Don't laugh, the colour you choose could make all the difference when it comes to resale...
* Boring colours can shave off as much as 10% from a car's value
* Cheerful-looking cars in happy optimistic colours sell fastest
* Buying something in an offbeat shade means you're restricting your resale market
* A duff colour can turn an average car into an unsaleable one
* Red, black and dark metallics are in
* White's for vans and Plod
* Pale, washing-up water colours like light green, light blue, cream and beige are out
* Posh cars need to be the colour of precious metals like tungsten, platinum and silver. They lend gravitas and importance
* If you buy a car in a weirdo wacky colour, it could all go horribly wrong
* Many men have the colour sensitivity of vampire bats. Women are always best at choosing colours. Make sure you have one handy when you buy
Choosing the right colour for your car can affect its value by as much as 10%. Choosing red instead of brown means that you'll be able to sell it later easily and for more money. Cheery-looking cars in bright shades are much more desirable than flat lifeless hues. Avoid anything anaemic, nondescript or plain.

All cars are colour-sensitive, so avoid phlegm green, breeze-block grey, police van blue and hearing-aid beige. White's not in anymore and is a killer on a Merc, Lexus or BMW. Dark green's back big-time and looks smart on Jeeps, BMs, Jags and Bentleys. Red's always a safe choice along with metallic blue, silver and black.

Brown's always been out and so has metallic gold. But watch out for allegedly trendy colours like Silk Cut purple, JCB yellow and strident pastels like lilac and lime green. They may be at the cutting edge now, but two years down the line you could be sorry. A VW Corrado in crushed budgerigar yellow is definitely an acquired taste.

Car Color

Psychiatrists analyzed the favorite car color of more than 1000 motorists to determine how it reveals personality. Here's what the study reveals about YOU.


Brown: The choice of a cautious, conservative, often introverted personality likely to drive the good bargain.
White: It's the choice of a neat, compulsive motorist who can be both critical as well as fussy. The first choice of doctors - and drivers who are reliable, aloof and very methodical.
Blue: You like consistency in your life. You're likely to be conservative, shy, and introverted. A team player who's sociable and friendly but lacking in imagination.
Green: A hot fashion color that puts an emphasis on the environment, but the deeper the green, the more conservative and traditional person you are.
Teals: The choice of a trend-setting extrovert who craves attention and desires admiration.
Neutrals: The colors of non-commitment and chosen by someone who doesn't want to be conspicuous or stand out from the crowd.
Grey: Expresses understated good taste and indicates a safe and cautious driver.
Metallics: Chosen by confidant yet understated extroverts.
Silver: You have great style and are often successful - but you tend to be pompous.
Black: The choice of a serious, self-confident sophisticate. First choice of the ambitious and success-driven who see cars as status symbols.
Yellow: The hue for active, artistic people and the individual willing to try something new.
RED: You're outgoing and impulsive, but easily bored. On the bright side, you think and stay young.

Cars speak a great deal about their drivers. By looking at your car, one could guess everything from whether or not you have kids to whether you ski. Two door cars suggest a young driver, or a midlife crisis on wheels. Four doors suggest a practical person, perhaps with children. A car seat or two in the back definitely says children! A clean car means the driver is most likely neat with the rest of her life. And this is all before analyzing your bumper stickers and personalized plates!


Acura Integra: I have always wanted to own the Buick of Japanese sport sedans
AMG Hummer: I have a daughter named Bitsy and a son named Cole
BMW 740il: I just cashed in my IPO stock options
Buick Park Avenue: I am older than 34 of the 50 states
Cadillac Catera: I learned nothing from the Cimarron
Cadillac Eldorado: I am a pimp
Cadillac Deville: I am a very good Mary Kay Salesperson
Chevrolet Camaro: I enjoy beating up people
Chevrolet Caprice: I enjoy having people slow to 55 mph and change lanes when I pull up behind them
Chevrolet Cavalier coupe: I start 11th grade in the fall
Chevrolet Cavalier sedan: I teach first grade and voted for Bush
Chevrolet Chevette: I like seeing people's reactions when I tell them I have a 'vette.
Chevrolet Corvair: I will beat you up if you ask me whether I voted for Ralph Nader
Chevrolet Corvette: I am having a mid-life crisis
Chevrolet El Camino: I am leading a militia to overthrow the government
Chevrolet Prism: I have always wanted to drive the Toyota Corolla of American compact sedans
Chevrolet Tracker: I start 12th grade in the fall
Chrysler P.T. Cruiser: I know, I know. I think it should have been a Plymouth, too.
Citroen 2CV: I think your car looks funny, too
Daewoo Nubira: I would not be caught dead in a Hyundai Elantra
Dodge Diplomat: I used to enjoy having people slow to 55 mph and change lanes when I pull up behind them
Dodge Durango: I will not be caught dead in a Ford Explorer
Dodge Neon: I cannot stand the Macarena
Dodge Power Wagon: I am leading a militia to overthrow the government
Ford Crown Victoria: I enjoy having people slow to 55 mph and change lanes when I pull up behind them
Ford Excursion: I love the spotted owl. Tastes just like bald eagle
Ford Expedition: I have always wanted to own the Range Rover of American SUVs
Ford Explorer: I will not be caught dead in a minivan
Ford Mustang Cobra: I slow down to 85 in school zones
Ford Ranchero: I am leading a Militia to overthrow the government
Honda Civic: I just graduated and have no credit at all
Honda Accord: I lack originality and am basically a lemming
Hyundai Accent: I delivered pizza for years in order to get this car
Hyundai Tiburon: I miss the tasteful, conservative and understated styling of the 1974 AMC Matador coupe
Infiniti Q45: I am a physician with 17 malpractice suits pending
Kia Sephia: I learned nothing from the Asian economic crisis
Lexus LS400: I am the lawyer suing the owner of the Infiniti Q45
Lexus SC430: Je ne comprends pas ces annonces de télévision, l'une ou l'autre
Lincoln Navigator: I don't bother comparing gas prices
Lincoln Town Car: I have always wanted to own a Lincoln even uglier than the 1958 model line-up
Mazda Miata: I do not fear being decapitated by an eighteen-wheeler
Mercury Grand Marquis: I live for bridge and covered supper dishes
Mercury Sable Station Wagon: I am afraid of my wife
Mercedes 600SL: I will beat you up if you ask me for an autograph
Mercedes 600SEL: I have a daughter named Bitsy and a son named Cole
MGB: I am dating a mechanic
Nissan Altima: I don't know what it means, either
Nissan Maxima: I am still in the closet
Nissan Sentra: I am an accountant and I voted for George W. Bush
Nissan Tsuru: Soy contable y voté por Vicente Fox.
Nissan 300ZX: I have yet to complete my divorce proceedings
Oldsmobile Cutlass: I just stole this car and I'm going to make a fortune off the parts
Oldsmobile Cutlass Cruiser: I get carsick driving minivans
Oldsmobile Delta 88 Diesel: I am on the EPA's Ten Most Wanted List
Plymouth Breeze: I like seeing people's reactions when I tell them I have a Mercedes Benz product that is no longer being made.
Plymouth Neon: I enjoy the Macarena
Pontiac Aztec: I am getting paid to drive this thing
Pontiac Firebird: I still watch Rockford Files reruns
Pontiac Trans Am: I have a switchblade in my sock
Porsche 928: I am dating big-haired women who would otherwise be inaccessable to me
Range Rover: I have always wanted to own the Ford Expedition of British SUVs
Rolls Royce Silver Shadow: I think Maggie Thatcher is a touch too Whig for me
Rover 3500: I am married to a mechanic
SAAB 900: I do not care about J.D. Powers or his surveys
Saturn LS200: I am in the Federal Witness Protection program
Saturn SL1: I hope someday to make it to a gathering in Spring Hill
Saturn SL2: I made it to a gathering in Spring Hill
Suzuki Grand Vitara I do not want to know what it means
Toyota Camry: I have always wanted to own the Oldsmobile of Japanese family sedans
Toyota Corolla: I have always wanted to own the Chevrolet Prism of Japanese compact sedans
Toyota Echo: I have always wanted to own a Japanese compact car even uglier than the Datsun 710
Volkswagen Beetle: I still watch Partridge Family reruns
Volkswagen Cabriolet: I am out of the closet
Volkswagen Jetta: I enjoy putting out engine fires
Volkswagen Microbus: I am tripping right now
Volkswagen New Beetle: I still watch Partridge Family reruns
Volvo 740 Wagon: I am afraid of my wife