Why blue cars depreciate fastest—and what it means for resale
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Analysis of 20M US sales finds blue cars lose value fastest—over 27% in 5 years—with EVs hit hardest. Learn how color impacts resale and make a smarter choice.
Color shapes how shoppers perceive a car’s worth and how quickly it loses value, and studies suggest different shades follow very different paths.
In a 2024 analysis, iSeeCars examined more than 20 million vehicles sold in the United States from January 2023 through April 2024. Blue ranked fifth in buyer preference, accounting for 8.9% of sales. It trailed white (27.6%), black (22.0%), gray (21.3%), and silver (9.1%).
Meanwhile, NexusMedia looked at the 10 best-selling models to see which of five common colors—blue, black, red, silver, and white—depreciates fastest. Blue showed the steepest average drop: 27.11% over the first five years of ownership, translating into more than $12,000 in lost value on average.
Another takeaway from the NexusMedia data is how sharply electric cars can fall in price. A blue EV can lose more than 50% of its value in just five years. The spread is striking: while a blue Tesla Model Y shed an average of 50.4% over five years, red Teslas declined by only 3.2%, and white by 0.8%.
All of this leaves blue looking riskier at trade-in time. The color is common and undeniably easy on the eye, yet the numbers point to a tougher resale story and a sharper slide in market value. In a market that often rewards safe, neutral tones, that gap alone can tilt a paint choice.
