How blah can actually pay off

Bland vehicles — black, white, silver — return more dollars in resales.

Whether it’s a little red Corvette or a pink Cadillac, picking just the right color can be as important to car buyers as price and options.

But letting emotions play a big role when it comes to car color can be costly down the line.

Those black, white and silver vehicles stand a better chance of returning a little more at resale time than an oddball or fad color, like today’s brown, orange or, yes, pink cars, especially if the wild color gets dropped, experts say.

“You’re always taking a bit more of a risk with the fad colors,” says Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting for Kelley Blue Book.

There are other considerations, too. Lighter cars are less likely to show dirt and scratches. Car colors don’t appear to affect insurance rates, but the question is open about whether a flaming-red sports car is more likely to catch the eye of a traffic cop.

Most buyers hue to the banal. White remains the world’s most popular car color, PPG Industries says. Ibara says automakers mostly offer “safe bets” these days — limiting the wild choices. Often, it’s owners who get them repainted in a crazy color. “We occasionally see bad colors cross the auction lot,” he says. “It’s going to be a car with a lot of personality.”

But in recent years, automakers have tried out some crazier looks. After a Chevrolet Spark arrived in Techno Pink, Cars.com took a look at car color resale value in 2012. The finding: Resale values of the more unusual colors, for the most part, didn’t suffer much unless the color was discontinued. The prime example was 2008 Chevrolet Equinox SUVs. Those in teal, the discontinued color, sold for an average of $14,578, about $300 less than silver and more than $500 less than black or white.

When it comes to safety, white cars may have an edge. A 2007 study by Monash University found white was safer than every other color. The study was based on accident data in Australia and New Zealand between 1997 and 2004.

White or light cars are also easier to keep looking nice, which also helps at trade-in time. When it comes to paint damage, “your eye is going to pick up (more) on those darker colors,” says Mike Pennington, of Meguiar’s, a high-end automotive wax maker. A scratch, he says, often appears white on just about any car.

Though those brighter colors may require more attention, he says car owners still crave them.

“Sometimes the car color just stops you in your tracks. It just pops,” he says. “It’s an emotional connection.”