Ken Brown, Editor at CAP Red Book LCVs, writes:
It is well known within the vehicle remarketing industry that vehicles painted in certain colours retain their value better than others. Metallic blue or silver for example can add value to a vehicle while yellows and greens often have the opposite effect.
The popularity of black vehicles has never really waned and, provided the paint finish has been well maintained, they will always sell for more than other straight colours. The downside is that minor scratches and dents, which are often virtually invisible on lighter colours, stand out like a sore thumb on black vehicles. This can have a disproportionate affect on values as they tend to look worse than they are.
Similarly, vehicles in metallic paint normally sell for considerably more than those in straight colours, but because metallic paint is notoriously difficult to colour match should any repairs be necessary, damaged vehicles often sell for much less. At auctions trade buyers will often limit their bids to cover the cost of repainting the complete side of a vehicle when there is only relatively minor damage on a single panel.
Some colours come in and out of fashion well within the lifecycle of a particular model while others are almost always a safe bet. Then there are the vehicles painted in so-called fashionable colours, including those that vehicle manufacturers appear to favour for new product launches, which all too soon can look ‘so last year’.
Light CV values
I suspect that few would argue against the above for used cars - but can the same be said of the used light commercial vehicle sector?
The published guide values in the LCV section of Red Book are for standard vehicles in plain white as they appear in the vehicle manufacturer’s price lists. However, while there are generally fewer standard colour options available on light CVs there are many more when you take into account vehicles that are repainted in corporate livery.
So, as well as taking into account the effects of fluctuations in demand, seasonality, supply volumes, model mix, option specifications and the quality of vehicles presented for sale, colour is an extremely important consideration when determining guide prices.
Research data
The tables below are based on a sample of the research data we collected for January 2012 and show the effect that colour has on the price performance of vehicles when measured against the published CAP Average values for January.
Example A
Example B
Example C
Example D
Ford Connect (02-09) T220 Van
| Colour | % CAP Average |
| Blue | 96.3% |
| Green | 94.7% |
| Grey | 112.4% |
| Orange | 90.3% |
| Red | 89.9% |
| Silver | 105.0% |
| White | 99.8% |
| Yellow | 87.7% |
Mercedes-Benz Sprinter (06- ) 3-Series Van
| Colour | % CAP Average |
| Black | 113.7% |
| Blue | 91.4% |
| Green | 89.2% |
| Orange | 89.7% |
| Red | 92.3% |
| Silver | 107.2% |
| White | 96.0% |
| Yellow | 91.0% |
Ford Transit (06- ) T260 T280 T300 Van
| Colour | % CAP Average |
| Black | 108.9% |
| Blue | 105.8% |
| Grey | 108.1% |
| Orange | 90.6% |
| Red | 90.0% |
| Silver | 105.6% |
| White | 99.2% |
| Yellow | 88.1% |
Ford Transit (06- ) T330 - T350 Van
| Colour | % CAP Average |
| Black | 99.2% |
| Blue | 96.5% |
| Grey | 82.4% |
| Orange | 92.0% |
| Red | 90.4% |
| Silver | 102.3% |
| White | 98.6% |
| Yellow | 93.6% |
The influx of large volumes of ex-fleet vehicles is a common occurrence in the used light CV market - and over-supply, in general, of any particular model can drag down the average market prices of that model along with those of any substitute makes and models in the same sub-sector.
At auctions certain colours are immediately identifiable as ex-fleet and trade buyers will often temper their bids in the knowledge that there are likely to be many more similar vehicles coming through in the weeks ahead.
In setting guide values we are careful to identify and monitor such vehicles very closely, ever mindful that the values we publish are for standard specification vehicles in plain white.
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