My car came to me with one non-matching fender, which I think adds character, but apparently makes it look a little too jalopnik to a few other folks.

The past week I have shopped around for a paint job, and have been impressed by how variable the rates for a spray-n-run paintjob is. I'm not talking factory original, showroom quality jobs here, just get it close, and hope no one notices.

The funny thing is that the fly by night cash only places aren't necessarily cheaper than the reputable shops, and the quality of work seems to be independently of the price.

Place #1 - insert recent immigrant's accent - No need for you to come in, I quote on phone - for paint, I do all the time this work. I charge you $450 cash, but could be more if something weird or you need receipt.

Place #2 - Local VW dealership and bodyshop - 5 minute look at car, cost will be $1150 plus tax. Generates quote on computer, smiles and asks if I'll be leaving the car and will I need a loaner.

Place #3 - Classic car restoration shop referred by friend at work - Checks body for straightness, puts car on hoist and evaluates underbody asks if I want other rust spots repaired, asks if I want show condition paint or a close-enough colour match, blend or no blend? Etc. 45 minutes later walk out with written quote of $275, with an itemized list of other work he could do but a 2 week wait before he can fit it in.

Place #4 - Custom car place - mostly works on slammed Hondas and jacked up pickup trucks walks around car looks at fender - I can do this for $800, bring it by tomorrow. Nothing in writing.

So obviously I am leaning toward the shop my friend referred me to. Both because of the professionalism and the thoroughness of the quote. I wonder if he takes a lower price up front counting on the other work he generates in his quote. And you know if the paint job looks good at the end of the day, I wouldn't mind going back for the other stuff. I wonder if he has a wait for the work because he spends 45 minutes on what the other guys take 5-10 minutes to do, or because he really is good and has a lot of business waiting.

We'll soon find out...

wow...
I want that guy's shop near me!

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#3 has a wait because he's good. Take the guy with the referral independent of cost, even though his is cheaper.

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Wow.

Dealers are a non-starter as they are insurance-job based and in my experience, charge accordingly for anything they do (insurance jobs generally are 30-50 percent more than 'street' rates).

Too bad I am so far away, I would like to meet the guy in #1, just for a laugh. "Something weird"?

The restorer may be smart enough that he sees a potential full job from you on the car, some day down the road. But that level of attention is impressive on an estimate like that, even if putting on the hoist was to see if he could upsell into some floor repairs....

When I had the complete paint done on my w116 back in 2001, I had estimates from $1700 to $4700 and as you found, the apparent look of the place had little bearing on what was proposed.

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Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

There's no way that #3 guy can paint a car for $275 and it look good or last.
Beware beware beware.
I promise you, you won't be happy in about 5 or so months, heck I say a lot sooner.
Decent paint for a whole car and not clear coat needed paint is about $100 a gallon or better. Junk paint can be had for cheaper, but it fades and never shines good.



Eta:
To do a good job and not as spray and pray.
Just to prep the car would take 1 to 2 days.
And to tape it off at least a half day.
Just in labor on A mediocre job would be 8 to 10 hours times their shop rate.
Then you have paint and shop supplies, $275 just don't add up.

Yeah - #1 was all "Special deal for you Boss Guy. I love you long time." I try to support folks who are new here and have assisted a few people who immigrated, but this dude oozed of bad business.

I knew walking in that the dealership would be a no-go, but I was curious just how much.

The other two were pretty much a crapshoot before I walked in.

Of the lot #4 pretty much lived up to the stereotype of a slum bodyshop - from the bloodshot eyes and stale alcohol smell to the mess around the shop, etc. I didn't walk away, I ran.

I'll schedule with the good guy for after Christmas, and try to get the holes in the floor sealed up before then to get it through safety. Now I need to train myself on a welder.

I think we are talking one fender here from what prospector was saying up top, not the whole shebang.

For 275 to paint the whole car, the guy has been huffing some fumes!

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maaaaaco will paint da whole car for $499, of course it'll look like crap but, we knew that.

I did have them do one of the Metro convertibles a few years back and it's held up, but it's a Metro....I didn't really care much and wife wanted it shiny.

-e

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Well, a Metro takes 1/4 the amount of paint a full sized MB would need. LOL

One of my neighbors has a friend that was going to paint my grey car for $600+paint. He did not speak a lick of English, so she translated. I said that I would take all the trim and lights off before hand. He said he could just tape over it. I started to change my mind after that statement.

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you really do get a decent deal from maaco as far as im concerned, if you expect a 500 dollar job. I had them paint my work van for 500 bucks, and 3 years later it still looks presentable.

I might spring for the more expensive job eventually, they did a fabulous taping job though. No overspray, perfect lines, ect.

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Correct... and I agree.

# 3 might be more of a hobby shop than an actual business considering the price and time looking at car, quality of work might be excellent, no way to tell. But don't use his price as an comparison.

Hobby shops are more prevalent in the automotive world than one might think, owners in this realm have rental property, a former business, family had $, and they are now playing.

I know of four such shops of the top of my head.

One builds race motors and has some non visible source of income.

One is an automotive machine shop that makes somewhat of a living from drag racing.

One built a food distribution company from nothing then years later sold it off and went in to old car sales just to have a toy box. ( I know this to be a 100% certainty )

Family had old money, guy had race car shop mostly to work on his own needs.

All of these guys were in the 40 to 65 YO range.

MAACO is OK, really. I do paint and if I don't have time or want to do it for some reason I take mine to them. Where they cut corners is prep - and they HAVE to cut corners to stay in business at their prices. Here in Wilmington they use R&M urethane paint - nothing wrong with that.

The better prepped you take the car to them the better a job you'll get. At least pull as much (lights, mirrors, trim, etc.) as you can and you'll get decent work. They spray more paint than anyone and (unless you get a guy who's working his first day) they lay down a nice job.

PREP, PREP, PREP!!!!

Dan

Don't know what paint they use here in Raleigh, it's held up. I've got to take it back to them and have them paint the hood since I rolled a forest rat up over the hood on that Metro last year. I've been hitting a lot of deer.

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Eric, CPO, Submarines, retired.
Here's a sig line...
Mine: '68 Corvette LS1/4L65E, 83 240D, 2000 GMC 4x4, 08 FLSTC Anniv
Hers: '72 Corvette 454/4spd, '99 MB SLK, '93 Metro vert, 78 240D, '92 Silverado, '65 Fjord Rustang, '59 Fjord Fairlane, '17 Slingshot.

I know a single fender is different than painting an entire car, but I just finished shopping for a complete paint job for my 1982 300sd in Massachusetts. The guy I settled on is local and came highly recommended. He owns and runs his own shop and is a one man show. I know nothing about paint and he must have spent a good half hour or 45 minutes explaining the process, pointing out things on the car I didn't realize or see myself. He insisted that in order to do a good job everything would have to be taken off the car. Bumpers, body cladding, grill, all lights, chrome door trim, mirrors, door handles, trunk weather seal, rear badges, etc. He then took me out into his storage area and showed me a couple of custom cars he owned that highlighted his work. Took me about two months to get it in, but I feel confident that I chose a guy that works by himself for himself and relies on word of mouth for his business to be successful and will do a quality job for a fair price.

$2500.00 to $3000.00 gets one small surface rust spot under the cladding repaired, small stone chips across the hood and a few very small dents here and there fixed, base coat 040 black, cleared and then color sanded and buffed.