4 ms·

Did people previously not resell their cars?

CapriciousCptl 6y ago
Perhaps less as cars are becoming more reliable and with less new features year over year?
stillworks 6y ago
It’s the way financing these days works on brand new cars. The buyer is paying off the difference between the price at the time of sale and the price at the end of finance term (plus interest on the difference) The price at the end of the term is due to depreciation. If the buyer opts for a neutral/non-polarising color, then the depreciation is lesser than compared to choosing a different color. This is because it is assumed (mostly correctly) that it will be relatively easier to sell a grey/black car than a bright yellow/red car. That also results in the non-neutral coloured car costing more to finance over the term.
- wasdfff 6y ago
  Anecdotally, I’ve never heard of getting a deal on a used car simply because its red or yellow. Mileage and by proxy wear and tear is so much more meaningful on price.
imtringued 6y ago
You can't sell a leased car.
- refurb 6y ago
  No, you'd return it or buy it out, but that begs the questions - if you had two identical models, but different colors, would the less desirable color have a lower residual at the end of the lease? I'd assume so since the dealer needs to off-load it and if it's a wacky color, they won't get as much. Or maybe the choice of colors for lease vehicles is limited to ones that aren't hard to off-load at the end of the lease?
thdrdt 6y ago
People became too focused on money. Focus on money almost makes everything less fun. It used to be that people just bought a yellow car because they like it. But when you do that today some people will say 'but what about the resell value?'. This will make you question your decision. People are becoming less and less authentic. This sucks. Just buy a car you like. Having a good time is more important than resell value.
- wiredfool 6y ago
  I still kick myself for not buying a sunburst yellow Miata when I saw a low mile one come up for sale in the early 2000s. Red was good, but they were common. (Last time I checked, there was about a 3x premium on the yellow ones, because there were only 1500 of them made. The one that got away and all that.)
- lotsofpulp 6y ago
  It makes sense for people to focus on money if they feel the probability of income loss and/or probability of a large expense is too high. Considering the financial status for most of the people in my country (USA), I would say they can’t afford to care about their car’s color.

Perhaps less as cars are becoming more reliable and with less new features year over year?

It’s the way financing these days works on brand new cars. The buyer is paying off the difference between the price at the time of sale and the price at the end of finance term (plus interest on the difference) The price at the end of the term is due to depreciation. If the buyer opts for a neutral/non-polarising color, then the depreciation is lesser than compared to choosing a different color. This is because it is assumed (mostly correctly) that it will be relatively easier to sell a grey/black car than a bright yellow/red car. That also results in the non-neutral coloured car costing more to finance over the term.

wasdfff 6y ago
Anecdotally, I’ve never heard of getting a deal on a used car simply because its red or yellow. Mileage and by proxy wear and tear is so much more meaningful on price.

imtringued 6y ago

You can't sell a leased car.

refurb 6y ago
No, you'd return it or buy it out, but that begs the questions - if you had two identical models, but different colors, would the less desirable color have a lower residual at the end of the lease? I'd assume so since the dealer needs to off-load it and if it's a wacky color, they won't get as much. Or maybe the choice of colors for lease vehicles is limited to ones that aren't hard to off-load at the end of the lease?

thdrdt 6y ago

People became too focused on money. Focus on money almost makes everything less fun. It used to be that people just bought a yellow car because they like it. But when you do that today some people will say 'but what about the resell value?'. This will make you question your decision. People are becoming less and less authentic. This sucks. Just buy a car you like. Having a good time is more important than resell value.

wiredfool 6y ago
I still kick myself for not buying a sunburst yellow Miata when I saw a low mile one come up for sale in the early 2000s. Red was good, but they were common. (Last time I checked, there was about a 3x premium on the yellow ones, because there were only 1500 of them made. The one that got away and all that.)
lotsofpulp 6y ago
It makes sense for people to focus on money if they feel the probability of income loss and/or probability of a large expense is too high. Considering the financial status for most of the people in my country (USA), I would say they can’t afford to care about their car’s color.