944J

why? mastermatchauto.com is a good company...

I'll show you pics when I'm done.

Darwantae951

All this has become is an arguement. If he doesn't want to take his car to a body shop, let him deal with whatever his own hands can produce. As for me? I am VERY happy with how my car has been treated at the body shop. It's about to get the final touches then it's back home. It was a little expensive, but I knew it would be, and I researched body shops in my area. If you get ripped off by a body shop, you can only blame yourself for failing to do more research into the shop you chose. Burma Shave, keep doing good work. Definately needs to be more honest guys in that business. Porsche-O-Phile, best of luck to you when you attempt your body work yourself(no sarcasm intended).

Burma Shave

Sorry to be argumentative, shouldn't have taken this off topic.

01gt eibach

Hoochie mama, that's a lot of coin. Although, you will (I'm sure) get what you pay for. I am just thankful I do not have any rust. Sounds awesome -- post pics when you are done.

faze

There are talented and honest guys in the auto body industry, but there are some dirtbags. My brother was an estimator, and a very good friend is a body tech. He is freakin' brilliant with his work. He takes a little longer than some of the guys, but he always does an outstanding job. Unfortunately, his current shop is going downhill and he is looking for a new gig. There are a lot of factors in this as in the rest of life, and it's not always the tech cutting corners, but often management dicking around and making the bad calls. Do your research, and maybe make some friends. Couldn't hurt.

white924s

i'd say that its fair to say that the auto body industry is no different from any other - there is a wide variety of people and shops in it and some are more honest/upstanding than others and some do better work than others. I personally have had great experiences with the 2 body shops I've given repeat business to. Is either shop perfect? No...I could go on and on with stories about both, but the moral of pretty much all the stories is that both shops made sure that everything was right at the end of the day and while i didn't pay bargain basement prices, I got quality results for a fair price. Porsche-O-Phile, if you want to find cheaper maintenance and repairs, I think your best bet is to trade your 944 in for a prelude or supra - you'll find that you'll save enough on parts alone to save up for a quality paint job

Darwantae951

Absolutely! Actually if you go to cardomain.com I have pictures posted now. I also made a thread. My dad went to inspect it the other day and said the body panels were done and they looked GORGEOUS! The silver rose is really a beautiful color when brand spankin' new. But to bring this back to topic, I was VERY happy with my shop experience. And the arguement was fine, I just thought no one was providing any sort of substantial information to swimmingly.

-Darwin

swimmingly

I'd like to see pictures. Also, what job are you having them do and what was the estimate? I'm thinking about asking them to fix my fender and door and just wax the rest of the car myself.

Guns951

You get what you pay for period. I'm having a shop do much custom work, my car is the only one they will touch for about 4 months until she's done. The price is very decent considering what they will be doing, that said body work is NOT easy and to get excellent results one must employ excellent talent which will cost you.

99% of people out there would rather skimp to save the money or because they can't afford it. These aren't bad people or bad reasons, but you can't expect to skimp on cost and wind up with a paint job that will make a Ferrari blush, it just doesn't happen.

500

I ended up painting my car myself, went the whole nine yards (stripped the car right down, sprayed Glasurit products throughout, wet-sanded and applied extra clear etc.). What I learned were two things:

1) If you are starting out with a relatively un-molested car (no rust, accident damage etc.) and are willing to invest a huge amount of time and patience, then it is possible to do a paint job that really is nice.
2) I would expect to pay a LOT of money for a shop to do that level of job. Even taking into account how much faster an expert will be, as well as the better facilities (paint booth etc.) I still could not see doing a job the same way I did it for less than $7 or $8K and still make a profit.

However, I think there is a mid-point where you can get a pretty nice job for more reasonable money done by competent individuals who do have standards. Sure, if one wants to be really picky, there will be minor issues, but overall, the paint would be very good. It is hard to really pinpoint where this is, but I believe it might start somewhere in the $2K to $3k range. I agree that doing some work yourself (disassembly and prep) will help mitigate this (discuss with your painter though).

To find a shop, you may want to canvass your local PCA chapter and get some feedback. Once you have a list of potential shops, pay them a visit and discuss your goals. While you are at the shop, look for the following:

1) What types of cars are they working on? Having a lot of high-end cars may be a good sign.
2) Cleanliness of the shop.
3) Examples of finished work… having gone through learning how to paint, I now find I can mercilessly pick apart a paint job that previously would have looked just fine. If you have someone with an eye for this, bring them along.
4) Ask for customer references (and follow them up if you are really interested in the shop).
5) Ask what brand of paint products they use (there are many good brands, you just want to make sure that are using a recognized name: PPG, DuPont, BASF/Glasurit, Sikkens etc.).
6) Ask them to describe the overall process that they would use on your car (and compare what you hear from shop to shop). A good shop should give you a clear, understandable answer without B.S.
7) What type of warranty do they offer?

Approaching reputable shops in a respectful manner and addressing these questions as an interested consumer should help you find a good place to do the work.

Good Luck!!

harrisonrick

Unless you've ever totally stripped, primed and painted a car don't whine about price. Its a bitch of a job, especially on 20 year old paint, most cars have been painted already (sometimes way more than once) and you have to deal with old bodywork, etc, etc, etc...Been there, done that to a 67 Plymouth, a 66 Fairlane convertible, 2 914s and my first 83 944. I enjoyed the work and the challenge and I have the tools you need. It took me way longer than a pro shop as I did it all myself on weekends and evenings. What's my time worth? Dunno. If you're not skilled in this manner, pay someone who's been to school and completed the training to do it right. I've worked on cars since I was 14, so for me it was fun. I don't begrudge anyone who's trying to make a living and put food on the table for his or her family. Sure there are ******** out there, but the good guys outnumber them ten fold.

If you do your research as stated, and tell them what you'd be willing to pay, you get what you pay for. End of story.

Its bold to say all bodyshops are ripoff artists...perhaps they recognized that when you pulled in, you'd want a $5000 job for $500 bucks....I'd get rid of you too.

Burma Shave

My point exactly.