Buy a beige pickup truck; show me the resale money

By James Raia
Buying a beige-colored pickup truck is smart; purchasing a brown truck, not so much.

At least that’s the case if getting the best resale price after three years of ownership is important.

According to the analysis of iseecars.com, the online automotive search engine and research website, beige pickup trucks have the lowest average depreciation of any color. A beige pickup truck with a new price of $45,272 has an average resale price after three years of $37,097, or an 18.1 percent depreciation.

After comparing the prices of more than six million new and used cars between 2017 to 2020, iSeeCars.com has determined which colors help, hurt, or have minimal impact on a vehicle’s resale value.

“A vehicle’s color is among the primary considerations after shoppers have decided on a make and model,” said iSeeCars.com Executive Analyst Karl Brauer. “With resale value being the single biggest factor in how much a new vehicle ‘costs’ over the course of ownership, consumers should carefully consider their pickup truck color choice.”

Pickup trucks have lower depreciation than cars

All pickup truck colors depreciate less than the average vehicle given the popularity of the used pickup truck segment.

Mainstream colors, including white, black, and silver, are popular because they are seen as the safest colors with the widest appeal. But are those the best colors for helping a pickup truck maintain its value?

“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 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.”

“Toyota introduced a ‘quicksand’ beige hue which was exclusive to its TRD Pro off-road pickup truck editions in 2016 before becoming available on all of its pickups in 2017,” said Brauer. “Because Toyota pickup trucks hold their value so well, and because this beige hue is a novelty, it helped beige pickups maintain their value.”

The next lowest-depreciating truck colors are white and gray. “The low depreciation of muted colors for trucks could be partly attributed to the use of these pickup trucks for work/fleet purposes, with neutral colors hiding wear and being easier to display company signage,” said Brauer.

Pickup truck depreciation by color

Here’s the list of truck depreciation, listed by color, average new and used price after three years of ownership, and the depreciation percentage:

1. Beige, $45,272, $37,097, 18.1 percent;
2. White, $45,425, $32,369, 28.7 percent;
3. Gray, $44,056, $30,973, 29.7 percent;
4. Green, $44,971, $31,474, 30.0 percent;
5. Gold, $58,355, $40,203; 31.1 percent;
6. Silver, $44,413, $30,539, 31.2 percent;
7. Red, $46,939, $32,036; 31.8 percent;
8. Black, $48,585, $33,088, 31.9 percent;
9. Orange, $44,995, $30,572, 32.1 percent;
10. Blue, $46,161, $31,319, 32.2 percent;
11. Brown, $52,268, $34,785, 33.4 percent.

RELATED CONTENT

Ford announces two new F-150 pickup trucks

Ford F-150 pickup truck honors never stop

New pickup truck sneak peek: 2022 Hyundai Santa Cruz

James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, California, publishes a free weekly automotive podcast and electronic newsletter. Sign-ups are available on his website, www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@jamesraia.com.

##RVT998b