Value of Signature Red Color

aija SigX 649 · Oct 7, 2015

Looking for opinions on how much "perceived" value one would place on the Signature Red color. In other words, would a Signature Model X in the Signature Red color be more valuable than a Signature Model X in any other color? Is this a point of consideration for those lucky/fortunate enough to have this option? From a resale or collectors standpoint?

scottf200 · Oct 7, 2015

aija SigX 649 said:
Looking for opinions on how much "perceived" value one would place on the Signature Red color. In other words, would a Signature Model X in the Signature Red color be more valuable than a Signature Model X in any other color? Is this a point of consideration for those lucky/fortunate enough to have this option? From a resale or collectors standpoint?

I had red until the last day I could configure since it was a special color. Then I said so what ... I like blue better and the car is for me.

aija SigX 649 · Oct 7, 2015

Funny, my wife said the same thing ..you have to like it! Don't get me wrong, I do like it, but I may like another color just as much and am grasping for something to break the tie

. Sometimes too many options complicates matters - must be why I like Costco so much!

timf · Oct 7, 2015

I wouldn't count on getting a premium price for it down the road, but it could make your listing stand out and lead to a faster sale. Keep in mind no matter what color you choose, your Model X will always be amongst the oldest on the market and lack whatever new features get added a year or two down the line, so that will be a greater limiter of resale price.

madodel · Oct 7, 2015

No idea if the Signature Red is of more value, but it came down to Sig Red, Titanium and the Blue for me, I've had a blue car for a while and I just didn't like the way the titanium front end looked, so I went with red. I've never had a red car and would never get a bright red, but there is just something about this Sig red that really looks nice. Only have 2 more days to change my mind, but I think I'm sticking with Sig red with the Ultra White interior.

3mp_kwh · Oct 7, 2015

Sig Red is more valuable because whole chunks of time go by without it on the market, and certain people "have" to have it. I can say this, having watched, and bid, prices north of 89k, toward the end of Summer 2014. Then, having had a chance to evaluate one more closely, at least with the Model S there is a bigger story behind that paint. It's deep. Like .4mm thick, which I'm convinced is part of the candy apple luster that the color gives off. I'm pretty sure the other metallics are uniformly .2mm.

What I don't know, is if the MX sig reds are robot painted, versus the hand sprayed MS cars. If so, and if to the new thinner depth, I bet a difference can be told by putting them side by side. I am not a wonky person when it comes to paint, but became one in a recent experience that ended well.

Only my belief, but I think the bigger issue to sig red cars fetching a premium is that Tesla buyers buy from Tesla, who doesn't see it this way. They are such a "huge player" in the market for their own cars, that it's hard to see value deviate much from where they put it. The post-CPO market could be different, if Tesla becomes less interested in selling at lower price points.

aija SigX 649 · Oct 7, 2015

timf said:
I wouldn't count on getting a premium price for it down the road, but it could make your listing stand out and lead to a faster sale. Keep in mind no matter what color you choose, your Model X will always be amongst the oldest on the market and lack whatever new features get added a year or two down the line, so that will be a greater limiter of resale price.

Interesting perspective. I see your point in the near term, but perhaps many years down the line vintage would fetch a premium.

- - - Updated - - -

3mp_kwh said:
Sig Red is more valuable because whole chunks of time go by without it on the market, and certain people "have" to have it. I can say this, having watched, and bid, prices north of 89k, toward the end of Summer 2014. Then, having had a chance to evaluate one more closely, at least with the Model S there is a bigger story behind that paint. It's deep. Like .4mm thick, which I'm convinced is part of the candy apple luster that the color gives off. I'm pretty sure the other metallics are uniformly .2mm.

What I don't know, is if the MX sig reds are robot painted, versus the hand sprayed MS cars. If so, and if to the new thinner depth, I bet a difference can be told by putting them side by side. I am not a wonky person when it comes to paint, but became one in a recent experience that ended well.

Only my belief, but I think the bigger issue to sig red cars fetching a premium is that Tesla buyers buy from Tesla, who doesn't see it this way. They are such a "huge player" in the market for their own cars, that it's hard to see value deviate much from where they put it. The post-CPO market could be different, if Tesla becomes less interested in selling at lower price points.

Appreciate your insight. Do unique multi coat colors like Sig Red make repairs more difficult/expensive and need to be done in select/limited body shops?

BerTX · Oct 7, 2015

If I were going to buy a used Model S right now, and was choosing between a Sig red and any other color that a Signature owner was selling, I'd pay extra for the red.

If it were between a Sig red and any color 2013 or later, I'd pay extra for 2013 or later.

Lyon · Oct 7, 2015

I think if someone really wants Sig red (like my wife) it's got value. Otherwise, not much. We would have saved money and gone with a non-P version if we could have gotten it in Sig. red.

ModelX · Oct 7, 2015

I think it adds value on the used market. I know several people that love that color and are disappointed because of the limited availability for purchase.

AlMc · Oct 7, 2015

ModelX said:
I think it adds value on the used market. I know several people that love that color and are disappointed because of the limited availability for purchase.

I agree. Since it is limited to say 2,000 model xs worldwide it will, IMO, have a better resale value. However, I would personally not chose a color I did not like/want just for potential resale value.

MrJones390 · Oct 7, 2015

I would guess that you could get $2k to $3k more with the right buyer vs a black or white sig. Brown is the hardest sell.

Mark Z · Oct 7, 2015

While pricing may be a bit more, it's the speed of the sale that occurs. The new Tesla Sales location in Buena Park has a lot of used Tesla's. Signature Red disappears very quickly.

Buy what you love. Enjoy what you drive. There is always a buyer for the color you like, unless you paint it some very strange custom color that no one likes.

aija SigX 649 · Oct 8, 2015

Seems so trivial a thing, but this decision is proving much more difficult than I had hoped. Perhaps it's because deep down I may like the Sig Red color more for its rarity, quality and value, rather than its color. Not sure if that is enough to tip the scales at the end of the day though.

jasonsc · Oct 8, 2015

aija SigX 649 said:
Seems so trivial a thing, but this decision is proving much more difficult than I had hoped. Perhaps it's because deep down I may like the Sig Red color more for its rarity, quality and value, rather than its color. Not sure if that is enough to tip the scales at the end of the day though.

I completely understand - I went through this a week ago and, in the end decided I just wasn't a huge fan of the signature red personally, and I would be always telling myself I did it because of the rarity, value, etc. Given the total dollars at play, and the depreciation we will suffer, the delta in the paint is minimal. I would rather enjoy my color than justify it at every turn.

I feel your pain!

-jason

Mark Z · Oct 8, 2015

One question to ask when choosing color: what color cars have been your favorites in the past? I chose light blue when buying a VW many decades ago, but never chose blue again. Yet, the new Tesla blue is spectacular and I would highly consider it. I have always been fond of gold, and my HHR is that color. But the love of red started with a Cadillac that featured a stainless steel roof many years ago. The 2004 Cadillac XLR with white leather and Crystal Red Tintcoat was my favorite as were the Chevrolet Volt and Cadillac Escalade with that deep shade of red.

So look at your favorite colors of the past to guide your choice. When you see the Tesla Model S in person, what color paint do you like the most?

Roamer · Oct 8, 2015

I have wanted Sig red ever since I supercharged next to a detailed and polished sig red on a beautiful sunny day.

My opinion; The the sig red adds value because it is rare and beautiful. BUT it lowers value because it also says, very early production car. I think it's a wash. I see little to no collector value in mass produced cars and if there is any potential value plan to own the car for at least 30 years to find out.

So forget all the value arguments and just buy the color you will enjoy washing.

I have a sig red X on order to replace my wife's red 9xxx VIN Model S. I waited for the red production color and ended up with one of the first standard red model S cars. I also have a sig red X on order to replace my daughters red Leaf that she got as a hand me down when the red S delivered.

So so maybe I am biased. We seem to be in the red car phase of life. Ten years ago we were in the white car phase. I think both Tesla reds are nice looking colors. But then any color looks nice if it is on a Tesla and you are driving it. :biggrin:

green1 · Oct 8, 2015

Speaking as someone who just bought a used (or in my case inventory) Tesla, and as someone who has always bought used cars in the past, I can tell you that in the used car market colour makes extremely little difference in price of a vehicle.
When you're buying used you don't have the luxury of configuring the exact car you want, so you look for the most important features first, and you tend to take whatever else happens to come with them.
I feel lucky that the car I bought was one of my preferred colour choices, but that wasn't because I chose the colour, it was the first car to hit the used market that fit my 3 criteria:
1) 85kwh pack
2) autopilot
3) price I could afford

literally none of the other features of the car made a difference in my buying decision. That said, I think I did amazingly well on an awesome vehicle, but that was more luck than choice.

jdb · Oct 8, 2015

My advice having a Sig red MS for more than 35,000 miles is to go for it. We still love the color, if anything gets better with age. Had no interest in Sig MX, have production reservation in 600's, but did think briefly of doing Sig reservation just to get that dark red color. But friends would think we were a little strange (probably correctly at any rate) if had two Tesla vehicles with exact same color. Cheers.

Aljohn · Oct 8, 2015

Years ago, I bought a Champagne colored sedan. When I traded it three years later, it was listed as Brown. Check the listing of used cars/truck... they are brown, blue, white, green and red -- not Champagne, Sky, Pearl, Emerald or Crimson. There may be some benefit to having the Signature Red for a couple of years, IMO it's value will depreciate with time.

Value of Signature Red Color

Winged Lion

Well-Known Member

Winged Lion

Active Member

X at the end of a rainbow

Active Member

Winged Lion

Active Member

2016 S P100DL, 2016 X P90D

Active Member

'When the music is on...you gotta dance' (Go Elon)

Space Boat

Active Member

Winged Lion

Member

Active Member

Member

Active Member

Member

Member

Similar threads