WHICH and WHY? The Colors That Dominate Each Major Sales Region

I always get stuck with silver because it is the only thing they have left in the car I am interested in. I prefer black or white, lol. Since I am forced with silver, I try to use that in my favor to negotiate a better price.

Which drops the value, and in addition Maaco is terrible at painting cars.....

It drops value, trust me. Its considered wrecked. And the more of the body that is painted, the worst.

what whats the point of them doing the paint test?

Open the doors, hood, trunk, etc. If you are painting beyond these areas just to change the color of the car, you are definitely better off to:
a. buy your preferred color to begin with
b. accept the color of the car as it is
Neither color of cars I own was preferred at the time of purchase. I simply live with a bright red sedan and a silver wagon/ute.

Sorry BSBB, but you're wrong here. Most trade in appraisals ask standardized questions, including

1) has the vehicle ever been in an accident, and
2) what paintwork or repairwork has it had?

Having a vehicle repainted absolutely drops the value. And by MAACO especially -- they're the McDonald's Dollar Menu of repainting. MAACO is one step above painting the car yourself in your garage with spray paint from Home Depot.

As for how a dealer would know, the first step is the person trading the car not lying about its history. Then, since that first step is a pipe dream because most people do lie when trading cars, they take a paint meter to the car. They also look for overspray or dripping, paint wth a flatter finish than it should have, or obvious dust or debris in the finish. And they check doorjambs, trunk lips, inside the engine bay, etc., places that often don't get finished properly or don't get painted at all, especially by bargain basement paintshops (like MAACO).

Also, you can sometimes see bubbles when paint is put on top of paint. The only way around that is replace all of the body panels.

Age & type of vehicle would definitely matter when discussing the issue. How old were these cars when traded, what type of vehicles and lastly, mileage?
I am not trying to be insulting.
Back in '99 wife traded a car that had slightly mis-matched paint due to hail damage/repair. Was a cheaper car to begin with. Dealer noticed the paint after deal was made. Wife told the salesman , "yeah, it is a different color I suppose", then left in her new truck. That was the last we heard of it. ha ha!

I had a Honda that was painted because the dealer chiped it when they washed it for delivery. I allowed them to paint the side because they advised that is the only way to make it look right. When I tried to take it back to that dealer and trade it in, although they knew what happened, they told me it was painted and could not offer me more for it for that reason. Other dealers told me the same thing and showed me how they could tell it was painted. And this was done at a reputable body shop. So I am telling you real world experience as well - FYI

Good point Shredmo. I had a newer car at the time. Maybe 3 or 4 years old.

Also, on older cars, paint actually does up the resale value. Found that out by totaling an old Lexus. When I told the insurance company it had been painted, they offered quite a bit more for it.

Are you kidding me. You have to be a moron to take a NEW car which is painted by precise robotics at the factory, has the underbody sprayed as the body shell is rotated and doesn't have to worry about taping any hardware such as headlights, tail lights, door handle, while painting them more precisely.

Anytime you mess with the factory paint the value drops. And if you're trading your car in (as you pointed out), you are most definitely NOT getting what the "true" value of your car is worth. No dealer ever gives a person "retail value" on a trade-in.

BSBB: ANY dealer that doesn't ask you if your car has been repainted is the type of dealer who'll sell it to you and not tell you it's been repainted. Besides the paint code is on the door.

ive benn to korea (because im korean) its crazy everything is either a hyundai, kia or ssanyoung and everythings either black sivler or white. i think i managed to see 1 red car in a whole month

Wow, I though US roads were bland.

My question, why would anyone purposely buy a beige car?
If you live on gravel, I could understand I guess.

Old people buy them all the time.

Some shades of beige, in a Southwestern (bright sun) environment can be quite apealing. The same car under grey skies looks like hell.

My tastes have also changed through the years. I used to like most shades of blue, but now it just doesn't do much for me. Never have cared for red, except on certain cars (Candy apple CTS-V for example) and that hasn't changed.

Wow, China like yellow. I guess its that fascination with Gold.

I find one of the reasons that Silver/black/white are the most popular is that they're the least offensive. When a couple buys a car 1 will like the blue and the other the Red....they'll agree on the Silver. Neither of them LOVE the Silver but neither hate it.

Re: South Korea

In the 80'd and 90's where non-Korean were unavailable, Most of the internal market cars came painted in gold.
So, beige/gold reminds them of the old cheap internal market Hyundais, Kias, Daewoo's, etc. i.e. a poorer time.

example: Remember the first gen Sonata in the US seemed painted in gold?