A survey by the National Association of Fleet Resale Dealers (NAFRD) revealed that, in 1991, white cars had the highest resale value and were the easiest to sell. Green colored cars continue to be the most difficult to sell and had the lowest resale value, according to surveyed fleet resale dealers. A white car can sell for a much as $546.50 more than a comparably equipped green-colored car.

The NAFRD survey, which was completed in October 1992, identified the best selling out-of-service fleet vehicles in the 1991 calendar year, what optional equipment and interior/exterior colors enhanced resale value, the most utilized used-car guides by resale dealers, and other fleet remarketing information.

The Number One selling used fleet car in1991 was the Ford Taurus/Mercury Sable. The Dodge Dynasty tied the Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera as second best-selling car for fleet resale dealers.

The survey revealed that, on average, a two-year-old six-cylinder sedan sold for $655 more than a comparable four-cylinder sedan and a three-year-old six-cylinder sedan sold for $487 more than a four-cylinder version. In terms of initial acquisition cost of 1990 six-cylinder Ford Taurus L sedan cost $721 more than a comparable four-cylinder Taurus model.

There were also resale price difference between full-size pickups depending on engine size. On average, a two-year-old eight-cylinder pickup sold for $773 more than a six-cylinder model, and similarly, a three-year-old eight-cylinder pickup was $566 more than a six-cylinder model. In terms of initial acquisition cost, a 1989 eight-cylinder Chevrolet C1500 pickup cost $555 more than a comparable six-cylinder model.

The resale value for a car was also increased by its optional equipment content.

Other ways to enhance the resale value of a vehicle are through mechanical reconditioning and cosmetic work. On average, fleet resale dealers spent $140.20 per vehicle for mechanical reconditioning and $183.36 per vehicle for cosmetic work. These costs are down approximately $20 from 1990.       

According to fleet resale dealers, fleet cars were also easier to sell if fleet sellers provided complete maintenance records; 50 percent of the resale dealers offered extended service contracts, which was a 20 percent increase from last year.

Cleanup fees were charged by 75 percent of the resale dealers. Of those that charged for cleanup, the fees ranged from $50 to $125 and averaged $76.15.

According to resale dealers, the most helpful used-car guides, in order, starting with the best, were Black Book, NADA, AMR, Galves (tie), Kelley Blue Book (tie), and Gold Book. The used-car guides that did the best job of adding/subtracting for high miles, in order, were AMR, NADA, Galves, Kelley Blue Book, Black Book, and Gold Book.

Vehicle Pickup Time By Resale Dealer Averages 3.35 Days

Of the fleet vehicles purchased by resale dealers in 1991, 51.3 percent were less than 100 miles away, 23.8 percent were 101 to 250 miles away, 22 percent were 251 to 500 miles away, 20.6 percent were 501 to 1,000 miles away, and 10.3 percent were over 1,000 miles away. On average, the time it took to pick up the vehicles was 3.35 days, ranging form one day to as long as eight days.

What Are the Hottest Selling Colors?

Fleet cars easier to sell when the interior and exterior colors are popular and appealing to retail buyers. According to fleet resale dealers, the exterior colors that were the easiest to sell (from easiest to hardest) were white, red, burgundy, blue, silver, tan or beige, gray, gold, turquoise, black, bronze, brown, and green. IN comparison, DuPont's annual survey of vehicle popularity released in May 1992, ranked colors separately for the full sized/intermediate cars, compact/sport cars, and trucks/vans. In all of the DuPont categories, white was also the most popular color with red and medium red running second. The full sized/intermediate cars had silver as the third most popular color while the trucks had medium dark blue.

The NAFRD survey found the best interior/exterior color combinations for resale purposes to be a red exterior with a red interior, white exterior with red interior, burgundy exterior with burgundy interior, and blue exterior with blue interior.