Does color impact resale value?

[tomhaney1]

When I was looking for my 4Runner the color options were limited with the packages available- meaning I could have found a specific color but in the model I wanted with the options I wanted didn't exist within Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. I don't think a V8 SE with all options except nav should be that difficult to find in Nautical Blue... if you have to wait several months to get the color you want because dealerships saturate their inventory with certain colors basically forces the market into settling on what they have. If the dealerships had all models in equal distributions in equal color combinations you could actually make a comparison based on supply/demand correlation. Statistically, saying white and silver cars are more popular just because there are more purchased is not significant due to the increased supply available and the lack of supply of other colors/options. I settled on my galactic grey choice because, in the end, it was really my only real option. It was my 3rd color choice regardless.

 

[Jed]

When I was looking for my 4Runner the color options were limited with the packages available- meaning I could have found a specific color but in the model I wanted with the options I wanted didn't exist within Nevada, New Mexico, Arizona, and California. I don't think a V8 SE with all options except nav should be that difficult to find in Nautical Blue... if you have to wait several months to get the color you want because dealerships saturate their inventory with certain colors basically forces the market into settling on what they have. If the dealerships had all models in equal distributions in equal color combinations you could actually make a comparison based on supply/demand correlation. Statistically, saying white and silver cars are more popular just because there are more purchased is not significant due to the increased supply available and the lack of supply of other colors/options. I settled on my galactic grey choice because, in the end, it was really my only real option. It was my 3rd color choice regardless.

Hmmm...interesting. One of the link posted above claimed that about 25% of people would walk out of a dealership if the color they wanted wasn't available. For me, buying a car is all about getting EXACTLY what a want, from options right to the color. If I have my mind made up on a color, I wouldn't settle for anything else. Of course others may see things differently... I'm shocked that you couldn't find the vehicle you wanted in the color you wanted. Dealerships will do almost anything to sell you a vehicle--you should have told them to find you the right car in the right color. I'm sure they could have come up with one if they knew that you weren't willing to settle for another color. But like you said, some people have colors choice 1, 2, and 3. If that's the case, of course the dealer is going to try and sell you a vehicle that matches closest to your choices.

If you had your heart set on a Nautical Blue Limited V8, why did you just tell your dealer to order one if there weren't any close by?

 

[tomhaney1]

I tried to have them find one and they couldn't. The closest they could come up with was a V6 model. The V8 was difficult enough to come by. I rarely see, or hear of, anyone not buying a car just because of color, with all else being what the person is looking for.

 

[Jed]

I tried to have them find one and they couldn't. The closest they could come up with was a V6 model. The V8 was difficult enough to come by. I rarely see, or hear of, anyone not buying a car just because of color, with all else being what the person is looking for.

Well, according to the study in the article posted earlier, about one in four people wouldn't buy a car if they couldn't find it in the color that they wanted. I must be one of those people because I definitely would not buy unless it was my color. But I'm very particular about color and I don't like to settle.