Question:
Our daughter announced at Christmas that she will buy her first brand-new car this spring. Her heart is set on the Subaru Crosstrek, which is fine, but the color sheís fallen for is a vivid, livid orange. Weíd like to think that sheíll keep whatever car she buys until itís ancient, but we know 25-year-olds donít do that and weíre worried sheíll tire of that awful color before itís paid off. Even if that doesnít happen, sheíll probably get pennies on the trade-in because no one will want that color. What is your advice?
Answer:
Hey, youíre asking a woman whose first brand-new car was an AMC Javelin in ìwild plum,î a sort of fuchsia/purple hue that shouted ìgarish!î Somehow, I survived and traded it in (with no huge color devaluation) four years later for a Toyota Corona that was a tasteful shade of cocoa.
Part of the joy of reaching adulthood and having sufficient income to buy a new car is the statement-making aspect separate and distinct from what parents might have chosen.
Itís probably true that a black or red vehicle would be a safer resale bet, even for the Subaru XV Crosstrek. This car is likely to appeal to the younger set since itís priced less than $25,000. The size is small crossover, and at least a couple of the colors, including the tangerine orange pearl that captivated your daughter, are regarded as ëyouthful.í But I wouldnít fret that the trade-in loss will be huge.
Will she tire of it faster? Maybe, but maybe not.
Happily, this is not a spontaneous, same-day purchase. The fact that she wonít make the actual transaction until later this year gives her time to figure out if the color will wear well with her. Suggest that she go look at it often in all kinds of daylight. Tell her that ìcolors with characterî can be tougher to trade in, and they can sometimes begin to annoy the owner as time passes.
She can consider both points, and if she decides to go the Orange Crush route, it wonít, in the long run, be a wallet-shattering decision.
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