How much for a repaint?

[Rick Lee]

My '87 Carrera is all black and I want to keep it that way. But it has a few rough touch-up spots, two rust bubbles under the paint and a slightly dinged right rear fender. When I got it, I was more concerned with fixing the mechanical, safety-related stuff first. Now that's done and I need to forecast the cost of a repaint. Three places in my area quoted me $2500, $2000 and $2900. But that all sounds real low for what I've read on this board. I don't plan to win concourses and my car will never be a garage queen. Will $3k get me a decent rust repair and repaint? Thanks.

[JuiceMan]

I think about $2,800 is around the right area. But 3k is fine if it's a reputable shop.

[epbrown]

That price is right for a same-color repaint. Doing a color-change properly costs more, as does a restoration-style repaint, because the car has to be dis-assembled to a greater degree. I was quoted $7k-$10k for the latter, for instance.

Emanuel

[davis911s]

OK Approx how much for a total paint job. If I dis assemble it and strip it to bare metal? They would have to prime and paint and maybe a few touches?

I am thinking of this next year.

Shawn

[racemor]

I have gotten quotes for doing my 911E. To do a bare metal re-paint and fix some surface rust replacing 95% of the weather stripping and some deco pieces. I have had quotes from $5000 from the local hot rod shop to $7000 from a well respected Porsche knowledgable shop. That's with me providing the new weather stripping and any other parts needed.

tm

[911pcars]

When comparing paint quotes, make sure you compare apples with apples; as much as you can anyway since painting a car takes some skill and attention to detail. Among the elements you should ask about and compare:

Who removes/reinstalls trim/body panels; shop or you?
Who preps metal for primer/paint; shop or you?
Extent of body panel removal for prep and paint (doors, hood, deck)
Metal prep; remove/sand to bare metal, sand to good paint/primer, or surface prep only?
Type of paint (acrylic enamel, epoxy enamel, etc.) and primer
Extent and type of metal work (hammer and dolly, shrinking, welding, leading, plastic filler, fiberglas, etc.)
No. of coats (primer, color, clear)
Color and color change (e.g. red costs more than white)
Masking (interior, trunk, engine, wheels/suspension, etc.)
Total cost

Intangibles include:
quality of metal, surface, paint preparation
quality of spray (even application, paint thickness)
quality of paint finishing (color sanding, buffing, etc.)
Follow up service

After you get a feeling for what a shop says they're going to do, I'd recommend getting a few names of their satisfied customers and inspecting the finished product, then decide if the cost/benefit matches your budget.

Best wishes,
Sherwood Lee
(some prep/paint pics on my site)
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[robertinla]

In my area (Los Angeles), a body/paint shop tells me minimum $5,000 and can go to $10,000 and beyond depending, with an average of around $7,000. There are mass paint shops that'll do it for $2,500 but there's a difference in quality.

[rcilurso]

I delivered a car stripped of doorhandles, moulding, bumpers, wing, just about everything that unbolts including the interior and I'm paying $3500. Includes fixing a few dings and two thumb sized dents. I will have to re-assemble. Also includes attention to details like the correct rock gaurd on the rockers and inner fender lip. I'll let you know how it turns out.

[SRT356/911]

Rust is a nasty thing. Bare metal is not the way to go if you do not have to.
Sherwood gave some great tips.
Check the rust bubbles for old fixes. To cut out and repair correctly is costly and when you get it down to the bare metal lots of things may show up that you did not want to find.
As the 87's were dipped, there should be good body under there except for poorly done repairs

[robertinla]

The $5k - $10k quote I got includes disassembling & re-assembling.

[Bobboloo]

Since your not looking for a show paint job and the paint you have is in decent shape you might want to just polish it out and fix the bad spots. Good paint shops can color match and blend really well. Also Bob Anziano ,who does great paint jobs in Socal, isn't a fan of bare metal repaints if the base is in good shape.

[Formerly Steve Wilkinson]

It probably varies by region--I'm in New York about 60 miles north of Manhattan on the non-posh west side of the Hudson--but there's an outstanding body shop here (Quality Autobody, Vail's Gate) that is not at all a boutique, they do lots of insurance work and truck painting and graphics. The place is owned by a friend of mine, his father ran it before him, been here almost half a century, and he said $5,000 to do a quality repaint of a 911. Nothing special, just a remove-everything-removable job that included painting stuff like hood and hatch undersides and door jambs and sills.

Stephan

[H20911]

get references.... find out from former customers if they were happy. the shop that painted my car painted my Toyota twice. first one because it needed it. Then I was hit and they repainted it again. They did a good job both times so I gave them the porsche......Huge aggravating mistake. Well they went out of business and I got my car back in a box (9 months later). It is no fun trying to find all the little pieces of your car as they are shutting the doors (many of the parts were just gone). cut wiring, many missing little parts, CD changer full of body dust...... etc. Yes he got my money (3500.00) and I got an education.

I wish him a miserable death.......oops, did I say that out loud? Maybe that is too harsh but I do wish him whatever he has coming to him.

steve

[Kemo]

it seems that if the customer were to strip the trim, bumpers, glass, ect... sand or strip the existing paint, spray the primer themselves, the only thing the paint shop would need to do would be some finish prep, tape and spray. And...if the customer provides the paint... I guess im trying to figure out why it costs over 3 grand just to spray a car, especially if all the grunt work is done by the customer? do people just add a grand or two to the cost simply because its a porsche? I mean...a paint job is a paint job, wheather it is a riced out Honda or a Porsche 911.

[cds72911]

I'd be surprised if a shop would do a deal like that, unless you have an "in" with the owner or a person that works there. There is no money in the spraying of the car - spraying doesn't take much time at all.

It is kind of like asking a mechanic to do a clutch job but you'll provide the parts disassemble and reassemble the car. How can they run a business like that? They make money on parts markup and labor...

Don't get me wrong, I'm a do-it-yourselfer for almost everything. But I try to keep in mind the fact that body shops and mechanics have to make a living too. If I'm going to bring them a job I can't handle, I expect to pay them a fair wage for their services.

If you're going to do all that work anyway, then you could even take it one step further - just paint it yourself. It is not an impossible task. Or, if you have a friend in the business, see if you can work out a deal. I've had cars painted for free, case of beer, etc. Be creative.

Cheers.

[911pcars]

Just as there are shops that prefer to do it all from start-to-finish, there are probably a lot of folks out there who wouldn't mind just doing a portion of the job, especially if their liability (or ability) was limited to only one aspect of a paint job (R&R trim, metal work, sanding, spraying, color-sanding/detailing, etc.). It's just a matter of finding folks who do this and do a good job in exchange for a fair price for their efforts.

It's like a general building contractor who, instead of doing all the work himself, subs out various/some parts of the job to specialty trades who can do the job cheaper (and often better) than he can. You assume this role when you want your hardwood floor sanded/refinished, your plumbing fixed or your weeds pulled. The customer who wants full service pays for the contractor's knowledge of skilled tradesmen ... a time and a place for everything/everyone.

Go to area car shows and ask around for references. The yellow pages isn't the only source in town.

Sherwood Lee
http://members.rennlist.org/911pcars

[eurotech@together.net]

As a 20-year Porsche owner and shop owner (I own a bodyshop), I feel compelled to respond. In the bodyshop business, there is generally no profit in repainting cars for under $5,000, at least. Body shops make their money on insurance collision work. Think about the costs involved in painting a 911: first, the car must be disassembled, then sanded completely, then have any necessary bodywork done, then sanded and examined repeatedly, then sprayed with a sealing primer, then high-build primer, sanded and examined several more times, then finally painted, then wet sanded, then buffed, and then, finally, reassembled carefully. Just materials alone--the sand papers, the bodywork materials, the primers, paints, reducers, clear coats, etc--cost $500-$700. The labor involved in doing quality body is staggering--the endless block sanding, the careful reassembly, etc. I'm currently working on a '67 911S that needed a moderate amount of rust repair and complete paint. This will be a show quality repaint, and my cost alone--this is my cost, so we're clear--will be $10,000. I invite anyone who thinks that $3,500-$5,000 is a lot to pay for a paint job to go buy the supplies, disassemble their car, and spend dozens upon dozens of hours of intense labor sanding their car. I guarantee that before you've even sprayed a coat of high-build primer, you'll understand what's involed.

[Kemo]

eurotech, good post. With all this work involved, how does the insurance companies get away with low-ballin' people with the insurance quotes?

[rcilurso]

Agreed. Even with all the hours of work I did on my car I still expected to pay way more than I am. Any painter worth his beans will want to all his own prep work. Final coat is only as good as all underneath. I saved money by doing the disassembly, and allowing these guys to do the car in their off time. It also didn't hurt that I gave them the car on Sep 14 and said I would be back when the war was over. I think he felt like he was doing his part.

Be careful with bodywork. A good job can last a long, long time. A bad job may not last 2 years. I'm not so sure I'd get a bad job, especially on a 911. There are varying degrees of good jobs though and I guess you are the only one who can decide what you'll be happy with. I've found a reputable shop, with great reviews, a guy who is giving me a break on the price, and a guy who is taking care of the car while I'm away, yet I still feel like there's a chance I'm not going to be happy. I'm slightly anal when it comes to a car. I won't accept crap. But, that's why I drive a 911.

[david w.]

Ok, I have been through this twice on the North East, and I agree with eurotech.

My first experience for a bare metal repaint was 10k with minor rust repair. (71 targa)
With my new project a 73 coupe, this photo shows how it left my house and I am still looking at 4-5K for the work. Not to mention I had to beg to have the same guy do the work!
There is alot involved, and materials cost alot.

You get what you pay for.

Great satisfaction though!