The Best (And Worst) Car Colors To Choose If You Plan to Resell

"They say geniuses pick green," is an oft-quoted line from the film "Meet the Fockers," but is it true? Maybe not, but it is smart to invest in a car color that will resell easily, and according to a study by iSeeCars, green is one of the top three best colors for resale value.

Avoid wasting money, and check out which car colors will serve you best when it's time to sell your car — and what types of cars these colors do better on for reselling.

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Gold is usually considered a sign of wealth, but not as a car color. Gold cars have been shown to lose 34.4% of their value after just three years, which averages to an approximate $15,000 loss.

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It seems counterintuitive, but black cars don't fare well for resale value despite being a popular color choice, partly because they are so ubiquitous.

They depreciate at a rate of 31.9% over three years, which can reduce the total value to $14,360 below the MSRP.

Surprisingly, yellow holds the best resale value and only depreciates at a rate of 24% over three years, with orange trailing just behind. This isn't because the colors are popular choices, but it comes down to supply and demand.

Since there are fewer yellow vehicles out there, there's more competitive pricing among the few people who do want them.

But color is just one factor. The type of vehicle, along with its color, can impact the overall resale value. 

It's not that a huge number of people want orange trucks, but the number produced is small enough that demand outstrips availability — meaning orange trucks retain the most value after three years at only a 16% depreciation rate.

Green trucks come in second, with a depreciation of 19.3%. What are the worst colors for a truck, from a resale viewpoint? Red, beige, white, and black.

Americans love SUVs, and roughly 50% of the market is either black or white, but somehow orange still leads the board with only a 27.1% depreciation value over three years. This is because the used car market is full of the most common colors, so the pricing has to be more competitive.

Don't worry if you can't bring yourself to drive around in an orange vehicle, though, because green is the second-best color to hold value.

While green does pretty well across the other vehicle types, it performs very poorly for the typical sedan with a 33.8% depreciation value over three years. Only gold performs worse, at a rate of 37.9%.

The best value-retaining colors are orange, yellow, and beige.

The quintessential family vehicle is the only category that takes a pass on bright colors, in favor of green, brown, or silver. It's not surprising families might skip the vibrant, flashy shades in favor of more practical options.

The worst colors for resale value are still black, white, and grey, coming in with over 40% in depreciation values. Green minivans hold the most value with only 15.3% depreciation over three years.

It's less surprising that coupes perform well in the bright color categories, as they are often meant to look flashier with less focus on practicality.

Yellow, orange, and blue retain the best value, while black, green, and white perform the worst.

Nobody buys a convertible to blend in, so if you want the wind streaming through your hair and a vehicle that retains value, then you'll want to go bright.

Orange is the top performer at 19.8%, followed by yellow (21.4%), and green (27.4%). Black, white, and silver are at the bottom with over 30% in depreciation over the course of three years.

Automobiles aren't typically an investment asset, as they all depreciate the moment they are driven off the lot. It's worth considering how color can impact long-term plans for reselling a vehicle, but at the end of the day, you want something you're happy driving.

It's not worth getting a color you hate and having to suffer through it for years — and that's assuming it never gets totaled in an accident. The best money moves for car owners aren't going to bet on resale value, so pick a color you love so you smile every time you see your car.