The simple answer is yes, especially if you plan on holding onto your car long enough for it to attain classic status. “Everybody talks about Resale Red,” says Mike Fairbairn, a founding partner at RM Auctions Inc. Red is perennially popular with buyers but, according to Fairbairn, not all colors are so lucky. “The other conventional wisdom is that you can’t sell green.”

Fairbairn advises owners—specifically those in the classic car world—to think carefully when choosing a color. “Choose a period color that people would consider iconic for that model.” A color should also apply to the type of car, with darker hues working well with formal luxury vehicles like a vintage Rolls-Royce.

For some makes and models, color can add enormous value. When it comes to 1960s-era muscle cars, Fairbairn says the whole vehicle is valued according to what color it was when it left the factory. “God help you if it was hideous green,” says Fairbairn with a chuckle. Whether the owner likes it or not, the car is more valuable in an unattractive but entirely original color scheme.

2010 Dodge Challenger R/T & Dodge Challenger SRT8

Fairbairn explains that buyers of certain classic Chrysler muscle cars, for example, will pay up to “one third more” for cars finished in wacky period colors like “Plum Crazy” purple. No wonder Chrysler brought back some of these lurid hues for its modern lineup of vehicles, including the Challenger coupe.

“Chrysler understands that there’s a strong emotional bond drivers can have with their cars, and color takes that feeling and personalizes it,” says Jim Parker, Head of Chrysler’s Exterior Color & Trim Studio. “Think about it; the color of a car can really make or break a great design.”

“When we developed the new Challenger tribute colors, we went back in our archives and found the original color standards that were developed in the late-60s for these wild colors,” says Parker. These Challenger tribute colors have included “TorRed,” “B5 Blue” and, of course, “Plum Crazy.”

“We're topping off the 2010 model year now by introducing a limited run of new Furious Fuchsia, a tribute to the outrageous 70’s color Panther Pink,” says Parker.