I'm looking into it for a color change.
The cost is about $3000 U.S.
Has anyone here had it done?

 

I would think you could get a pretty good paint job for $3k.....not concours level, but definitely
good enough for a daily driver.

 

Buy some vinyl off Amazon and watch some YouTube vids. It isn't super hard to do and you'll save yourself thousands. First car I wrapped was a friend's Model S then I did a BMW 4 series coupe (def harder). Both look good years later.

 

Do you know a shop that will do a good job for 3K? If so I'd drive up to get it done.
Down here (NC) I've been quoted 8 to 10K for an OK job. Around 15k for near show quality.

 

If I was going to do it myself I'd paint it. I've done a few cars with decent results (the white coupe in my avatar is one). That was a few years ago.
Today, bad knees and worse vision eliminate that option.

 

I know it up for lots of debate, but I took mine to Maaco for an estimate and their price for sanding mine completely down, "fixing" a couple of small dings, and a "performance" 2 stage paint job with a 5 year warranty came in at $3200. Like I said I know there's lots of debate about them, but hey, it would be as much as the vinyl

 

Nowadays that is a very reasonable estimate, for a repair, sand, and spray, with a 5 year warranty. Wow I don't know any Body Shops, even hear in small town Arkansas, that would do it that cheap. Sounds like a deal if the quality is Good, or Better.

Jack

 

Rumor has it Arizona is the cheapest for decent paint jobs as there is alot of sun damage and competition, not sure I could do the 40hr drive though.

 

I got mine done for $2k. its a guy that does it on the side, at home, in a garage.

The body sanding and fixing was absolutely worth the $2k right there. He did a meticulous job with that.

The paint work, while not showroom quality, was at least what I expected. He bought, and showed me, PPG.

Then I had my car stolen and the front end was damaged. I couldn’t take it back to him, it was too far, and he was too busy. Quite frankly, I think it ended up being more work than he thought. He’s out in Gainesville, VA if anyone is interested.

 

FWIW - You can get your car painted "good enough" for $500, $2000, $5,000.
For your average $3000 job you probably get everything sanded, masked and painted with some minor bodywork.
To do a proper color change paint job the car must be disassembled to a good degree. Doors removed, glass out, etc.
Paint - You can get PPG Omni for $150 - $200/gal or you can get show quality Axalta for about $700/gal.
I shot my '93 coupe in my garage using pure white single stage urethane. No problem here. Easy to shoot. Looks fine.
I would not try that with metallic paint. My gun, compressor and skill are not up to that level.
It gets fussier if you get into pearls or the newer three-stage, intercoat paints.

If you're happy with a $500 MAACO job that's great. There is a place for that. I would consider that appropriate for my 2004 Honda Element.
For $3000 you can get a decent, driver quality spray over in the same color.
For a good quality color change job $8000 - $10000 is the going rate.
Show quality jobs are $15000 and up (some way up).

My point is quality, price and owner expectations vary widely and you get what you pay for.
You can get a burger at McDonald's for 2 or 3 bucks or go to a good burger restaurant and pay $12.

 

When I was researching a new paint job, the most important fact I found was the materials alone for a quality paint job are $2K or more, so that's your starting point.

If you want to get it vinyl wrapped this is my suggestion, put an add on craigslist under "gigs" and "labor" with "Vinyl Wrap Side Job" in the title. You're looking for someone who does this all day long because it is an acquired skill to do it well, but who is looking for some extra cash. I did this when I wanted to wrap the roof of my Range Rover to protect it from sun damage, and got some great quotes and found a guy who did a nice job. Without the shop overhead and if you order the material yourself online, you save a lot of $$.

 

MacAllen is spot on.

The guy who did my car....does it at home, on the side. There's no overhead, so you really are paying for paint and time, and not much more.