Baggerdude

My recently acquired 2005 BLACK Boxster S has some rock/stone nicks on the bumper cover, front fenders and hood. Nothing BIG .... just like a bit of sand blasting as the PO drove the car to work for 25K. Good for him .... but, now I'd like to fix these little blemishes.

I know this is difficult to pin down, but I'd like to get some idea of what others have paid to have the front end of their Boxster's resprayed. I don't mean just the bumper cover, but the cover, hood, and front fenders. I'm sure the entire hood does not need to be sprayed, but blend the new paint into the old about 2/3 the way up .... same/same for the front fenders.

I was also thinking about having a 3M Clear Bra installed (or something similar), but wonder what other's think about these deals. I have one on the '07 C4S and love it.

Anybody wanna give me their experiences? TIA

R2R

Sorry, no clue. It probably depends a little on where you are located too. I'd start by calling the best body shops in your area.

I love my 3M clear shield also, but it doesn't save the car from large projectiles unfortunately. For daily use when you keep your distance from dirt haulers, it works.

lilredpo

Ask your neighbor's who they've used for bodywork and drive around for some quotes. Great opportunity to drive and show off the ride! Most dealerships have in-house body shops or can recommend a local shop as well. (read Ford/Chevy/GMC/Totyota etc, I wouldn't pull into Porsche

Baggerdude

Thanx for the posts, guys .... but I have used 'great body shops' in the past. They do a great job .... but, I'm just wondering what others have paid. To get an idea as to what the 'going rate' is in various parts of the country.

I'm not price sensitive, but I don't want to have my head handed to me either.

So, if you don't have experience with having this done, I'd appreciate only those that do.

Thanx.

R2R

I'll call my shop in the morning and let you know what I find out.

Baggerdude

Thanx. I'll drive to my shop as well and get a quote.

bella1

Just had Phil at Eurofinish in Virginia Beach repaint whole front parts. Bumper Cover, Hood, and two fenders for $1200. He uses German Paint Spies I think and does excellent work. The sanding on the bumper cover was a large part of his labor. My 2004 Boxster Sold for $26,000

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/search...sfyc=&systime=

Baggerdude

I stopped at a shop that repainted my M5's bumper cover (new oem) after I cracked it. They did a nice job. The fella came out ... looked at the car .... said, "I'd say around 2 grand". Took him 3 minutes to come to this conclusion. No paper work required.

This included painting the bumper cover, 2/3 of the hood and 1/2 the front fenders plus filling the 2 plate holes in the bumper cover.

I had a few minutes later in the day, so stopped by another shop I had used, too. Dude came out with a clip board, spent 10 minutes looking, touching the car here and there. Making notes. Went back inside and on the computer got a 2 page print out with every possible thing you can imagine .... tape, plugs, plastic wrap, removal of hood emblem, disposal of waste, yada, yada. TWO pages ...... cost: $2046.

I guess I am a bit surprised. I figured less than a grand.

R2R

I just got off the phone with my body shop in the Dallas area that does extremely nice work. Off the top of his head, he said a front end re-spray would be about $2K. Sounds like there is consistency so far.

Baggerdude

I'm not sure I am prepared to pay $2000+ to respray 1/3 of my car. Heck, it's black not some weird silver metallic, eh.

I may run over to Maaco and have them give me a quote. It may not be the best paint job on the planet, but if it's 1000 buck$ or less .... that's kewl. Plus, who knows.

Anyone have any good/bad experiences with Maaco? I'd be interested in reading.

Jetpilot

Cheap can be expensive sometimes.............

Baggerdude

Yes, I was only kidding .... sorta. I did do some research regarding 'reviews' of Maaco. Of course, there were many more negative comments than positive. Folks tend to post problems more than positive experiences ... even on this board.

I'll try some local dealerships that have paint booths. If it continues to come up 2 grand .... I'll prolly just drive the car for 3 years and get another one.

Premier

Here in the Bay Area to repaint the front bumper alone from a high-quality shop would be $1000-$1500 for the front bumper alone. When we say quality, we mean 99% - no contaminants, wetsand scratches, clear coat runs, fish eyes - all aftermarket paint issues that we see from day to day.

Edwin

I had my 996 Turbo nose repainted by an independent body shop....they did a great job. No indicators that it had been repainted......$400. Shop around and look at recent work.... Expensive isn't always the best either....

Baggerdude

THAT'S what I'm talking about !!

This is EXACTLY what I'd like to see .... heck, I'd even spend $800.