Why Changing a Car's Color Is Not Always a Good Idea

If you must repaint, it's usually best to stick with your car's original color.

Murilee Martin | 

Jan 3, 2024 | 3 min read

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Let's say you've had your car for a few years and you're weary of its original color. Or maybe you've noted that yellow cars can depreciate more slowly and can be perceived as more interesting than cars in other colors. Why not take your vehicle to a body shop and change its hue to something you'll like more?

There are some good arguments against such a color change, as it turns out, ranging from the difficulty of a good paint job to a potential decrease in value.

What's Involved With Painting a Car

When a vehicle gets its first paint job on the assembly line, it starts out with smooth, clean surfaces onto which state-of-the-art primer and paint are carefully applied in layers. This happens before glass, trim, badges, marker lights, and so on are installed.

Once that vehicle has been on the street for a while, its exterior will be less even and contaminants will be hiding in its crevices. This means some work will be needed to prepare the car's surfaces for the application of new paint.

The majority of car-painting costs lie in the preparation, not the painting itself. Removal of parts, careful masking of parts that stay attached, thorough cleaning and sanding, dent repair, and other hands-on tasks add to the price quickly.

Hard-to-Reach Areas Must Also Be Matched

The exterior of a car isn't the only place that gets painted at the factory. Door jambs, engine compartment, hood and decklid undersides, and sometimes even the dashboard panels must match the exterior color.

If you're getting new paint with the original color, these areas — which tend to stay in good shape due to lack of exposure to the elements and road debris — can be left in their original paint. If you're changing the color, however, much of your vehicle's interior will need to be removed and a great deal of masking will be required in order to prepare for painting such areas.

If you cut corners here, you'll likely end up with unsightly paint overspray on components such as seat belts and carpeting.

You Might Face Regulatory and Registration Issues When Painting a Car

The color of a new vehicle is noted in registration documents, and some states require that the owner of a vehicle notify the state's vehicle-registration authorities in the event of a color change. If you live in such a state, you would be in violation of the law if you failed to do so.

How Changing a Car's Color Can Affect Its Value

If the vehicle you're considering repainting is a collectible classic in good condition, changing its color might negatively affect the value — or you could fail to make the repainting costs back when you sell the car.

Sure, a certain factory-applied car color may hold its value better than another, but that's because it was painted that way when it rolled off the assembly line. Repainting the car properly takes tremendous effort, which in turn often costs tremendous money.

It won't take much for a body shop's repaint estimate to exceed an older car's value. After all, a repaint that rivals factory quality can cost upward of $10,000, and that's before you've removed the underhood bits to make the engine bay match the rest of the car.

Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a Colorado-based writer who appreciates Broughams d'Elegance, kei cars, Warsaw Pact hoopties, and the Simca Esplanada.