Do Red Cars Cost More to Insure? (2024)

FAQs

Do Red Cars Cost More to Insure? ›

The myth that red cars cost more to insure is, in fact, a myth. While auto insurance companies take a number of factors into account when calculating your insurance rate, the color of the car isn't one of them.

While red does tend to be associated with less of a risk of accidents than black, grey, and silver cars, red cars have more accidents than many other colors. When compared with the safest color on the road, red cars have a 7 percent higher risk of an accident. Red is such a bold, vibrant color.

The color of a car can have an effect on its resale value. Many buyers choose to buy white, black, gray, or silver cars because they retain their value better. If your car is a flashier color, you may have difficulty selling it. There is a common misconception that brighter hues like red increase insurance premiums.

The top five car colors with the best resale value

As of June 2023, the car colors that retain a higher resale value are: Yellow (13.5% value lost over three years) Orange (18.4% value lost over three years) Red (20.6% value lost over three years)

Studies have shown that the four colors of cars that get the most tickets are, in this order, white, red, gray and silver. White cars, for example, get 19% of all of the traffic tickets that are given out in a single year. Red cars only get 16% of the traffic tickets, gray cars get 10% and silver cars get 5%.

The color of your car doesn't affect your insurance rate. Instead, your insurance company uses other information, like your car's age, location, usage, and your driving record, to help determine insurance rates. Learn more about the factors that impact auto insurance pricing.

According to Kelley Blue Book, white is the most popular color choice for minivans, pickup trucks, sedans and luxury cars alike. White is also considered the safest color. In fact, in comparison to white vehicles, black cars are 12% more likely to be involved in an accident.

You might have heard that the color of your vehicle will affect your auto insurance rates, but this is a common myth. It doesn't matter what color it is because the insurer will not factor that into your policy rates.

Other bold colors, like orange, purple, and red, also had slower depreciation rates than common colors. The simplest explanation is that there's a smaller supply of vehicles with these colors compared to the demand for them in the used car market.

What the research says. For the car market in general, the above-average colors for resale value are yellow, beige, orange, green, red, white and blue. These could be good choices if resale value is a top concern.

Do red cars get stolen more? ›

Thieves do not consider color when they steal vehicles; they are after parts.

Red is often used on performance-oriented cars that show off high speeds with a powerful engine. People driving red cars are typically 'confident. ' They are enthusiastic about self-expression, enjoy a thrilling life, and are cheerful and energetic, mostly known to be the life of the party.

Red cars take the full brunt of energy

As a general rule, red paint fades fastest, while white holds for the longest. The reason for this is that red paint reflects red light and absorbs blue light, which is at a shorter wavelength of the light spectrum and has the most energy to do damage.

The false notion about police officers pulling over red cars most often comes from the idea that red is a more eye-catching color and easier for police to spot. However, this likely isn't the case with white. In fact, it likely has more to do with statistics than the brightness of a color.

Contrary to popular belief, the color of your car does not affect your insurance premiums — red included. Insurers look at a myriad of other vehicle features to determine your car insurance rate, but paint color is not one of them.

The Red Car Theory is a concept that deals with the phenomenon of heightened awareness and selective attention. It posits that once something has been brought to our attention, we start noticing it more often, not because it has become more prevalent, but because we've become more attuned to noticing it.

That's important to thieves, so they pick the popular colors. A very bright color such as yellow is probably as effective as an expensive security device in discouraging thieves, Vollaard says. Red, orange, brown and green vehicles are probably less likely to be stolen, too, he says.

It could be that some people associate red with danger. Whatever the reason might be for the assumption, the assumption is incorrect. Red cars are not involved in more car accidents than vehicles of other colors. In fact, studies indicate that black cars are actually the most dangerous color vehicle on the road.