When you shop for a car, it’s important to look for a vehicle that is affordable, reliable and easy on gas. But if you plan to eventually resell the car, make sure you also look for something with the right color.
The color of some cars puts them at risk of seeing their value plummet quickly. Recently, NexusMedia looked at 10 of the most popular car models in the United States and analyzed how quickly they depreciated based on their car color, evaluating five common car colors: white, red, black, blue or silver.
The models used in the analysis included the following:
- Toyota Camry
- Honda CR-V
- Ford F-150
- Tesla Model Y
- Chevrolet Silverado
- Nissan Rogue
- Hyundai Tucson
- Toyota Corolla
- Jeep Wrangler
- Subaru Outback
NexusMedia wanted to make sure each vehicle had about five years of depreciation time, so it looked at 2019 and 2020 models. In the analysis, the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) and current market price were recorded to get a sense of how much a car’s value had declined over the period.
Overall, NexusMedia found that the average car has depreciated by 45.6% for the five-year period ending in 2025, up from 38.8% in the five-year period ending in 2023. Electric vehicles have seen their values crater during the period that ends this year, down nearly a whopping 60%.
After crunching the numbers, NexusMedia found that blue cars lose the most value over time, declining just over $12,400 over five years. Depreciation is especially sharp for electric cars that are blue. For example, a blue Tesla Model Y lost 50.4% of its value for the five-year period ending in 2025.
Here is a summary of how much each car color depreciated on average over the first five years:
- Blue: 27.1% average depreciation, $12,449 average loss in value
- Black: 23.3%, $10,804
- Red: 21.7%, $8,776
- Silver: 21.3%, $8,232
- White: 18.0%, $7,067
Regardless of color, most cars undergo a sharp fall in their value during the first five years of the vehicle’s lifespan. For that reason, value-conscious consumers typically look for gently used cars instead of purchasing something brand-new.
Before you shop for a car — new or used — check out “7 Car Brands Most Likely to Last 250,000 Miles.”
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