Can I learn to love a white car?

August 29, 2022 6:56 AM

I'm currently shopping for a used car. I've noticed that for the make, model, and features I want, there are a lot more white cars available in my price range than any other color. Unfortunately, I've never really liked white as a color for cars.

I'm well aware of the practical advantages of white (stays cooler in the sun; easy to match paint color for touch-ups; sometimes cheaper), as well as the disadvantages (shows dirt and scuffs more easily), but this isn't really a question about that. This is about the emotional side of loving or hating a color.

I'm not really sure why I don't like it; it just feels kind of blah to me. Or at best I see it as a soccer-mom type of car color which is very much not my personality. (I briefly considered buying a white car and getting it painted, but a look at other Ask MeFi threads on the topic has convinced me that's a bad idea and likely to look terrible for any reasonable amount of money.)

Do you have a white car and love it? Tell me why! Alternatively, if you talked yourself into getting a car in a color you weren't sure about and ended up regretting it, I'd love to hear about that too.

posted by mekily to Shopping (40 answers total)

My ex (very much the opposite of a soccer mom) only bought white cars because he was a car aficionado and in his opinion, white showed the lines of the car best.
posted by stockpuppet at 6:57 AM on August 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

White cars will reflect more heat = less fuel spent on air conditioning in summer.
posted by carriage pulled by cassowaries at 6:59 AM on August 29, 2022 [4 favorites]

I’ve owned a white car and when I rent I always try to get one. They are 12% less likely to get into accidents than black cars — something I consider to be a significant safety feature.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 7:03 AM on August 29, 2022 [25 favorites]

Best answer: Are you a person who tends to anthropomorphize (or at least, like, pet-thropomorphize) your cars? If so, I suspect you'll learn to love a white car because your car is white and you love your car. This was the case for me with my white Neon, a color and make I wouldn't have chosen but it was very cheap. Like all Neons it was an absolute hot mess, but I was hopelessly fond of it by the time it got conveniently totaled right before an inevitable head gasket failure.
posted by babelfish at 7:10 AM on August 29, 2022 [7 favorites]

I utterly loathe white cars and wound up with one (in a "premium" sparkly white paint from the Lexus line rather than the general Toyota colors blah blah blah). Day to day, it doesn't make much difference--except that I have a few more dollars in my pocket, because when the salesperson was attempting to negotiate, I used my DEEPLY GENUINE distaste for the color to stick to a lower number. So, y'know, that part worked out OK.
posted by wintersweet at 7:11 AM on August 29, 2022 [16 favorites]

I feel the same way about white cars, and black cars. I wound up with a car I only felt meh about. I would love to tell you I regretted it & not to do it but I can't. Unfortunately it's still just a car & it gets me where I need to go. The upside of not loving it aesthetically is that recently I had a parking mishap & there's now a big ugly paint smear on one side which I have no opinion about. If I actually liked how the car looked before I might actually be upset. The other good thing about not caring how it looks is it's absolutely filthy, I don't care to wash it and I prefer for other people to think it's not worth very much.
posted by bleep at 7:18 AM on August 29, 2022 [5 favorites]

Best answer: If you're into anthropomorphizing, as babelfish suggests, a nickname for the car might help. I humbly suggest one of the following: Casper, Ghost, Marshmallow, Snowball, Cumulus, or Jaws (cuz great white).
posted by nkknkk at 7:22 AM on August 29, 2022 [6 favorites]

We recently bought a white car. Nice looking wheels and a spicy interior might help. Ours has black leather interior with orange stitching. We saw some really nice multitoned interiors that make a otherwise plain white car more special.
posted by domino at 7:29 AM on August 29, 2022

I have a silver car but thought I was getting a white car when I bought it -- it was one of those end-of-year sales about six years ago, when you could get a screaming good deal on the last remaining cars from that year -- and the saleswoman said the only one available for the dirt-cheap price she was offering me was a white one. Fine, whatever, who cares. I'm not sure if it was while we were doing the paperwork or when I arrived to pick it up a few days later, but it turned out the dirt-cheap car was actually silver instead of white. It's fine, it looks like literally every other car in the parking lot so it's kind of hard to find but it serves the purpose of A Car. I kind of wish it was white instead because when I'm driving in the evening/at dusk, silver cars blend in with the road and are harder to see.
posted by jabes at 7:30 AM on August 29, 2022

I have a white car, and, while I wouldn't say I love it, it seems like the most practical choice. As others have noted, it's cooler in hot weather (which also means, in a roundabout way, more fuel-efficient), and less likely to be in an accident.

There are a lot of ways people spend money to make a car feel more their own, everything from hanging air fresheners and bumper stickers to, like, lift kits and overlanding setups and full vinyl wraps and competitively loud stereos. Maybe something like that would be good for you.
posted by box at 7:31 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Agree with the nickname idea. I called my white Rabbit "White Rabbit," and it was a font of Go Ask Alice jokes.
posted by FencingGal at 7:32 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

If it helps you get over the blah factor, back when national racing colors were a thing (think British Racing Green), white was the color for Germany.
posted by hwyengr at 7:33 AM on August 29, 2022

White cars are safer at night bc of visibility, and get fewer tickets and stops than red cars, and the colour blends in enough that if you annoy someone they can’t easily find your car later (like my cokehead former neighbour who kicked the mirror off my car a few days after we had a minor disagreement). They’re very practical!
posted by nouvelle-personne at 7:35 AM on August 29, 2022 [7 favorites]

I humbly suggest one of the following: Casper, Ghost, Marshmallow, Snowball, Cumulus, or Jaws (cuz great white).

I drove a truly tragic-looking white sedan rental for a week while my (black) hatchback was getting rebuilt after an accident. It had Louisiana plates so called it Blanche DuBois. The name helped.
posted by thivaia at 7:36 AM on August 29, 2022 [6 favorites]

My niece and nephew go to a swanky, swanky private school and we occasionally have to do school pickup. And contrary to what you might imagine about black SUVs, at least in Vancouver, white is by far the colour of choice of the moneyed class. So, hey, your cheap car might look fancier than you think!
posted by jacquilynne at 7:39 AM on August 29, 2022

Before I bought my Outback, I walked around town looking at all the cars to determine which color actually looks cleanest despite being dirty, and to my surprise it was white. I have no idea why that should be true, but it is. Also they show fine scratches less.

Then I turned around and bought a black one, which of course always looks filthy and shows every tiny scratch.
posted by HotToddy at 7:42 AM on August 29, 2022 [8 favorites]

Not cars, but I've had to get some other things in colors I didn't want (and I care a lot about colors). I find that it takes me a while but usually my taste ends up adjusting so that I wind up enjoying the color despite my initial feelings.

(Regarding white, I wouldn't have associated it with soccer moms. To me, it's a bright bold color in a sea of tasteful, boring greys and blacks and navy blues. It's the color of cars in sunlit lands. I don't know what your preferred look is, but if you like fun you might paint the side mirrors or accent stripes or use some strategic decals to customize things.)
posted by trig at 7:46 AM on August 29, 2022

I got a white car because that was what was available in the model I wanted, it's fine. I'm happy to have a functional car, and I don't spend a lot of time looking at the outside. I generally put the effort / extra cash into getting just the right thing, but cars aren't something I have a lot of feelings or identity invested in and I needed a vehicle right away to start a new job.

I named it Iorek Byrnison, after the armored polar bear in the Golden Compass, which probably did help.
posted by momus_window at 7:51 AM on August 29, 2022

Can you think of it as an aesthetics discount?

I live by myself, and occasionally when I hear what my friends or coworkers are paying in rent for their (usually quite nice) apartments with roommates, I get a twinge of envy flavored with “gosh, if I had roommates I could be putting $XXX/month more into savings.” But I tell myself I’m paying a “comfort tax,” because for me the quality-of-life benefits of living by myself massively outweigh the financial benefits of having roommates. The framing of a “comfort tax” is a very helpful reminder that I’m making an active choice about what things I feel are worth spending money on, and it does a lot to quiet down those twinges of envy.

Along similar lines, I wonder if you could frame the choice of a white car as “getting a discount for the aesthetics.” I think our brains generally have really positive associations with the idea of getting discounts, and that might help make the choice of car color feel less like an unpleasant budget-based compromise and more like you’re being a savvy buyer.
posted by standard candle at 7:51 AM on August 29, 2022 [6 favorites]

I walked around town looking at all the cars to determine which color actually looks cleanest despite being dirty, and to my surprise it was white. I have no idea why that should be true, but it is.

Generally my experience too. At least, the dust I'm familiar with that normally makes my car look dirty is pretty light-colored and shows up more on a dark-colored car than on white, as does accumulations of dust if it rains a little but not enough to completely rinse all the dust off the car. Same with road salt.
posted by LionIndex at 7:52 AM on August 29, 2022

Finally, an Internet question after my own heart. A month ago I bought a used car after a long online search for a particular model, and when the ideal candidate finally surfaced it ticked all of my boxes except for the color - white!

First I told myself that my relationship with the car mostly takes place behind the wheel, so the interior is more important.

Second, I looked into accessorizing. I'm working out a color palette where white remains the dominant "canvas", but I am enhancing it here and there so the whole vehicle is not just a bland white slab.

Colored license plate frames - check. Painted my hubcaps black to contrast against the white body. (Eventually will get new wheels altogether.) Considering swapping the factory white handles with black - kind of a tuxedo effect.

You can also consider vinyl (removable) decal designs, whether something very specific (fan art etc) or subtle (stripes, blocks). More ambitious - vinyl wrap on portions of the vehicle (roof, hood). Wraps are not permanent nor last forever, but wrapping small areas isn't too costly.

My own white car is still a work in progress - but to switch metaphors, you can have a bowl of vanilla ice cream, or a bowl of vanilla with sprinkles and fudge and a cherry!
posted by thebordella at 7:55 AM on August 29, 2022 [7 favorites]

You couldn't pay me to own a white car, but my area is prone to white-outs. If it wasn't for that, I'd be okay with one. Something to take into consideration if you're in a snowy climate.
posted by kate4914 at 8:02 AM on August 29, 2022 [3 favorites]

My question is, do you need to love it? It's still the car you want, it'll still do what you need it to do getting you from point A to B, there are the advantages to having white listed above, etc. You might actually be looking at the outside of it for less than a cumulative minute every day when you are getting in and out of it, otherwise it's the inside you see.

I had a car I emotionally hated bc it represented my stupidity in crashing the car previous to it, but like, who cares? It served its purpose and I barely thought about it and it was totally fine. You'll manage, promise.
posted by greta simone at 8:14 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

Setting aside all practical (weather, price, etc) considerations since that's not the point of the question...

Most likely, at worst, you'd very quickly grow to not care about the color; as long as the car got you where you needed to go, ran well, and met your practical requirements, it wouldn't be long before you basically didn't even notice it was white anymore.

At best, if you're like me and you're real sentimental and (like babelfish said) tend to anthropomorphize inanimate objects like cars, after driving it for a while you'd end up loving the car all the same, and not only would it being white not matter, but you'd actually grow to appreciate that about it as well.

I guess there's a small chance that you'd continue to hate the fact that it's white and that the color would continue to color (no pun intended) your feelings towards the car. But that seems very unlikely. The most likely scenario, I think, is just that after a few days you just don't really notice or care about the color. If you can afford to be picky and find another car in a more suitable color that meets all your practical criteria, go for it, but if it's just the color, I'd say don't let that be an obstacle. And like thebordella said, maybe look into personalizing other aspects of the car to really make it feel like it's your own.
posted by CactusJack at 8:26 AM on August 29, 2022

I got a silver car because that was what was available; I had been on a waiting list for 4+ months with no end in sight, and when this one came up I grabbed it. I disliked the color then (so blah! so nothing! so ubiquitous and bland!) and I dislike it now, but it's a minor irritation (and tempered by the amused, "see how I right I am" confirmation of seeing 5+ visually identical vehicles in every row of cars in every place I ever park.)

It doesn't bother me while I'm driving, and the car is otherwise very satisfactory, so I'm not sorry I got it. Plus it looks less fancy outside than it is inside, which on brand for me.
posted by fingersandtoes at 8:42 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

I ended up with a white car (the model I liked didn't come in others at the time). It's been fine. As others have pointed out, a car that blends in with the other cars means you get vandalized less (my black car sure as heck got picked on by shitty neighbors), you blend in while driving/parking, you're less likely to be noticed by cops, and you can always like, stick stuff on the car or get a pretty license plate frame or something. And most of the time you're IN the car not seeing it.

Named mine Princess Leia, btw.
posted by jenfullmoon at 8:43 AM on August 29, 2022

I was in the same situation last year! I needed a car ASAP, and I was buying new, but there was no telling how long I would have to wait for the exact combination of make/model/trim level/exterior color/interior color that I wanted. Even the dealership couldn't tell me. So I ended up with a white compact SUV and it turns out, it's fine. I love the interior of the car, and that's where I spend my time, so I'm happy with it. I like to keep my car clean and I really believe I would wash it just as often if it were a darker color. The only downside is that I keep walking up to other people's white compact SUVs in the parking lot.
posted by neushoorn at 8:49 AM on August 29, 2022

Best answer: I will never buy another white car ever again. I've owned white cars in the past and driven family members' white cars. It's not that I particularly hate the colour (I don't love it, it's fine, but it would never be my first choice). The white cars I've owned were all used cars and the colour was the last thing on my checklist and ticked the box of "isn't an eye-searing horrible colour." When new-car shopping, I've explicitly turned down white cars and even refused to look at them.

Why you may ask?

Every white car I've owned or driven for any significant amount of time has been hit by other drivers. Yes, I know what the stats say about white cars and fewer accidents and white cars being easier to see. As far as my personal experience is concerned, however, is that all that data is a load of hooey.

I'm not a superstitious person. I don't believe in magic or mysticism or whatever you want to call it, but when it comes to being behind the wheel, I'm cursed when I drive white cars. I've been T-boned. I've been rear ended. (That's the most common type of hit--sitting at a stop light when some other driver who can't stop smashes into the back of me.) There have been other kinds of hits as well.

In contrast, my hard-to-see black cars have, so far, avoided this fate.

I'm only sharing this story, not because I want people to believe that white cars are cursed, but to say that a car is a major investment--and one you could be spending a considerable portion of your life in. To that end, a car should make you happy--or at the very least, it should make you feel safe and not resentful. For me, buying another white car would feel like tempting fate in a bad way.

For you, if you hate white cars, then why force yourself to drive one? Being in bad frame of mind isn't conducive to happiness or to good driving.
posted by sardonyx at 8:56 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

I got over it by pimping out and personalising the inside. Bright car seat covers, mats that sort of thing. There are a lot of fun after market things you can buy to safely add and to personalise your car and most are easy to remove for resale if that's a concern. The inside is the part you see the most as the driver anyway.
posted by wwax at 9:17 AM on August 29, 2022

Best answer: A lot of responses. None say they love their white car. Best is they have learned to live with it. It is not so bad. It has grown on me. If that is the best compliment one can give, it does not suck too bad, then maybe it really is a problem these white cars.

I think it depends to some extent on the make and model of your vehicle. I drive a Ford F-150. No chance I get a white pickup.
posted by JohnnyGunn at 9:26 AM on August 29, 2022 [1 favorite]

I don't love cars. But I like my white car being white. Cooler in summer, and nice and visible.

Also makes a good neutral background for all the vinyl decals I've been making. So far all of them are of mutant sharks. Mr Zumbador says they could be mistaken for a comment on Christianity or Rugby, but that's OK.
posted by Zumbador at 9:31 AM on August 29, 2022

Response by poster: Well. Thanks for the answers, all. I was kind of expecting at least a few people to weigh in saying they love white cars, but the best I’m seeing is those who either don’t care or have learned to live with it.

For me, since I’m not pressed to buy a car right away, I’m feeling like the best option is to hold out for a color I like better. If I ultimately do have to end up with a white car I think the best route to loving it is anthropomorphizing and giving it a cute white nickname. Thanks all!
posted by mekily at 9:37 AM on August 29, 2022 [3 favorites]

I love my white car (sorry JohnnyGunn, lol). I actually went to several dealers in DFW for the White Pearl Mazda 3 in 2011. So many colors end up looking dated after a few years (except black) but this just looks classy and timeless to me. I'm absolutely still in love with my car and it is noticeably cooler in the summer than my husband's car which is black with black leather.

I *do* think that certain cars in white or certain versions of white (ones that are more creamy than a cool white) don't look as good. If you're not a big fan of it, if you look at it as a discount for the color as mentioned up thread by standard candle, would that help you out?
posted by getawaysticks at 9:39 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

I love my car, just not necessarily the color as I would have preferred blue. But white was the second nicest color option, so...
posted by jenfullmoon at 9:55 AM on August 29, 2022

Thirding the suggestion of getting a wrap. My wife recently bought a late-model (=recent) used sedan loaded with awesome options and features. She bought it sight unseen via one of those we-deliver companies (e.g Carvana), and while it was supposed to be dark blue what arrived was essentially black. Bummer.

I told her about the concept of vinyl wraps, she was intrigued, and three weeks later her car had a FABULOUS iridescent green -- you walk around it and it changes colors :) It's silly but it puts smiles on everyone's faces and she loves it! It cost $3000 so ain't cheap but she was really splurging on the car and this fixed a sad situation. Something to consider.
posted by intermod at 10:21 AM on August 29, 2022 [3 favorites]

Since you were expecting some people to say they loved their white car… i loved how my sparkly white Mazda3 would shimmer under street lamps in the dark. It made me smile each time I walked up to it. I liked it so much that when I was looking to upgrade, almost a decade later, I went for another sparkly white Mazda6.
posted by capsizing at 11:18 AM on August 29, 2022 [2 favorites]

For me, since I’m not pressed to buy a car right away, I’m feeling like the best option is to hold out for a color I like better.

A car is a big purchase! I always feel like if I'm spending that much money, the dealership had better be prepared to track down the right color/trim combo, even if it requires them to scour the entire planet for it. (They were super annoyed with me last time, but I was super annoyed with sitting through the mandatory upsell session during the paperwork at the end, so I guess we were even!)
posted by Blue Jello Elf at 12:42 PM on August 29, 2022

i love my white car also. i specifically sought out the color to replace the same model and color only 24 years newer. it has a name, a character name not like a callsign. my accent color for stickers and whatnot is gold. i did things like put an art sticker cut to fit perfectly over the fuel door, and get the character name as the personalized plates. i speak of it to friends as if it was a friend itself, so if i say "#carname and I went to NextTownOver" they know i really just mean i drove myself to the next town over. i do love my white car.
posted by glonous keming at 4:43 PM on August 29, 2022

I have a car in suburban-mom silver and I think constantly about getting it repainted or vinyl wrapped. It feels so frivolous but MAN is it annoying to drive the same exact car as half the moms waiting in the pickup line with me.
posted by potrzebie at 12:21 AM on August 30, 2022

I love my white car! It's my second white vehicle (my high school car was white, too).

I have a little white hatchback.

Hatchbacks can be hard to find in parking lots, because they're hidden among big SUVs, but mine always stands out.

It looks like a sporty marshmallow on wheels, which I find endearing.

It's not especially dirty, I'm not sure where that comes from.

It's distinctive without being gaudy.
posted by champers at 4:04 AM on August 30, 2022