Does color impact resale value?

[BamBam]

I just found a nice deal on a 2008. It is Salsa Red. I have never liked that color, but this particular vehicle is in my price range, has been extremely well cared for, and has the features I want.

My thing is that I hate ever being upside down on a vehicle, and if something were to hit (an emergency) I'd want to be able to get out quickly. I've done that a couple of times on vehicles and even if selling them shortly after buying them I've come out ahead.

So does the Salsa Red color negatively impact value, or is it a sought after version of the 4Runner, or where does it fit in? I have never been a big fan, but of course on the inside I don't really see it anyway. I just want something nice. Do "real" T4R drivers consider Salsa Red a legit color for a dude to drive in or does it hurt the value at all? Come on... be brutally honest. Even if it is just making fun of me for asking such an asinine question. I need it!

P.S. Not tooooo brutally honest. I respect you folks.

 

[macoyle]

ok here ya go, the color will not affect your retail or worth of the vehicle, but its a color for certain people. The reason you yourself havent jumped on it is because of the color, the price is right, it was taken care of but its not exactly what you were looking for. Thats why you may have to have it for sale longer to get the most for it, or lower the price to get someone to look at it that normally would not. ---like what you are considering

 

[BamBam]

Yeah, I hear you. That makes good sense. So in the grand scheme of things would you think that a Salsa Red would be harder to sell on the open market if push came to shove, or is it just me that isn't a big fan of the color? Example... I know with the FJ Cruiser that I had (have) is a white one and I had TONS of interest in it when I put it up for sale and it sold in about 12 hours. I've seen a few yellow ones that have been on the market for months after months and they were way cheaper than mine. So I think the yellow color definitely hurts the interest in the vehicle. There are certain people that love the yellow, but overall they seem to sit on the market longer because everybody who wants one has one.

I guess what I'm asking is, do the majority of 4Runner owners look down on the salsa as a color choice? Is the market for that particular vehicle color pretty small? Or is it a pretty popular color? I've never even seen a sport in Salsa Red until now, so I am wondering if it's a rarity that lots of people like, or if it is sort of a "no thanks" color. I am probably just overthinking it. It looks nice. Nice vehicle. Well taken care of, etc.

Whoever buys this one is going to be lucky to have it. Just IMHO I sort of wish they had used the red that they used on the original 4Runners. That would have been sweet. The pearl colors are more marketable and have that nice clear coat finish, but that original bright red color was pretty spiffy for sure. And yes... I did just say spiffy. I am turning into my father!

 

[macoyle]

well like you said with the yellow FJ, its a very bright color that demands attention, not everyone wants that, as for the salsa red, I would imagine its more of a no thanks color for most folks unless thats what they are looking for. its the same thing with most gold vehicles, they are slow to sell unless thats what someone is looking for. The easiest colors to sell are the basics-white, black, normal red, greys and silvers.

I used to sell cars and the ones that were gold, salsa red(example) bright yellow, or anything out of the ordinary have a smaller crowd that is interested in them. A lot of customers are not set on one certain color, say they want black but if they found a good deal on a silver, they would jump on it. Now if the good deal was bright yellow, unless that one person really liked it or it was a great deal-they would normally pass.

It all depends on the right buyer finding a vehicle at the right time

 

[Nuke]

This is my 3rd 4Runner and the 2nd that is a very dark red. I had no problems selling my dark red '90 after 205,000 miles and I expect no problem with my '08 Salsa red. Matter of fact, Salsa Red will fetch MORE $$ than any other color. Not that I'm biased or anything...

 

[FourEyedWilly]

Just to chime in, I was looking for red, silver, or gray. I think the red is nice! I got silver as it was the only V8 4x4 SE available in Vegas. If I had my pick of the three, I don't know, have to see them together. I see a lot of silver and white ones, have not seen a red in person here.

 

[Jed]

Salsa Red was not a very popular color on the 4th gen 4Runner. I think it looks nice, but not many people actually purchased that color. I think the only color less popular than Salsa is that gold color (forgot the name), but either way, I don't think having an unpopular color will cause you to lose value when you sell it. Unless of course someone loves everything else about the vehicle except the color, then he/she will probably either decide to not buy it at all or maybe try and negotiate a lower purchase price.

I've never been a big fan of red, but it looks okay on the 4Runner. At least it's not like a bright fire engine red.

 

[Jed]

I used to sell cars and the ones that were gold, salsa red(example) bright yellow, or anything out of the ordinary have a smaller crowd that is interested in them.

Exactly. If I were looking for a used 4Runner and found one that was perfect in every way except the color, I wouldn't buy it if I really didn't like the color. No offense to any forum members, but a 4th gen 4Runner in gold would not interest me. I could probably live with any of the other colors...

 

[colombo]

IMHO. The only acceptable red vehicle is Ferrary (yellow for Lambo not FJ). Men's color is dark one. Dude's color can be any color. Silver is popular just because it is very practical. I would never buy light vehicle (except for silver-see above) unless it is really good deal on it. It is just not what I want.

 

[wombie]

All depends on the individual buyer I guess. I got the sense when I was looking at 4Runners that there are certain colors that seem more popular than others (black, silver, and dark blue come to mind), and others that are less so (gold for instance - no offense to the gold paint folks, if you like it then that's all that matters, and you probably got a better deal on price!). I think the green 3rd Gens look better than the green 4th Gens. Me personally? I would not buy a red vehicle - but that's because 1) I never really cared for red and 2) my truck would look damn silly at college football tailgates (arch rivals have red as their colors).

I think you should buy the truck that you like the most and not worry about the resale value. If color is an issue to the extent it will annoy you and make you wish you'd gotten a different color then don't get the red one.

(In my case I knew it had to be a black or navy truck. My previous Runner was black, and I have to admit I wanted a replacement. It's a PITA to keep clean, but I'm glad I got the color I wanted).

I think the most important thing to do once you get it - whatever color it may be - is to keep the paint and the interior finish looking good. That will be much more important in terms of resale than the actual color.

 

[sant6236]

Its as simple as supply and demand. KBB may not take this into consideration, but the next "private" party buyer will.

 

[RonMAIDEN]

Remember that Salmon Ford was using in the mid '90s? Or Teal?

I still see several Teal Tacomas around here.

 

[tomhaney1]

Just to chime in, I was looking for red, silver, or gray. I think the red is nice! I got silver as it was the only V8 4x4 SE available in Vegas. If I had my pick of the three, I don't know, have to see them together. I see a lot of silver and white ones, have not seen a red in person here.

This is exactly why I bought my GG 05 V8 SE in Tempe, not in Vegas... That, and it saved me about 2 grand!

Color choice can absolutely hurt resale value. While the vehicle may be in perfect shape the color makes a car desirable. If there is not a demand for that color or it is not desirable be prepared to lower your price. I will never buy a car with a niche color unless I plan on never getting rid of it.

 

[tomhaney1]

Salsa Red was not a very popular color on the 4th gen 4Runner. I think it looks nice, but not many people actually purchased that color.

I would like to see the stats on this. I would bet there were less trucks made in salsa red rather than less being purchased. IIRC nautical blue and salsa red were two of the most rare colors made. Both are great colors but were difficult to find in certain option packages.

 

[Uneek]

IIRC nautical blue and salsa red were two of the most rare colors made. Both are great colors but were difficult to find in certain option packages.

:iagree: I've seen a few Salsa around me and only one or two Nautical Blue. The 4th gen 4Runner never really came in a crappy color and it looks good in any color. It's not like the Camry with the algae green or that lavendar color that's pretty undesireable.

 

[Jed]

I would like to see the stats on this. I would bet there were less trucks made in salsa red rather than less being purchased. IIRC nautical blue and salsa red were two of the most rare colors made. Both are great colors but were difficult to find in certain option packages.

LOL, right, but why do you think there were less made? That's right, because not many people choose that color to buy. That includes dealership personnel when ordering to stock their lot or individuals who actually ordered their own 4Runner, made to order. The point is that Salsa Red is somewhat rare among 4th gen 4Runners. I guess that can be good or bad depending upon one's point of view.

 

[RickC]

I think the original poster is seeing the ramifications of color choice. It's a choice of preference. Personally, I think the Salsa Red is the best color on a 4runner. When I was looking, my order of preference was Salsa Red, White, then Black. I found a ton of silver, which I like, but my last two had been silver and it's an easy color to maintain. Black is the worst color to maintain, but is the sharpest when it's detailed correctly and the swirl marks are kept out. About the only color I would not want is tan. I call it granny tan. Nothing wrong with it, but it's just not for me.

Go Salsa Red, it's the best...

There is a navy blue color I have only seen a few times, and I like it, but I think it's a later year color.

 

[Timberline]

I like "red" and have owned a few vehicles of that general color but the Salsa Red looks a bit "maroon" to me and don't much care for it. My wife really likes the new Barcelona Red on the new RAV4 but it's not available on the T4R.

Like the OP, I'm also shopping for a 4thGen and from what I notice on the used market - it seems over 1/2 of the ones I see for sale are either Titanium Silver or "charcoal gray" (not sure what Toyota is calling the latter these days but I have a Tundra the same color and it's called Phantom Gray). I'm not sure what to make of that, whether more of those colors were made or they're more popular color or what.

I've asked myself the same question as BamBam: If I found an otherwise ideal vehicle but in a color that I wasn't looking for, would I buy it anyway? For me, it depends: We're looking for White first and foremost with Titanium as a distant second choice. There's a handful of other colors where we'd have to think about it a bit and weigh against the "what-a-deal" aspect of the vehicle. There's also a couple of colors that are absolute deal-breakers for us as well.

So, No - I think I'd hold out for the exact vehicle you're looking for if you have the luxury of time to be picky - that's what we're doing.

edit: Edmunds.com value appraiser has a field for "color" and adjusts the price estimate based on the selection but it seems to vary at most about $100.

 

[Jed]

Like the OP, I'm also shopping for a 4thGen and from what I notice on the used market - it seems over 1/2 of the ones I see for sale are either Titanium Silver or "charcoal gray" (not sure what Toyota is calling the latter these days but I have a Tundra the same color and it's called Phantom Gray). I'm not sure what to make of that, whether more of those colors were made or they're more popular color or what.

.

The really popular gray on the 4Runner is Galactic Gray Mica, which is the color I have. They also started offering Dark Shadow Grey, which is darker than the Galactic, I think for the '06 model year.

Greys and silvers are very popular for quite a few years now. Remember how popular greens were year ago? That fad eventually passed and green cars are back to being more rare now. Today, it is true that there are more of those grey shades made, but that's because they are popular colors that will sell. It's obviously easier to sell a vehicle painted one of the popular colors because there will be more potential buyers for it. So its not a random decision by Toyota to build more of one color and less of another....it's all about the demand for particular colors.

 

[chaz]

i agree with tomhaney1 & uneek ,those colors being somewhat rare & are one reason why i like them, i believe that some colors are easier to get in certain parts of the country. example: salsa red in the north east, etc. black is my #1 favorite, but the others arent bad either.the question on resale is cool, but as far as SR not being a dudes color, thats whats assanine.