Do you like the colour of your car?

What you need to know:

When one goes out to buy a car, there are many factors they need to put into consideration. These range from make, model, year and more importantly colour.

Unlike a new car, where you have a choice of colour from the dealer, in the used car market while you cannot have a car configured to your choice, there is a host of variable options you can choose from.

In this market you can find all sorts of vastly and differently optioned cars in a host of colours.

So many car models shall be mostly available in one colour and never in another colour and if you require a specific colour you have to commission a paint job locally. For instance you shall almost never find a black Premio but if you want one you have to take what is available to the paint shop.

Most people choose the colour of their car based on emotion rather than logic, reason, or experience.

Black is a sweet colour.

Looks great on the road.

Very few people can deny the emotional reaction that a freshly cleaned black car can have on any onlooker. When done right, there’s nothing quite like it. Both when applied from the factory or done as a local job with the ability to not only “do it right” in the latter case, but to maintain that “right” in both cases.

Easier colours

Most black car owners shall tell you, “Once you try black, you may never go back”.

And by going back, they mean to black. So for most people, in our market the recommendation is to stay away from black despite what your emotions are screaming at you the next time you happen to see a very shiny black car moreover a luxury car.

The thing about black cars is that they will show dust from the moment you stop cleaning, until the moment you start cleaning once again.

For most people when asked, white represents the easiest of car paint colours to take care of and in many ways you are correct. It is one of the easiest colours to have.

However, Moses Mutebi a car painter from Kireka says the reality is that there exists even easier paint colours that are more forgiving with regards to dirt and dust, and also represent less care and maintenance.

White paint shows the road grime kicked up by tyres far better than any other colour.

Black and white are at both ends of the extremes of the colour spectrum without dissecting all the many colours or shades of colours in between.

And while universally all accept black as the ultimate in difficulty with regard to care and maintenance, white is not actually at the top of the list when it comes to absolute ease of use.

Mutebi says there are better colours that represent the most forgiving, easiest to maintain.

Silver and grey are great colours in terms of care and maintenance. These come in several shades where silver from one manufacturer is different from another manufacturer.

Metallic is for luxury

As well, similar colours may come in metallic or solid. Metallic paints reflect light for a much brighter shine than solids. They come in a wider variety of colours and add relatively little to the cost of the car.

The shine comes from a small amount of aluminium powder mixed into the paint. The metal particles pick up and reflect light, hence the shine. Other rainbow colours always polarise observers with a love or hate relationship.

Most cars today have metallic paints but categorically luxury cars have some of the difficult metallic paints and shades to maintain locally and shall command a premium from any paint garage.

Metallic paint is more difficult to repair, as achieving an exact match is tricky. If you are in the true luxury game, various car manufacturers use a range of other techniques to give even more lustrous finishes in a seemingly infinite spectrum of colours.

Ultimately, your choice of car colour generally always comes down to personal taste and is an important, exciting consideration when you are choosing your next car.

Car colours that hide dirt

Another factor to consider when choosing a car colour is how quickly it will look dirty.  Surprisingly black is the car colour that gets the dirtiest, the fastest. This is because road dirt is typically dusty and brown, so shows on black cars. Similarly, white cars require more frequent washing as road dirt is more noticeable against the white paintwork. So grey, silver and brown cars are the best option for hiding dirt and require less frequent washing.

So, if you are looking for a car colour that will maintain its resale value and hide road dirt between washes, grey or silver could be the best option. But if you are thinking of selling your car in the future, it’s generally wise to avoid bold colours such as green, orange and yellow.

 chipsaway.com