To paint or not to paint. That is my question

I am looking for input from people on the site. I have a silver 328GTS. The car has 58,700 miles and has a few stone chips as one would expect.
They are driving me a little crazy.

There is a body guy in town that can strip the clear coat and touch up the stone chips and re-clear both quarter panels and the hood. His work is amazing. He promises that everything will blend perfectly. The cost of doing this is not too bad and is way less expensive than doing a full repaint.

Should I do it?

Will it affect the value?

Thanks for your input.

 

Sounds like your car is a driver, not a show car. In my opinion (YMMV), if the repairs are done well, it should not hurt the value of the car. Rather, I would think it would enhance the value. But the real question is -- are you planning on selling it any time in the foreseeable future? If not, don't worry about what it will do for the value, and just do it. Right now, the only one you need to worry about is YOU. If it will make you happy, do it.

And once it's done and the paint/clear coat is well cured, consider putting on one of those clear bras. They do a great job of preventing road rash and are easily removed, if need be. Plus, on a silver car, they blend in so well that most people will never notice it.

 

If the paint is original, there's no clear coat, it's a single stage paint.

I think touch ups can be done right with single stage paint, just make sure they use the right paint and go through the right steps in mixing and curing.

-F

 

Agreed, don't clear coat the car.

 

Rob,

Collect a few more. Once you lose count, they won't bother you anymore.

Barry
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Some people here say a 58,000+ mile 3x8 has no value to lose...

But like others have said, if you have original paint then it is single stage, not clear coated.

 

Now THAT is a HAPPY CAR !!!!!!

 

"Should I do it?" Yes

"Will it affect the value?" Not directly, but if you decide to sell the car a buyer will chose yours over one with chips if all else is mostly equal

"Driving me crazy" Crazy is good in some situations but probably not this one.

 

Barry,

Funny, another guy I know has a 550 like yours, and the front end looks the same, a million stone chips like that. Really, really bad case of acne. I wonder if it's something about the design of the car, or the paint, or both, that the 550s seem to do that.

BTW, if you want to get the front end cleaned up really nicely without spending a fortune, I've got a great guy in Caldwell. He did a friend's 355 and my Jag Vanden Plas and my 328 rear deck and quarter panel, and you'd never know they were other than brand new. And very reasonably priced. I'd be glad to introduce you to him.

Regards,
Steve

 

I thought only the non-metalic colors were single stage paint without a clear coat, but that the metalic colors were clear coated?

 

Steve,

You're thinking of Dave North's 550. That's what it looked like prior to my purchase in December, 2007. Classic Coach resprayed the front. Now I'm making my own road rash.

Barry
Image Unavailable, Please Login
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Yes. It sort of looked like this, Mark...
Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Correct...in that era.

 

Did not know that. I thought all the paint used by the factory at that time was single stage lacquer.

-F

 

What he said. I don't think a ~60,000 mile 328 is all that valuable (now or in our lifetimes).

I would go ahead get the chips repaired. It will look better.

 

If resale is your concern, wait on the paint 'til you're ready to sell. But since the chips are driving you nuts, we already know where this is probably goin'.

 

Paint it! If you are matching the original color you are increasing the value as well as making the car look better. It is extremely common to have the front resprayed "as necessary." I was at a show last year and it seemed like most folks there who drive their cars a lot do that whenever needed. An '89 328 that had had the front resprayed twice by the current owner drove in with a for-sale sign on it and it sold at the show for 54k.

 

That is an interesting statement, though since you didn't quantify it's open to interpretation. My initial reaction, perhaps wrong, is

60K miles == $30K
20K miles == $60K

I know condition is often overlooked but does mileage really drive the market that much? Makes me think there are still lots of inventory.

 

As a current 308 shopper, I'm seeing a roughly 30% price spread between low (<30K miles) and high mileage (>60K miles); translates to mid $20s to low $30s. Spread over a car's age of 25 years, its a somewhat hairsplitting gauge IMO unless one wants a collector car with extremely low miles. And there is a TON of 308 inventory.

 

Thanks for all your help.

I am going to respray the front end.

I do know now that it will not affect the resale. Yes $30 -35 max.

I know my car is a driver and I did drive it 200 miles this week! The temp was over 50 degrees both days without rain! Rare for Pittsburgh.

However, I would put my cars condition otherwise against most other cars out there! The interior is very nice. The exterior will be fantastic. I found a product for the top and spoiler to make them look as new.

To let everyone know, I have had newer F cars before, but am enjoying this car more than I could ever imagine! The paint issue is just a personal preference. If this is going to be the only F car I can afford at this time, I just want it to look the best I can afford for it to look. As you may or may not know, I did just have the the full service done in November.

FYI - Ferrari Party in Pittsburgh May 7th.

I hope to see some of you there.

Rob

 

Rob,

The respray will come out nice and you'll be happy. But I wouldn't take it to that body guy in town. He should have recognized that it was a single-stage paint.

Barry

 

You may have missed it earlier in this thread, but it's not a single stage paint if its a metalic color, which this one is, since its silver.

Fastradio confirmed what I suggested earlier about Ferraris, that back then non-metalic colors were single stage paint but metalic colors had a clear coat.

Best regards,
Dino

 

Definitely paint it. It's only going to enhance the value and your appreciation of the car.

Is Dave at Exoticars your paint guy. If so, he's very good. He did an outstanding job on mine.

 

John - Yes Dave Ley is going to paint it for me.
Are you going on May 7?

 

You will be very happy with Dave's work. He's a perfectionist. I don't think I'll make the Spring Thaw this year because the first kart race of the season falls on the same day.