Every colour on the used market carries the age profile of when it was popular new. Sorted oldest first:
| Colour | Average age | Average price | Listings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green | 17.1 yrs | $13,168 | 3,922 |
| Brown | 14.8 yrs | $11,495 | 3,384 |
| Silver | 13.2 yrs | $13,403 | 24,427 |
| Grey | 11.7 yrs | $14,835 | 19,849 |
| White | 11.0 yrs | $19,395 | 54,548 |
Silver and grey are the same colour a decade apart
That's the clearest reading here. Silver cars average 13.2 years old, grey ones 11.7. Two shades of the same idea, separated by which decade specified them.
Silver was the default premium finish of the 2000s — the colour of the executive saloon and the family estate. It has since been replaced by grey, which is doing the same job for a newer generation of cars.
The price gap follows the age gap: $13,403 against $14,835. That's not the market disliking silver, it's the market pricing older cars.
Green and brown are period pieces
17.1 and 14.8 years. These are colours from the 1990s and early 2000s that essentially stopped being ordered — 3,922 and 3,384 listings against silver's 24,427.
A green car on the used market is likely to be genuinely old, because almost nobody has bought one new in fifteen years.
White is the youngest and the biggest
54,548 listings at an average of 11.0 years — the newest colour profile and the largest by a wide margin. It's the current default, which we tracked separately in white cars went from 23% of the road to 40%.
What this means when buying or selling
Colour doesn't drive price — age does. The $6,000 gap between white and brown is almost entirely explained by the six-year age difference. We tested this directly in does car colour affect resale value, comparing within the same model and year, and the effect largely disappeared.
An unfashionable colour on a modern car is a small opportunity. Fewer buyers want it, which shows in negotiating room — but it's the same car mechanically.
Sellers shouldn't discount for colour without checking. If the listing is priced below comparables because the seller thinks green is a problem, the age and condition of the car matter far more.
Verify the paint is original. A colour that doesn't match the factory code is a repaint, and a repaint can mean bodywork. The original colour is recorded against the VIN, and a VIN check shows it along with title history.
Frequently asked questions
What is the oldest colour of car on the used market?
Green, averaging 17.1 years, then brown at 14.8 and silver at 13.2. White is the youngest at 11.0 years and by far the most common with 54,548 listings.
Why are silver cars older than grey ones?
They're the same idea a decade apart. Silver was the default premium finish of the 2000s and has been replaced by grey for newer cars — 13.2 years against 11.7.
Do silver cars sell for less?
They average $13,403 against $14,835 for grey, but that's the age difference rather than a colour penalty. Compared within the same model and year, colour has little effect on price.
Should I avoid an unusual colour?
It gives you negotiating room on an otherwise identical car, since fewer buyers want it. Just check the paint is original — a colour that doesn't match the factory code recorded against the VIN means a repaint, and possibly bodywork.
Denis Kataev is a serial solopreneur and the founder of ForCar. With 15+ years in software engineering and 10 years in SEO, he builds data-driven products end to end — backed by a sharp eye for design. At ForCar he mines proprietary vehicle datasets, turning raw numbers into buying advice you can actually trust.
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