How bad does color affect resale on an exotic car?

A colleague of mine recently bought an 88 Ferrari 328 that had been on the market for months. It was a color Ferrari called "Prunia" sort of a purpley-brown. He repainted it Fly Yellow, sold it right away and made ten grand.

Another, loosely related example is a 1998 Beetle I took in trade. It had 158k miles and was red. I couldn't give it away, then my wife suggested something that really worked: I painted it light pink & I now have a list of people who want to buy the next pink one. It was awesome!

I'd say color can have a big effect, but buy your car for you.

In one of the many exotic threads we've had recently I posted a link to a thread on F.chat where a guy was doing a mini resto on a 355, the car he started with was over $10k cheaper (at $35k) as it was green not red/yellow/black. $10k on a $35k car is massive. He did change the color to red, but I would have rocked the green.

In the case of the 328 and the 355, I think the less traditional colors are more appealing. Fewer people have them. That's the nonconformist in me, though.

A friend has a Tour De France Blue F430 and it's spectacular.

I'm stunned that orange isn't more popular, from the pic on page one I think it's one of the best colors for the car. black is boring. IF I was in the market for a junior supercar it would be an R8 or Aston Vantage, but it's not happening. What are ownership costs like for the R8 compared to it's bigger Lambo cousins or rivals from Porsche/Ferrari/Aston etc?

Personally, I like when a car is a color other than the usual choices you see (ie. a million shades of grey for BMW, silver for Audi, black Benz's, etc), and I like that I foudn my 944 in a slightly more unusual shade of diamond silver than the 99,244 guards red examples I came across. That being said, I think the dealer's statement is more applicable to lower end cars. For example, that bright teal blue Altima may need a bit of a discount than the same silver example. There's a specific personality that would dig a bright hue. But when it comes to super cars, I feel bright colors definitely suit it better.

As far as options go, I agree that 10 years down the road most of the technology will be so outdated that it's more of a nuisance (um our 2004 Jeep's navigation system is a good, frustrating example) but some people may look it at as "They could afford a 100k+ car but cut the options short??". That's just how I see it. Though, I can appreciate a BMW with cloth seats :)

Black works on the R8 because it's the only color that doesn't have a mismatched panel tacked on the side.

I would take sky blue over that orange any day. Orange is OK on a 240Z, Mopar muscle cars, possibly others 70's cars. Currently orange is popular on econoboxes and wierdness like Jukes. Resale Red is the colour for highest resale value for a reason.

I would only buy a color to please the next owner if the next owner gave me a down payment. Otherwise, buy the car for you. You'll find someone else who likes what you like.

MadScientistMatt wrote:

Mmadness wrote: I'm gonna' call BS on the navigation. In fact, I think that with enough time (when it is outdated), it will be beneficial not to have it. If I bought a car that expensive, I would vinyl wrap it for future preservation.

Agreed - 10 years down the road, anyone shopping for a used exotic is going to be using a smartphone for navigation, and the built in navigation will have maps that are years out of date and no way to update it.

gamby wrote: In reply to Datsun1500: I'd think exotics would be immune to color trends. They're exotics, so they're supposed to be outrageous....

I'm not sure if they are immune to color trends - but they probably work in the opposite way of color trends on an appliance car. A Camry would get dinged for resale value for being painted an obnoxious, over the top color, while an exotic is likely to get dinged for not being an obnoxious, over the top color. Although I suspect basic black and silver would be good colors for an R8, could you imagine trying to sell an R8 painted light beige?

I'm not sure what other manufacturers do or for how long, but Jeep sends us NAV updates for our Wrangler.

As far as color....It definitely has an impact on the bottom line. I saw a beige Ferrari one time and thought he must have got a great deal on it.

Keith Tanner wrote: I would only buy a color to please the next owner if the next owner gave me a down payment. Otherwise, buy the car for you. You'll find someone else who likes what you like.

This, but then I tend to keep cars for a long time. If its my money I will get what I want not what some hypothetical person in the future will find appealing.

Personally, if I'm ordering a brand new R8, resale wouldn't be on top of the list of considerations. I'd order the car I wanted, resale be damned. But like others, I tend to keep cars for a long time and often like non-common colors. For example, my first choice color for a Ferrari would be the dark metallic blue.

I love that blue, especially with tan leather.

Some of the cars with the rarest color combos pull the most money once they are collectors items.

In reply to gamby:

I like the non traditional colors, too. I have a brown 911. But, the market at large favors red/yellow/black and if the OP is concerned with resale value, he would be wise to listen to the Audi dealer and buy a black one

My vote lies with the others who have said buy the car for you, not for the next owner. You are the one paying for and driving it after all. I buy cars that are the color and have the features I want. In response to certain things affecting resale, that can be conquered by taking care of the car, keeping service records, and having an ad with a great description, photos, and priced right in the middle of similar models. I have had good luck with these practices so far.

My 308 was originally purple and didn't sell so the dealer painted it red/black Boxer themed to move it off the lot.

In the Ferrari world, Resale red is the preferred color choice for a reason.

In reply to crankwalk:

because sheep/groupthink.

Such an exclusive car--but it can only come in one "acceptable" color.

I think this is really a case-by-case/car-by-car basis. The market and desirability factor for a flaming orange sports car is probably a bit larger than say, a flaming orange Camry. When I bought my used G35 sedan, I was choosing between a pearl(ish) white sedan and the dark grey sedan on the same lot. They were nearly identical except that the pearl white copy was cheaper and even had marginally less miles. Dealer said the pearl white was polarizing for some folks and didn't sell as well as "neutrals". I said, I like the $2,500 discount. Sold.

There is a brown offered in the R8 which i like.

Also this:

Rare E46 M3 Colors

I love so many of these rare and special order colors that the E46's could come in. Who knew BMW offered so many shades of purple or blues. The really pale green/pale blue at the beginning of the thread is really classy. And I really dig Techno Violet, was always my favorite on the E36 M's.

I just assume you lose $50K in depreciation instead of $45K if you have the "wrong" color.

It's a german/exotic car, you'll eat E36 M3 in resale no matter what.

gamby wrote: In reply to crankwalk: because sheep/groupthink. Such an exclusive car--but it can only come in one "acceptable" color.

And personally, I think MOST Ferraris are pretty enough they look good in any color so I don't care. But When you go to sell a brown 308, you are selling to an enthusiast. When you go to sell a RED 308, you are selling to everybody that can afford one.

In reply to poopshovel:

and sometimes you're the freak who lives for Gulf Oil livery.

yamaha wrote: Some of the cars with the rarest color combos pull the most money once they are collectors items.

This is where I am coming from - once the car is old enough to be collectible the rare colors bring more money.

But in the world of dealer certified late-model trade-ins the dealer is right - common is better. Which only makes sense because the "used" cars this guy sees on a daily basis are much more likely to be late models and not classics.

But who listens to car salemen? An R8 is not a rational appliance car, it is an exotic. Get what you want.

Buy a black one and spend some money on a quality vinyl wrap in orange. Best of both worlds and your resale paint will have less rock chips