‘White is the new black’, ‘pay the extra for metallic’ and ‘don’t buy a flat red 3-series’. They’re just a few of the anecdotes you regularly hear about the dos and don’ts of colour selection.
It seems ironic then, that it will make no difference to the first operator while the vehicle is in use. Okay, you might pay extra for a particular type or colour of paint in the first place, but that’s it until resale time, and as long as you and the driver(s) are happy, there’s nothing to worry about.
It’s the second-hand market where the wisdom of the fleet operator’s taste in paintwork is put to the test. Get it right and your chances of shifting the vehicle quickly and getting a solid return increase dramatically. Get it wrong and you’re potentially looking at less money back and an agonising wait to shift it.
On the whole though, fleets tend to veer on the conservative side when it comes to the colour of the vehicles they’re procuring – something that serves them well according to Simon Henstock, operations director at BCA.
“Fleets generally provide a more consistent mix of colours across the range of cars being offered,” he says. “With greater numbers of upper medium and executive models coming from fleet and lease sources, we see larger volumes of metallic blues and silvers, for example. However, move away from the user-chooser fleets and the business sector also provides a volume of utilitarian and corporate colours into the used market.”
It’s an area where the auction giant has conducted extensive research. BCA analysed more than 125,000 vehicles that went to auction from a variety of sources and, once the results had been collated into “broad constituent colour groups”, blue and silver were revealed to be the most popular shades, accounting for 23.4% and 23.3% of the mix respectively.
Henstock adds: “As a general rule, good metallic colours always sell well, particularly when paired with a decent set of alloy wheels. Bright white finishes have proved to be very popular over several years now, and are seen across a wide range of makes and models.”
It’s a view echoed by the rest of the industry: that you’re better off with a sober, metallic shade than anything else. Aled Williams, director at leasing firm Days Contract Hire, believes the same.
He says: “If someone chose the car when new, someone will want it as a used car. Garish and contrasting paint and interior schemes can be a problem, and as ever, metallic paint is far better than flat colours.”
He agrees with BCA that fleet sellers tend to be better tuned in to the kinds of paint schemes that will consistently perform well on the second-hand market: “Fleet choices tend to be a bit more conservative – you won’t find many bright yellow cars on fleets, for example.”
As safe a bet as it may be to go with metallic silver, there is always the temptation to bear in mind other shades that peak in popularity and bring their own residual value benefits.
Williams adds: “It’s notoriously difficult to know what car colours will be in fashion in the future – it’s a bit like predicting the stock market. It wasn’t that long ago that white cars were bad news and some police forces even switched to buying silver vehicles to reduce their loss. Yet today, white cars are in hot demand, especially on certain makes and models.”
Henstock says that some more unusual shades are also selling well at the moment.
“We are also seeing softer colours and finishes such as lilac, mauve and pearlescent becoming more popular. But the most important factor is for the colour to complement the car,” he says.
Procuring a company car with a flash paint job will probably go down well with the perk driver crowd too. Having a new model in a trendy shade will keep staff happy, as will allowing them the choice of what colour they can have. Williams thinks a bit of free reign is a good idea for that very reason, but that it’s worth keeping one eye on the employee’s final decision.
“Common sense is the best guide,” he says. “Allowing drivers to have free choice of the colour of their vehicle is generally a safe option, rather then limiting choice or the company choosing it for them. This also means that the employee will feel as if it is ‘their’ car, so boosting employee moral. Having said that, it’s best to cast an eye over every car ordered, just in case someone has made a left-field chose.”
Henstock says you can get away with this too, but it depends on the model and segment more than anything: “Smaller hatchbacks and city cars can carry off brighter colours with ease, but remember that highly fashionable colours can just as quickly become unfashionable. Limited editions with over-fussy colour schemes tend to date quickest and should be avoided where possible.
“In the upper medium and mini-MPV sectors, most metallics go well, but nothing too garish. Large slabs of bright colour can be hard on the eye, while at the other end of the colour scale, black looks funereal. In the rugged 4×4 market, buyers like utilitarian colours – greens, greys, oranges and yellows work well.
“For larger executive and prestige models, stick to popular colours but in sober shades – metallic silvers, blues and greens, for example.”
Let drivers loose with the palettes with caution, though. As always, you have to bear in mind what’s going to happen when you sell the cars on. Williams warns: “Drivers will usually want the most fashionable colour at the time of purchase, but it’ll be three years before the fleet cars chosen today hit the used market, so it’s always wise to stick to the mainstream options. Some manufactures have launch colours for new models, used on adverts and in brochures. Some of these can be a bit gaudy, and date quickly, so it might be an idea to avoid those.”
Henstock concludes that colour is actually something of an afterthought for most ex-fleet and lease buyers, adding that other factors come before it, but that the right shade will still make a difference even if the other factors are right.
“As used car buyers cannot specify the colour they want, they choose the best combination of model, specification, age, mileage and condition for their budget and get the most attractive colour they can. The message for fleets is choose a colour scheme that will attract buyers when you come to sell the car, rather than one that will have only a limited appeal.”
The residual value expert’s view
It’s perhaps no surprise that Rupert Pontin, chief car editor at Glass’s, agrees with fellow remarketing experts that “run-of-the-mill” colours are the most popular and the easiest to sell on.
“The pattern is largely consistent: metallic grey, metallic black, silver – colours that look smart for business and aren’t going to be too ‘out there’.
“White is also popular, but only on certain models like the BMW 1-series,” says Pontin. “If people are going to choose white it tends to be on sporty or prestige cars, top-of-the-range models that can carry it off.
“The only real exceptions to this pattern are buzz colours – so one year everyone might want red, it remains popular for a while and then tails off.”
He continues: “Quite simply, it comes back down to considering future values – standard, normal colours will get a better return later on, and so limiting colour options for fleet drivers will always be a wise idea.”
Despite his advocacy of traditional shades and their knock-on benefits, he also believes there is merit in taking the occasional gamble and going for an alternative shade if you have a hunch that it might pay off.
“This is really all about fleets being prepared to take risks on niche models. When the Nissan Qashqai was launched it was a totally new concept, a crossover style, and fleets had to decide if it was worth the risk. Those who decided ‘yes’ did very well as the model was a roaring success.”
