safely.
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