swimmingly

I wish I had the time and facilities to paint my own car, but unfortunately I don't.

With that being said, I'm thinking about shopping around for places that can repaint my car. I have a LOT of little dings that have really been bothering me, I had a minor collision on the passenger fender/door that is very unsightly and makes it so that the passenger window does not fully close, and the hood is starting to fade most likely from the heat of the engine bay.

So...my questions:
What can I expect for each price range? sub $500, sub $1k, $2k, etc (Is it even worth spending more than $1k on a car that's probably worth less than $6k?)

Are there any special paints or techniques I should enquire about? Along that line, what are some good questions to ask with regards to ensuring I get a quality job done?

Timewise, how long does a good job take?

Any major or common mistakes or bad techniques I should listen for or ask about?

I plan to repaint with the original color. My idea is that it will still look stock and in good taste. How noticeable will the repaint be if in the same color?

Airflite40

If you can, try to do the body work yourself. That should save $.

If you are looking for a decent paintjob on a tiny budget, one lister had good some success with stripping the car himself.
Basically do all the prep work, remove all trim etc, then take it to like a Maaco and get them to spray the car for like $500.

Porsche-O-Phile

Body shops are ALWAYS a rip-off.

Unless you're going to pay mega-top-dollar for a one-off restoration job by a place that will put individual care and attention into the car, you'll likely be going to a "mill" at which the driving philosophy is "crank 'em out as quickly as possible". As such, you can potentially get anything from shop monkeys that'll grind off your galvanizing to bondo-slappers to "close enough-ers" on the color-matching all in the name of getting it out the door as quickly as possible and collecting a check.

I 100% agree that (1) body work sucks (I utterly hate doing it) and (2) if you want to find someone that'll put the level of care and attention into the car you want you'll either pay out the nose for it (i.e. probably over $10k) or you better learn and do yourself.

Sorry, but thems the breaks. I'm in the same predicament and as much as I hate doing body & paint work, I trust my own relatively inexperienced self in these matters more than any "hired gun" that won't leave me with a humongous hole in my wallet.

01gt eibach

I understand the author of this thread exactly. My 944 was supposed to be only a cheap commuter for me. Mechanically it is truly great -- the previous owner dumped a fortune into it mechanically to get it running like a top. The only things it truly "needed" was re-installing the stock airbox along w/ undoing some minor engine mods (must meet CA smog standards), a new alternator, and another $500 for parts & labor to get the AC up to snuff. But seeing its potential, I went much further:
-- fixed up the interior (some new switches, steering wheel, holes patched, shifter/boot, CF kit, etc.)
-- a new Magnaflow catback w/ hi-flow cat,
-- an iPod-ready Alpine stereo w/ 10" sub box (sounds amazing)
-- power doorlock actuators with keyless entry
-- beautiful 16" PD's w/ brand-new performance tires

Now, how can I not paint the thing and make it perfect??

I am going into the body shop on Monday to be painted for $1500. Luckily, my car's body was in amazing condition, w/ just a few very minor dings along with the front valence being toast (got a used one yesterday for $150). I am also lucky in that the shop guys are amped to paint my car. They say that they get all usual boring Ford Taurus and Honda Accord jobs, and are anxious to bring a Porsche back to life. So, I am likely gonna get a little extra attention. I am gonna paint it a dark metallic gray with a clearcoat. It should look pretty cool. Stay tuned...

swimmingly

01gt, where are you from? If things go well, please let me know, I might want to ask them to do a second Porsche.

01gt eibach

No problemo -- I will be posting the results of my car, both inside and out. I am from the SF Bay Area.

Darwantae951

My car is getting repainted as we speak. Not sure if you're anywhere near Dallas, Texas, but the shop I took my car to is GREAT! I had every dent removed from my car, plus two pretty bad areas of rust repaired (panels were cut out, new ones fabricated and welded in, then the area properly undercoated and protected), and a full respray. They removed all body panels to include front bumper cover, fenders, A-pillar trim, everything. All but the door glass was removed, mirrors and trim included, and everything was taken down to bare metal. He also kept me updated with plenty of nice pictures. It should be getting the final touches done to the body on Monday, then it all goes back together. All total with the rust damage repair, its pulling 6k out of my pocket, but I was very impressed with the work and customer service of the shop.

Plus the man that I deal with owns two 951's and had never seen a true "Silver Rose" 951S, so he was pretty excited to do it as well.

-Darwin

944J

I'm having this guy paint my car long beach auto body so by now he has lots of experience with 944's...

Burma Shave

Wow...I love blanket statements like this one. What would you suggest a body shop owner do to meet your standards? Pay his shop monkeys to work on your car until your standard is met regardless of profit? The problem with 944 owners (myself included) is that they want high end repairs and quality but the first response to a quote is that "the car isn't even worth that much!". Not my problem. After doing my own car I can say these cars are a royal pain to work on. Combine that with an owner with unrealistic expectations and a ****ty attitude and most shops will quote high to discourage them. This leads owners to lower end shops who will take in anything to get by. I can't wait till Monday so I can rip off some more customers to pay for monkey biscuits.

Porsche-O-Phile

Just pointing out the reality dude. Most shops won't (and can't, exactly for the reasons you state) bother to take anything other than a "slap it together and get it out the door" attitude towards anything less than several thousand dollars. It ain't worth their time. Since we're talking about $5k and up for anything of quality on these cars, you run into the issue of valuation - the old "is it really worth it to pay as much as the car is worth (or more) on a paint job?" question.

Answer #1 = "no" (you end up with a bunch of cars with dings and crappy paint)

Answer #2 = "yes" (you love it, are going to keep it forever and don't mind bending over and taking it in the ***). And you hope that 30 seconds after picking it up from the body shop, Sally McPinhead at the helm of her Suburban yappin' on her cell phone and arguing with her three screaming brats in the back doesn't plow into you.

Neither situation is very great. It's a sucky situation but it's the nature of the game. I never said I expected body shops to be benefactors of goodwill and to dole out their services for free, but similarly I won't claim to have ever known a shop that really gave a damn about the quality of their work (save for the big-dollar clients) either, 'cause I haven't. Most seem to figure "if it looks decent and lasts for 2-3 years, it doesn't matter because by then the guy will have sold it anyway".

Burma Shave

So "body shops are ALWAYS a ripoff" is the reality? Have you gained this insight while sitting in front of your computer adding to your 13000 plus post count? Us "shop monkeys" recognize your type the moment you walk through the door.

Porsche-O-Phile

Yes, I think they're a rip-off when you can do the work yourself for a fraction of the cost. That's the definition of "rip-off".

I used to sell & deliver factory parts for an Oldsmobile dealership years ago - our clients were all body shops that were repairing cars that had been in accidents so I've had a fair amount of interaction with 'em; I don't think I ever met one I'd consider "scrupulous". They were ALL out to screw us, screw the customers, screw the insurance companies, etc. It's a filthy business. . . glad I never stayed with it.

Maybe a good, honest body shop that still has a passion for cars and a love for them exists out there, but (kinda' like unicorns) I sort of doubt it.

Sorry if you take any offense to this - in your defense I'll say perhaps it's a necessity to survive in an industry such as you're in. It's fraught with scheisters and scammers and rip-off artists who claim to love the cars but in the end only care about the money. I can probably count the people I met in the automotive industry that really DID care about the cars and their reputations first (even more than the money) on one hand.

But honestly, can you tell me you've never skimped, cut corners or hidden something in order to get it out the door or to save a buck? Please.

944J

this guy didn't rip me off - http://mastermatchauto.com

Porsche-O-Phile

<------ Highly skeptical of above claim.

Burma Shave

So if I lowered my prices to the point that it was wasn't cheaper for you to do it yourself it would no longer be a "ripoff"? Using this logic you are ripped off for virtually every service you pay for including whatever service you provide your customers or employer...brilliant. I guess that makes you a rip-off artist as well. I'm sure your skills exceed every auto tech out there. I'll be sure to inform my competitors and employees how much money they've wasted on tools, training, equipment and certification. Do we "cut corners" in order to meet insurance deadlines and price expectations? If you would like to use that term yes we do. That is called maximizing efficiency.What we don't do is deliver an inferior product to maximize profit. Our repairs meet or exceed safety and cosmetic standards set by an increasingly well educated customer base. We warranty our work for as long as the customer owns the vehicle, if we did crappy work as you imply all body shops do we wouldn't remain in business for long,not to mention the legal implications. This business is slightly more complex than mudding a few dings and throwing on a little paint. I never forget that the vehicles we repair are used to carry people and their children and represent a major financial commitment on their part. I appreciate the vast knowledge you gained as a delivery boy. I'm sure the collision repair industry in your area is still mourning your departure.