Are white cars worth less on the second hand market?

[OzzyR1]

These 2 cars are for sale at the same dealership (identical engine/spec models I think)


72-plate, 35K miles, silver, £14,495

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202512168...

73-plate, 15K miles, white, £14,900

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202509306...


£400 difference when one is a year newer (on reg plates) and also has 20,000 less miles than the other.

Is this just due to white being a harder sell or potentially something else?

Know I could call the dealer in question but thought I'd ask for collective wisdom here first as to whether some colours are generally acknowledged as less desirable.

[daytona111r]

Not sure but they should be. When will the masses realise white cars look like fridges. So many more interesting colours in the spectrum of light we are lucky to be able to enjoy.

[Johnspex]

Probably apocryphal but it is said that the Met Police started buying silver cars instead of white because they had difficulty selling the white ones at end of use.

[GolfDragon]

White paint is a stock colour and a non cost option when ordering a new car whereas metallic paints cost more. Hence the price difference in the second hand market.

[HTP99]

Depends on the car and specification, some yes and some no.

[MikeM6]

daytona111r said:

Not sure but they should be. When will the masses realise white cars look like fridges. So many more interesting colours in the spectrum of light we are lucky to be able to enjoy.

Whilst I agree that it would be great to see more colours on the road, some cars do look quite nice in white...

[vikingaero]

In the 80's and 90's, flat white/red/blue cars were the poverty spec models that people would get for the lowest ultimate cost - a flat white E36 318i for example. Now white is fairly common and on some cars looks quite good.

[BlueJazz]

MikeM6 said:

daytona111r said:

Not sure but they should be. When will the masses realise white cars look like fridges. So many more interesting colours in the spectrum of light we are lucky to be able to enjoy.

Whilst I agree that it would be great to see more colours on the road, some cars do look quite nice in white...

With some manufacturers, white is their colour and a cost option e.g. Honda and championship white. A Type R in that colour does look good!

[Red9zero]

daytona111r said:

Not sure but they should be. When will the masses realise white cars look like fridges. So many more interesting colours in the spectrum of light we are lucky to be able to enjoy.

We currently have a CX5 in Arctic White. Nice enough colour, but I would have preferred the gorgeous Soul Red. Wife wanted white, so we got white. Just like every other SUV it seems

[Techno9000]

In a world where grey has become a default colour for so many, white is far preferable to me.

Going back to the OPs question, in comparison to the silver, the white car does look better value and, if in the market for that type of thing its colour wouldn't put me off.

Edited by Techno9000 on Wednesday 31st December 08:15

[TwigtheWonderkid]

Colours come in and out of fashion, but the only colour that's never been out of the top 3 is silver. I bloody hate silver. Our car is white, which is my wife's choice, always white. I prefer blue but so long as she doesn't want silver I'm not going to argue.

[JagLover]

I went with white as every other colour was at least £500 more.

It looks great.......when clean. The only problem is keeping it that way as white shows any dirt very clearly, particularly this time of year with the roads covered in grit.

[markymarkthree]

Never had one and probably never will.
When looking for a car, if a white one pops up, i just scroll past.

[J4CKO]

I don’t rule any colour in or out, white looks daft on some cars, great on others, all about the overall look.

[Richard-390a0]

Looking at the adverts I'd suggest a white Kia estate would look like a mini cab to most buyers so they would be put off & two owners in 15k miles, so you'd be owner No.3 would put me off as well.
Has it got some undiagnosable intermittent issue hence two owners so early in its life or it could be demo stock & then one private owner who knows?

[cirian75]

It depends on the car.

Some look best in white.

Some look cheap in white.

The base model Dacia Sandero looks super cheapo in white

VW group sports models (GTi/RS/Vrs/Cupra) with contrasting black trim look awesome in white

[Earthdweller]

White to me says

Police car or builders van, as I spent 30 years driving the former I wouldn't have one for all the tea in China as my own now

But each to their own

[cirian75]

Taxi spec white corolla


GR spec pearlescent white corolla


White looks awful on base spec cars, but can look good on high spec cars


But I would get black door handles and get the roof/rear spoiler wrapped in matching black.

Edited by cirian75 on Wednesday 31st December 10:12

[Hubris]

In the past, I wouldn't be seen dead owning a white car, because as mentioned they reeked of poverty spec. Also like black paintwork, a nightmare to keep clean.

Nowadays, a nice pearlescent white is highly desirable to me, albeit on the right (usually exotic/prestige/sports etc) car.

[ThingsBehindTheSun]

For the last 20 years I have only owned silver cars. The main reason for this is the colour hides a multitude of sins, it hides scratches, swirl marks, water marks and always looks brand new when it is clean. I would never own a black or dark coloured car for this very reason.

But now I am getting a little bored of Silver, and to be honest when I see a silver car I often think it looks old fashioned.

I am tempted by white next, but I agree it only looks good on certain cars and does remind me of poverty spec cars from the 90s and 2000s as it was always the free colour.

I have also noticed that whenever I see a post on a rusty modern car, it is more often than not a White one. This always seems to be the case with Dacia and MGs.

So is white paint not as protective against corrosion as other colours? Also because white is not metallic, does it have a clear coat?

To be honest I am so worried about getting a white car and then regretting it that I will probably just stick with silver next time.