Honda S2000 Color Choices Can Have a Big Impact on Value

Power of Color

As we've explored many times in the past, color options can have a big impact on the value of any car for a number of reasons. This includes production numbers, of course, as well as little details like whether or not a color was featured in a model's original presser. But there are other factors that play into colors and their impact on vehicle values, as a recent study from iSeeCars reveals.

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Big Impact

As the report points out, color can have a significant impact on depreciation, as the highest depreciating hue lost more than twice its value compared to the lowest depreciating color. As is often the case, non-controversial choices like silver, white, and black tend to have less of an impact on value, though there are a few surprises as well.

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There's a Twist

"There's a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy going on here, with many consumers picking these mainstream colors not because they like them, but because they assume everyone else does," said iSeeCars Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. "This makes white, black, and silver appear to be in high demand, yet our analysis confirms that more obscure colors tend to hold their value better than common and popular colors." 

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Surprisingly Choice

That means, somewhat surprisingly, that yellow cars were found to hold their value the best, depreciating 45.6 percent less than the average vehicle. "Yellow may not be a widely desired car color, but there are enough people who want yellow, versus the number of yellow new cars being ordered, to make yellow cars more desirable than others on the used market," said Brauer. "In fact, yellow is among the colors with the lowest vehicle share, and is most commonly a color for sports cars and other low-volume vehicles that hold their value relatively well."

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Low Volume

While the seldom-seen Beige comes in second, Orange's third-place finish is more proof of this concept. "Like yellow, orange is most often found on low-volume sports and muscle cars," said Brauer. "Orange is such a novel color that it is often the choice for popular special edition vehicles, like the 30th edition Mazda MX-5 Miata, which are typically limited production vehicles."

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Bottom End

Rarity doesn't always help value, however, as the three fastest depreciating colors - purple, brown, and gold, aren't terribly common, either. "Rarity alone does not equal value. If a color doesn’t resonate with enough used car shoppers it will hurt resale value, even if it’s uncommon," said Brauer. Meanwhile, those common silver, black, and white, red, and blue hues fall near the middle of the pack, mainly because they are quite common.

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Another Factor

Altogether, this data is quite fascinating, though every make and model - including the S2000 - can produce different results than the mean. Regardless, it's another thing to keep in mind when shopping for a car. "A car's color affects its value, which is especially important for drivers who plan on turning in their vehicle after a few years," said Brauer. "While bolder or less common hues may seem like they would hurt a car's resale value, there are many instances where the opposite is true."

Photos: Honda

>>Join the conversation about how paint choice affects value right here on S2Ki.com.