PCA 944

The time has come now that getting my 944 re-painted is more of a reality than a future hope. Its original Alpine White is faded and after 18 years has gained a hue of brown as well.

My family has a friend who owns a auto-body shop, and he will do body work and a complete paint job for only 1.5K. The question is what color should I repaint it. Should I repaint it with the original alpine white, or another versoin of white? Also how will it affect the value of the car?

Below are some pictures from a short mountain drive (california weather is great) in the Malibu hills a few rennlisters here should be familiar with. As the pictures tell the car has a damaged nose, if anyone has a spare nose panel for sale pm me.

Zporsche944

paint it yellow every one loves yellow. Or blue of Red I would stay away from white because white well its too white.

porschefig

I suggest staying original color unless your friend is GOOD and/or you plan on lots of prep work to get it right. A color change (to ME...IMHO, etc) is a sign that the car had damage or wasn't really cared for. I know there are cars that have HONEST color changes, yours would be an example, specifically if the damage is corrected the right way. But, when I see a car for sale that's been repaint it's hard for me to trust the history of the car.
Just my opinion and 2 cents

porschefig

how long do you plan on keeping her?

don't listen to my above. Do what makes YOU happy!

icat

My personal opinion is that you should always stick with the original color unless you're willing to do the enginge bay and all other "hidden" but visable parts. Besides, most every color ever placed on a 944 looked great at one time (when it was new). Even so, I kinda like the Alpine White.

Techno Duck

I would personally keep it the original color, typically i think a car looses value when painted anything other (unless its a very good job). White looks great on the 944 anyhow, really brings out the lines and shape of the car.

Blue S2

Personally, white really looks good on a 944. I was looking for a white car or a silver car before i found mine.

Actually, if you want white, but are bored of it, what about the White Pearl that Porsche offered! That color is awesome and different than having a solid white car!

michaelathome

Here's my .02

Original colors are good/best. Solid, non metalic colors are easier to hide repairs or faults. Metalic colors can be painted later to come close but it is very difficult to go back and fix imperfections if they were missed the first time before painting during prep. If you trust the body work being done I'd say go for it.

A complete re-color would be engine out, interior out, glass out and panels pulled if they can be. If you are willing to go down that road I would say go for it!

I seem to have a whacky colored '83 that I want to take back to original. To be honest I am not sure which is more whacky me or the color. When they did the re-spray they did a pretty complete job but I am now dealing with the lack of a good prep and finish job. They didn't pull glass, did pull some but not all interior and masked the engine compartment. Between the re-paint and the clear coat wasn't finished right and now the clear is peeling off too, kinda like a bad sunburn as a kid, you can pull it off in sheets!

For me it is going to be stripping it once running and a trip to body shop for media blasting and re-color. I really don't have a choice since I am pretty set at this point. What I need to be prepaired for is great bodywork and painting, big $'s to get it done which I am prepaired to do at some point, just not in the budget right now.

Keep it white. Spend the $ on the re-spray and make sure that it is done right if you are only looking at spending $1500

Michael

Serge944

Any old n/a is not worthy of the money and effort required for a color change. Keep it white.

Blue S2

Any 944 is worth, and worthy of whatever an individual is willing to put foward. Is it worth dumping $15,000 on a 944 for a showcar paint job and body work? Most people say just go buy another car! For the owner that is really passionate about THEIR car, only they can decide what is truly "worth it."

Im sure we all know that though!

Serge944

What I meant is before embarking on something like this, find a worthy candidate. "Any old" as in "just any" 944.

Kind of like doing extensive body work and paint on a car with a bad tranny, poor compression, and a terrible interior... Just an example.

PCA 944

To be far I know $1500 is on the cheap side, but I believe that is only because he is family. Taking into consideration the fact we are Persian, family is valued far more important than money. He only wants 1100 for the complete paint job, and 400 for the body work. When I had the car estimated at another bodyshop they asked for 3000 and 2 months to have the car painted and body work fixed.

While guard red is the "Porsche color" IMO, during the year I have owned this car the white exterior and burgundy interior have grown on me. Since I already paid far too much than its worth (don't ask), I have no plans on selling it unless someone makes me an offer I couldn't refuse.

PCA 944

Thats a good point. But considering the deal I am getting on the paint job, I think its worth the costs to get it repainted.

I admit my 944 isn't going to win any shows in its current condition. Mechanically it's sound. Once its painted and body work is repaired, it should look great. The interior is in nearly perfect condition, with only minor dash cracks and the typical wear on the leather seats. As it stand now my 944 is merely a weekend toy rather than a daily driver. Being in school my lame bike will be my primary transportation, and for other occasions a 91 Toyota Cressida (you haven't heard of it before, because its that un-noteworthy) which is only a "luxury" camry. Anyways, I doubt anyone here believes all the time and money they spend repairing/upgrading their 944s will ever be seen again.

The 944, especially the NA's, are not very desirable by the general public and hence their market value isn't great. Even with the thousands of dollars you spend on a 944, at best (just look at the nearly new 944 posted) you can recieve 10k.

Once I get a little money saved up I will "embark" on a low mileage S2, perhaps. The car being an NA I am getting a little tired of being passed at stop lights.

500

I would stay with the original color. Unless the car is stripped to an almost bare shell, it is hard to execute a color change perfectly. Plus, I would echo what others have already said: The 944 looks good in all the whites.

Looks like a nice decent example to start with, so a quality re-paint is a worthwhile investement. Best of luck!

AndyK

I like Alpine white!! Keep it original!