Car colours - or lack of them
Discussion
Started browsing for a new motor and it seems that there is a choice of either silver or black. These are apparently the colours that sell the best but I don't like being one of the herd. I had a metallic sand Merc for a while, rather naff but bought because it was cheap and good, and it was lovely because it didn't show the dirt. And it was different. I currently run a kinda purple Merc, because it was cheap and has done sterling service. But are we descending into a world where we are ruled by big brother and choice is subtly disappearing? On a swift Autotrader search 70% of one Beemer I was looking for were in one of the above colours, and it was roughly the same in the Merc section. Is it fashion, or are we just too scared of the loss of the residual value to go against the tide?
You've only just noticed that German cars all seem to be silver and black?? This has been a trend for at least a decade IME.
At the moment some of the small hatches are bringing colours back into the landscape - think Mini, Fiat 500 and the new Citroen DS3. Golf GTI seems to crop up often in white and red and the cooking Focus models seem to appear in blues and greens.
But if you are looking at German saloons then silver, black and some white & blue is mostly what you will find out there.
At the moment some of the small hatches are bringing colours back into the landscape - think Mini, Fiat 500 and the new Citroen DS3. Golf GTI seems to crop up often in white and red and the cooking Focus models seem to appear in blues and greens.
But if you are looking at German saloons then silver, black and some white & blue is mostly what you will find out there.
I was thinking the very same this weekend.
Whilst doing a car config for a new car on 3 of the main manufacturers sites I was disappointed with the lack of colours available.
One seemed to offer only black silver white blue or greys.
Seems you are expected to conform or select the 'go elsewhere' option.
Perhaps it won't regress back to the Henry Ford colours list of 'you can have any colour you like so long as it's black!'
Whilst doing a car config for a new car on 3 of the main manufacturers sites I was disappointed with the lack of colours available.
One seemed to offer only black silver white blue or greys.
Seems you are expected to conform or select the 'go elsewhere' option.
Perhaps it won't regress back to the Henry Ford colours list of 'you can have any colour you like so long as it's black!'
It's been much discussed here.
Apparently silver or grey are best for resale (God alone knows why!) with black not far away.
Speaking personally, I like black cars, but my current one is my first and was chosen over the vast choice of silver and grey RX8s. That said, RX8s are quite common in red (rather a dowdy one or a rarer copper colour) and blue, but then I guess you tend to be a little less mainstream in your views if you choose an RX8 over a Merc or BMW.
I mourn the loss of colours too - In this day and age you'd imagine it would be a doddle for manufacturers to give you a car in virtually any colour!
M.
Apparently silver or grey are best for resale (God alone knows why!) with black not far away.
Speaking personally, I like black cars, but my current one is my first and was chosen over the vast choice of silver and grey RX8s. That said, RX8s are quite common in red (rather a dowdy one or a rarer copper colour) and blue, but then I guess you tend to be a little less mainstream in your views if you choose an RX8 over a Merc or BMW.
I mourn the loss of colours too - In this day and age you'd imagine it would be a doddle for manufacturers to give you a car in virtually any colour!
M.
alephnull said:
I hate it when second hand cars come in stupid colours....Its always the right model, good condition, near my house...AND LURID GREEN. Ugh
But we're already beginning to see how dull the world would be if all we could buy was silver cars... 
Give me lurid green over resale silver or grey anyday!
I don't mind silver or grey on some cars (mmmm - struggling to think of a car I LIKE in grey actually...) and if YOU like silver, go for it, but when I read or hear people saying they bought silver with a view to resale value I despair...
M.
Edited by marcosgt on Monday 18th July 07:53
marcosgt said:
It's been much discussed here.
Apparently silver or grey are best for resale (God alone knows why!) with black not far away.
...
I mourn the loss of colours too - In this day and age you'd imagine it would be a doddle for manufacturers to give you a car in virtually any colour!
M.
The 'resale' line may have been correct 10 years ago, but now when everything's that colour I just don't buy it.Apparently silver or grey are best for resale (God alone knows why!) with black not far away.
...
I mourn the loss of colours too - In this day and age you'd imagine it would be a doddle for manufacturers to give you a car in virtually any colour!
M.
The other reason is the environment/recycling - there is some law about the minimum 'recycled' content of automotive paint, so silver/grey/black/dull blue are the "cheapest" colours to produce, as they comply with the recycling directive. If we all bought bright-coloured cars, the mfrs wouldn't hit their targets!
Matt UK said:
Here's a thought; buy a new car and tick whatver colour you want.
Or buy a car and respray it whatever colour you want.
Or buy used and accept whatever choices were made buy the folk before you.
I think the OP's point was that there's not much choice these days and unless you're a dab-hand or have a mate in the trade, a full aftermarket respray is an expensive task!Or buy a car and respray it whatever colour you want.
Or buy used and accept whatever choices were made buy the folk before you.
M.
My local Merc dealer is bucking the trend at the moment with their demonstrators, their SLS is red which I think looks great, and they had a couple of AMG C and E classes in a lovely deep dark blue colour I've never seen before.
I've been looking to buy a lightly used Merc of late and it seems if I don't want black, white or hateful 'Iridium Silver' I'm bang ut of luck.
I've been looking to buy a lightly used Merc of late and it seems if I don't want black, white or hateful 'Iridium Silver' I'm bang ut of luck.
If all the car dealers in the UK started saying today nailling a large dog turd to the bonnet would increase resale values in 2 years time every new car would have a large dog turd nailed to it and 4 years from now people would be starting threads pointing to any car without a large dog turd nailed to the bonnet saying how the owner was an idiot.
Elroy Blue said:
I had a Misano Red Audi A3. Lovely colour. I think they've stopped doing it now 
I got it cheaper because of its colour!!!
It's a great red, I have to make to do with Tornado red for VW's supplied in the UK.I got it cheaper because of its colour!!!
http://forums.audiworld.com/showthread.php?t=27261...
Even silver is a lot less popular than it used to be.
A lot of German higher end metal is now some shade of Grey which looks great, or black, which is always good for resale.
White suits a numer of cars very well.
Would always shy away from a "personal" choice of colour as I tend to keep mine for around a year. The wrong colour choice can be a financial headache.
A lot of German higher end metal is now some shade of Grey which looks great, or black, which is always good for resale.
White suits a numer of cars very well.
Would always shy away from a "personal" choice of colour as I tend to keep mine for around a year. The wrong colour choice can be a financial headache.
Gassing Station | General Gassing | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff