To Paint or Not to Paint

it all depends maybe with your current paint you don't have any worries about a chip poping up here or there and you can enjoy the car. But if you painted it would you be worried aout a chip happening here or there? Would you not take it out on a rainy day just because you gave it a fresh detail?

 

here are my thoughts...

you build cars/take care of cars for you. Half of the things that we do to cars won't increase their value, and we won't get it back. But if you can take care of that one dent that happened, and its on your mind everytime you drive, its worth it. (at least thats what happens to me ) Also, do you have pics on how bad the imperfections are? Can you just get a couple pannels painted?


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Take the anticipated cost of a proper repaint on your car and combine it with the sale proceeds of your 308GT4.

I'll bet that you could find a 308 GTB or GTS in much nicer condition than your current ride......it shouldn't be too hard to accomplish.

If you don't like that particular Ferrari however, then maybe you should buy a different GT4 that is perceived to better than yours.

Lastly....if you have to......paint it.

 

Paint is hugely important in selling a car, because if the paint is worn people assume the rest of the car can't be too good. I don't see any way you would get $8K-$10K more, but I could see you recouping several $K on resale easily. The difference would be in the thrill you get from seeing the car looking sharp in a new glossy paint job -- that's NOT trivial.

It doesn't sound like you have definite plans to move on to another car ("Maybe a 360 or who knows" sounds pretty vague.) If you're going to have it another 2-3 years, I would do it. If you're going to sell it in a few months, I'd say don't bother.

 

keep it as is. Save the $ for the new car.

 

I just got my car back from paint. There was rust on front left fender behind the wheel (infamous spot). I had everything painted exept the two doors and right rear quarter panel. Cost:$5200.00. I am very pleased but if it wasn't for having to replace the metal uder the paint a good touch up and polish would have done. Have you considered taking it to a bump shop for a good professional polish?

 

Shop and ask around. There seems to be quite a few body/paint people who moonlight which can save you major $ and still provide a decent quality paint job. While I'm sure there will be plenty of people on this board who will say they would never consider anything less than a bare metal, glass out paint job it's crazy to pay $10,000 for a paint job on a $20,000 car.

 

I have had all my latest cars repainted or touched up considerbly, it depends what you want I like my cars perfect, if I get a chip I know I did it vs a previous owner. Its definately worth it IMO if you plan on keeping the car but you need to consider the value of the car as well for the cost of paint.

 

I'd get a couple of quotes and decide from there. The GT4 shouldn't be as much to paint as some other Ferraris. You might be pleasantly surprised.

 

True. People think my car is perfect, but I know a couple of spots where it isn't. The car's new to me, so I'm probably going to spend the $ to get things the way I want.

 

I say paint it within a budget of around $3-4k. I'm sure if yu shop around you can get a very nice paint job for that price. You will likely get about 3-5years of enjoyment from the repainted car, which will allow you to save up for the next car while you still enjoy the GT4. Plus I think you will get about $2k more when you go to sell it vs. leaving the paint as is.
BT

 

If you paint it you won't enjoy driving it any more because you'll be afraid of chipping the new paint. If it looks good from 10 feet, you won't be happy with a cheap paint job, because it will also be "good from far, but far from good."

Leave it and enjoy it, let the next owner worry about it.

 

I say save your money and drive the car. I don't think you can recoupe too much on a repaint on that car. When you sell you will not get top dollar but you will be money ahead.

 

a good paint job is 90% prep. that is why the cost is so high. you should be able to do that work yourself if you don't need major body work. small rust spots and blisters are managable. buy a compressor, it doesn't need to be big, and a paint gun to spray primer. do a panel at a time. go slow and it will turn out fine. once you've got to car primered, take it to maaco for their best paint job and you won't be disappointed or broke. i worked at a maaco and if the prep was done well the final job looked surprisingly well. go around town and check out the local shops to pick the best.

 

Oh absolutely if you're willing to do the prep yourself you can save a LOT of money. That's where all the labor is.

 

11 votes for Maaco...I wonder if any of them are serious

 

Whatever you do, don't go Maaco. That would actually reduce the value of your car.

 

Having seen the car up close, I would say it looks good enough - Save your $$ for the next toy.