The paint on my '94 GT convertible is, well, screwed. In October of 2004, I lost control on a gravel road and plowed straight into a ******-wire fence, leaving scratches all the way down the passenger side of my car.

Obviously, that happened a long time ago and I have no expectations of salvaging the current paint job at this point (if you have any suggestions, do feel free to share).. I'm just curious if there's anything I can do ahead of time (before taking my car to a body shop for new paint) to cut down on the overall cost of a new paint job?

I've been told I can expect to spend ~$4,000+ for a new paint job, even though I'm OK with the factory white color. While I don't think $4,000 is insane, the prospect of spending that much on my car doesn't really seem all that appealing (it would probably be lucky to be worth much over $5,000-$6,000, even after the new paint job).. I don't know, maybe I'm just being unrealistic? :|

Any tips would be greatly appreciated..I'm just trying to get decent results for as cheap as I can, since no matter how I go about it, it's going to be difficult to cost-justify repainting my 13-year old car. :/

Thanks,
-Jordan

 

Anyone? :\

 

Its hard to say man. Its nice to have pics but its better in person. Are you friends with the Bodyshop thats doing the work. You may ask them the same question (If you know them). They maybe able to give you some advice. But probably not much.

 

You Guys don't have Maaco?

 

I'm not wasting money by taking my car to Maaco.

It needs a full paint job, not a half-assed touchup job. It's much to far past that point..

And I'm thinking I may just cave and buy the midnight purple paint that I want, even though it's probably going to cost me $6,000-$8,000.. ;(

-Jordan

 

I think if the car is only worth 5-6k dont waist your money. I likethe macco or 1 day paint idea if you really want to keep the car.

 

it wont coast more then $2,500 if there is not alot of body work. and i would do anything if you dont know what your doing it could cost you more. if they say it will be more then $2500 tell them to F off. when i painted cars before i joined the army thats the most i would charge for a one color complete factory looking paint job on a car

 

there isn't a body shop that will paint a COMPLETE car for 2500! Its the truth and thats life. I own a bodyshop up here in Wisconsin. The car is a 94; so ithas clearcoat. Generally any car built after 1990 has clearcoat. I know there are exceptions, but that is the general rule of thumb. Figure it this way- you get what you pay for! Look at some of the cars the shop has done, and then make a decision. If someone paid five grand to have that shop paint his car, and It looks better than new; consider that shop. Just my 2 cents.

 

yeah. you def get what you pay for in the paint category. paint jobs range anywhere from $250(maaco) up to $20k and more for a show quality job. i got a repaint on my 94 for about $1200 but the guy that owned the shop has been good friends of the family for a while so we got it at a very discounted rate. it prob should have been 2500 or so. its def not a showcar paint job, but it still looks great and has help up fine for almost 4 years now. and you could talk to the shop about what you could do to cut down costs, by doing some of the prep yourself. but i wouldnt reccomend that if you dont have some previous experience because you can end up making it worse than it is already. I personally wouldnt spend $6k on paint for my car becuase the car itself is hardly worth that, and im not really planning on making it a show car. but i guess it all depends on what you are trying to do with the car. if you just want it to look decent, or if you want it to be show quality.

 

well the shop i worked for in maine charged 2500 for a same color, no jams and no body work paint job