Yellow Cars Hold Value Best: iSeeCars Finds Color Impacts Resale by Thousands

Turns out buying a bright yellow car might actually be a smart financial move.

A new analysis from iSeeCars looked at over 1.3 million used cars and found that the most eye-catching colors—yellow, orange, and green—actually hold their value far better than the usual neutrals. In some cases, buyers who went with brighter paint jobs lost thousands less in depreciation over three years. Turns out, standing out might be smarter than blending in.

Of course, that eye-catching color on your car might net you more speeding tickets over time, according to a study from the early '90s, so your mileage, as they say, may vary.

According to the new study, the average car loses 31% of it's value after three years, but yellow cars only lose 24%. Gold cars? A loss of 34.4%. Make sure you buy yellow, not gold.

Yellow, orange, and green cars, said the study, lose between $9,951 and $13,667 in value after those three years, while gold, white, and black cars can drop up to $15,000 over that same time period.

The study also broke down depreciation by vehicle type, showing that color trends don't affect every car the same way. For example, orange coupes and green SUVs held their value especially well, while beige and brown models across the board performed poorly. On the flip side, gold had the worst resale value overall—regardless of vehicle type. That's a key detail for anyone thinking of picking a flashy paint job: color matters, but context does too.

Color doesn't just affect resale—it plays a big role in why people buy certain cars in the first place. According to iSeeCars, buyers tend to gravitate toward familiar, "safe" colors like white, black, and silver, which dominate new car sales. But that popularity comes at a cost: when it's time to sell, the market is flooded with those same colors, driving down their value. Meanwhile, bolder hues may have fewer takers up front—but for the right buyer down the road, they're willing to pay more for something that stands out.

"Yellow and orange have been among the best colors for retained value since iSeeCars began tracking depreciation by color," said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer in the statement. "These are not widely popular colors, but they have more demand than supply, and that translates to higher value on the used market."

So, it's not likely the color itself, but the rarity of such colors. If you want to sell your car for more, according to this study, make sure it's a unique paint color.

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