General Resale value

Currently reading:
General Resale value

I don't think that argument makes sense tbh. The good colours (BNW, pasadoble red, black etc etc) will always be more popular and will always pull people in more. Sure if you end up with a buyer who REALLY likes yuck yuck green they'll probably bite your hand off if you're selling a yuck yuck car but I can only see yuck yuck as something that turns most people off when they see it on autotrader or ebay surrounded by nice shiny BNW, Pasadoble Red and Black ones.

You are perhaps confusing popularity with availibility. BNW might be nice colour but there wouldn't be half as many if it wasn't for the fact that it is the only colour that's free.

If the market is swamped with alot of one colour then a rarer colour will surely have more buyers going after it, regardless of what you personally think of that colour, there always be a some people who will like it.

People get bored of certain colours from seeing too much of them, which is why there are trends for certain colours at certain times. White is a colour that has come back into fashion for example.
 
There are rules are have to follow

1. Black/Silver - good in all cars
2. White - divisive, good for medium performance cars, Type R, Golf GTI etc
3. Wild Colours - Yellow, Green - mainly good for Supercars
4. Red - Good for small cars - up to super mini class, then a no-no right the way up to Supercars where it is permitted again
6. Universally bad colours - Yuck Yuck Green, there is no car that this can be justified for


If you follow the above rules, all well be good in the world (y)

+ Punk Grey, I thought it looked horrid. Not so much a Grey as an odd shade
of Brown :yuck:
 
You are perhaps confusing popularity with availibility. BNW might be nice colour but there wouldn't be half as many if it wasn't for the fact that it is the only colour that's free.

If the market is swamped with alot of one colour then a rarer colour will surely have more buyers going after it, regardless of what you personally think of that colour, there always be a some people who will like it.

People get bored of certain colours from seeing too much of them, which is why there are trends for certain colours at certain times. White is a colour that has come back into fashion for example.
I don't believe that I'm confused.

White is popular because it's a good colour for the 500. Sure it's free but how many of the 500 owners on this forum strike you as being so poor they can't afford to splash out for £260 for an option solid colour or the £400 for metallic paint? We added over a grand in options and tbh if Funk White had taken our fancy we'd have put it on the order as well. I'm sure more people would buy FW if it were cheaper but if someone really wants it they'll splash out on it.

Saying "If a colour is rarer more people will want" is like me saying "The 1.4 is faster than the MJ and 1.2 so why would someone buying used want a lesser engine?" it makes sense when it's in your head but in the real world it doesn't hold up.

If you put my car next to yours in 3 or 4 years time and ask a bunch of 2nd hand buyers which one they prefer I am pretty confident that the majority of people will go for my car because whilst it's still retro with the chrome and everything, it's still thoroughly modern with tasteful alloys and a nice contrast inside with red leather, a white dash and black ambience.

Of course you pays your money and you buys what YOU want but at the end if very few people buy colours like yuck yuck green then that's purely because it's not a great colour first of all and secondly when it comes to selling it you have to find someone who particularly wants yuck yuck
 
I agree with you Maxi.

I went in to buy a red 500, ordered it after seeing it on the configurator and then came outside and saw one. I immediately changed my mind as I don't think it looks right on the car and ordered CCC Azure instead.

Then changed again and went for BNW because although the CCCA is a lovely colour I wanted the red seats which don't go with it and I think the white/red combo is perfect and suits the car better. Money wasn't an issue for the sake of the £260 for a different colour.

But everyone has an opinion and everyone will prefer the colour they chose. That's what makes it great world to live in!
 
I agree with Maxi too,

But if you're going to keep your car for a fair while, i wouldn't really be worried about the resale vaule. I'd rather have the car and the options that i really wanted now rather than spit hairs about what the resale cost will be at the end.

On the other side, if you're one of those people who trade in their cars every 3 years then i would consider ordering a more "normal" colour.
 
Money wasn't an issue for the sake of the £260 for a different colour.

Especially on a 500c as well! If we were talking a scrappage Panda 1.1 Eco I could understand people going for the free colour and tbh I probably would too, but the 500 is not cheap to start with and if you can't justify a bit extra for the colour you want, I doubt you could justify the car in the first place.
 
thought i would add my thoughts....as colour choice is entirely subjective!

ye ye green and punk grey both suit the retro colour of the 500 very well- saw both colours while i was in henley (ok ya!) on sunday and they were very striking and looked good in the sunshine!

i would poss have had a punk grey one if i had been able to...
 
Last edited:
Well I see about 3 white 500s every single day and there's no way anyone can tell me that every single person who bought a white one did so because they absolutely love that colour the best.

There must be loads of dealers who ordered the white because its a safe colour, nothing really anyone can object to about it, so yes of course its always going to sell.

Anything considered 'weird' is going to be less popular because people are basically sheep. All I am saying is I think its better to not be a sheep and to get a colour you really like, and that may be white!
 
I don't believe that I'm confused.

Saying "If a colour is rarer more people will want" is like me saying "The 1.4 is faster than the MJ and 1.2 so why would someone buying used want a lesser engine?" it makes sense when it's in your head but in the real world it doesn't hold up.


Its not the same thing at all. A colour is just a colour – it doesn't affect the driveability of the car.
But if you want to be pedantic then remember that not everyone wants a bigger engine. If the 500 came in a 1.0 litre version, I'd have bought that – I just don't need a 1.2, I live in the town and last time I looked that was part of the real world!
 
BNW (aka Magnolia) does suit the 500 pretty good - and it's a colour that alot of people are happy with - but I think there's no doubt, that if other colours such as red, black etc were also free - we would see less of them.

I understand that when buying a £10k, you may not think that an extra couple hundred pounds make a difference, but they do ... alot of people have a set budget, and would rather spend the money on other extra's such as alloys etc.

As BNW is the only free colour, this is just a theory - but I think Free, will always grab the 5-10% who are not terribly concerned about colour.
 
Its not the same thing at all. A colour is just a colour – it doesn't affect the driveability of the car.
But if you want to be pedantic then remember that not everyone wants a bigger engine. If the 500 came in a 1.0 litre version, I'd have bought that – I just don't need a 1.2, I live in the town and last time I looked that was part of the real world!
That's exactly my point! Not everyone cares that a 1.4 is faster than a 1.2 or a 1.0! Just like most people aren't that bothered about having the most common colour, because it LOOKS GOOD! Like YKW says there will be a small minority of people who just go for it because it's free, but most like it because it's a good colour for the 500. With being a bit of a cream you could argue to yourself that it's both retro and modern. If you look at the Panda for instance the free colour was always baby sick yellow and this was so bad that most people specced a colour. BNW is good so people are happy with it.
 
In summary:

Depreciation is the biggest cost of car ownership, 60-70% over 5 years predicted for the 500, you'd have lost £7000-9000 regardless of colour, so does few hundred pounds either way make any difference:confused:

Just choose what you like (unless you're gonna change in a years time!)
 
To complete neet's summary

Fiat500_colors.jpg


Looks from good to stunning in anybody's taste I guess, so resale won't be a problem methink, it'd be a shame to choose a colour you don't necessarily approve of 100% on the ground that you'll save a few hundreds much later (if it's proven you do save that money! You never know with the market.....)
 
(if it's proven you do save that money! You never know with the market.....)

I've seen it with my on eyes plenty times. But a few hundered is too high a number. In 3 years times a difference of a few hundered on a 500 would be a massive difference.

If the difference was even as high as £100 I'd be surprised, and as the car gets older obviously that number gets lower. It's really not worth picking a colour based on future value if it means not picking the colour that you really want.
 
Tbh the salesperson has a point. Scrogg (also a Fiat salesperson) says that in the trade colours like this do affect resale value.

Your memory is astonishing. That post was ages ago! :eek:

I think the problem of different colours being 'better' for resale value is perpetuated by the Motor Trade, who continue to use terms like 'Doom Blue' to describe non-metallic dark blue on any car when, in reality, on a car like the 500 it makes no difference whatsoever what colour the car is as somebody will want to buy it.

Granted, white sells in greater numbers than any other colour, but all that means is when other colours do become available on the used market they sell more quickly as those people determined not to have white are out there scouring the papers/websites looking for the cars.
 
Your memory is astonishing. That post was ages ago! :eek:

I think the problem of different colours being 'better' for resale value is perpetuated by the Motor Trade, who continue to use terms like 'Doom Blue' to describe non-metallic dark blue on any car when, in reality, on a car like the 500 it makes no difference whatsoever what colour the car is as somebody will want to buy it.

Granted, white sells in greater numbers than any other colour, but all that means is when other colours do become available on the used market they sell more quickly as those people determined not to have white are out there scouring the papers/websites looking for the cars.
I'll defer to your greater knowledge and experience but I still reckon colours like RnR blue and yuck yuck green will mean lower trade in values in the future :p

I reckon what you say in your last paragraph will certainly hold true for colours which were canned soon after launch but are a bit more mainstream like Jive Blue and Calypso. IMHO diarrhea browny grey and yuck yuck are such marmite colours which to me would suggest that they're only going to sell to someone who wants that sort of look rather than someone who just wants a 500.

But again I'm no dealer so I'll defer to your greater knowledge ;)
 
Back
Top