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It’s so easy to get carried away with aesthetics when choosing a new car but purchasing a new vehicle in your favourite colour could leave you with buyer’s remorse.
According to data company Lightstone, white and silver are the most popular colours making up almost two thirds of new cars bought in 2017. We've included a list of popular car colours
"If it will make a real difference to your enjoyment of the car, and you’re going to own it a while, then you should go with the option that makes you happy," this is according to Colin Morgan, director at used car retailer getWorth, who says that cars are equal parts emotion and practicality.
Car colour tips you should consider before signing on the dotted line:
• Maintenance and appearance: White and silver are more forgiving. They don’t show dust and micro-scratches to the same extent darker tones do. Less washing, less polishing, less fading. In wet weather, though, road dirt and mud show up more against the lighter colours, so there is some balance.
• Visibility: Lighter colours are statistically safer because they stand out better against the road, scenery and other traffic.
• Cost and availability: Metallic paint on new cars is often charged extra. If you’re very particular about colour when buying, you limit your options and might end up paying more than a comparable neutral colour.
• Repair: Matching and blending of colours by a panel beater takes a higher level of care and skill than a uniform white or silver. There is a higher risk of a repair not being up to scratch.
• Resale value: The pool of buyers for more popular colours is larger, which normally means a stronger resale value.
Lower insurance premiums for white-painted vehicles?
Hein Coetzee, Head of Commercial at Lightstone Auto, said: "There are a number of factors responsible for the popularity of light-coloured, and particularly white, vehicles in South Africa.
"White-painted vehicles generally attract lower insurance premiums. This due to the cost of repainting the car in a body repair centre is normally lower than that of another colour vehicle (colour-matching, metallic paint, etc).
getWorth said: "We have seen definite trends in the data where certain colours are penalised in their resale price – this is particularly true of more unusual colours, such as bronze or bottle green."
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An earlier poll we ran highlighting our Readers' favourite car colours:
