How much to spend on paint job?

[SiberianDVM]

1977 Targa, with metal widebody conversion, done sometime in the past, good running 3.2L engine swap from my wrecked 1984 Targa with 230K miles on dynoed and dropped, resealed motor, 915 transmission rebuilt at same time. Has a good interior.

My health has not been good the last couple of years (4 back surgeries, waiting on a 5th) so I need to reduce my number of manual transmission cars. This one needs body sanding and a decent black paint job. Estimate today for prep and paint was $5000.

Does that sound about the max I should spend in order to sell it?

[fanaudical]

Will you recoup that $5k in the increased sale price of the car vs selling without the paint job?

[jpnovak]

That's cheap. Quotes around here start about $12K and go up from there...

[SalParadise]

If you can get a quality paint job for $5K do it. There is no one that will do it for that amount, as paint has increased in price and so has every other thing involved in it. If it's someone that you trust and they can do it in reasonable amount of time I would.

However, the '77 Targa with a wide-body and a different motor is pretty much the least desirable 911 around. My 911 was once the one to capture that title (a '75S Targa) but it being a '75 makes it more desirable.

It may make sense to just sell it as-is because someone will probably pull the motor/trans out and sell the shell anyway.

[Shaun @ Tru6]

I would be weary of a $5K paint job. A friend got a quote for $6K for his 928. No rust, no dents, just a basic respray. Final cost $14K. And they didn't do a few things in the original quote.

Be careful.

[nathanbs]

I safely use $5000 in materials on a “paint job”

[SalParadise]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

I safely use $5000 in materials on a “paint job”

Yup

[Jonny042]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

I safely use $5000 in materials on a “paint job”

And - 100 to 200 hours?

[nathanbs]

Originally Posted by Jonny042

And - 100 to 200 hours?

Absolute minimum

[SiberianDVM]

Wow. Thanks for the info.

I think I would have a hard time selling it as is, so $5000 is doable. This guy says he is booked for the next 2 months anyway, so in the time being I will get a couple more estimates.

[brcorp]

What's included for $5k?? What kind of paint?? Single stage?? Primer??

[AG81]

$5,000 is way cheap. I would do a $5,000 paint job on any classic car I own. Just had a pickup done from a friend. That cost $15,000.

[AutoXer23]

I got quoted $5000 to $8000 and he was talking about having to strip the car down all the way. Just got it sandblasted and I don't feel it's going to put a dent in the cost.

An autobody friend of mine always says with paint and body you get what you pay for. If you go cheap you get a cheap job. Spend the money you get a quality job. Just a food for thought.

Another option is to bring the car stripped down. I a few years ago I had my mustang painted. I gave him the car with the windows popped out, no interior, and doors off. It saved me about $1000 and he was quite pleased. Saved him time to tape off and cuts in.

Keep in mind that black is a is a troublesome color. If not done correct every flaw will show. Bodyman will have to put in the blow grease to make it look right.

Just a food for thought. Good luck on your paint job.

[SiberianDVM]

Painter said the quote was for stripping/sanding, primer, color, and clear. He works for one of the better paint and body shops in town during the week, and moonlights on the weekend, with the shop manager's permission.

[G450X]

Hey guys, he’s in Georgia - the “Porsche tax” is not as steep in the South. That’s one thing I really miss once I moved out West (Washington, not as bad as California, but much higher than the South).

$5k is chicken feed so to speak in California where a cracker box house might be $500k (and up), but that’s decent coin in the South. Wages are in general many times higher in California, so it’s all relative. If I make $300k in California, $15k for paint is no big deal.

I lived and worked in the Bay Area for almost 4 years before I retired. California has “special pricing” based on the area in which you live.

The car in question is a mid year targa “wide body,” which has had an engine swap. The 3.2 engine is a bonus over the 2.7, but we’re not talking a ‘73 RS here. IMO, $30k (or even $15k) paint for this car would be a waste of funds. He plans to sell it, and I don’t think there is much of an emotional attachment (based on the comments), so I don’t think he wants the best paint work.

I would ask to see some of the shop’s $5k paint work, and try to obtain some referrals of people who have had similar work to make a more qualified decision. If the referrals have had their cars painted over 5 years ago (to see how it holds up), all the better.

Sorry for you back issues. I’m afraid I’m heading down that road myself (back pain, sciatica). I love the involvement of manual transmission cars, and I dread the day, if it comes, that I am unable to shift!

[SiberianDVM]

Originally Posted by G450X

Hey guys, he’s in Georgia - the “Porsche tax” is not as steep in the South. That’s one thing I really miss once I moved out West (Washington, not as bad as California, but much higher than the South).

$5k is chicken feed so to speak in California where a cracker box house might be $500k (and up), but that’s decent coin in the South. Wages are in general many times higher in California, so it’s all relative. If I make $300k in California, $15k for paint is no big deal.

I lived and worked in the Bay Area for almost 4 years before I retired. California has “special pricing” based on the area in which you live.

The car in question is a mid year targa “wide body,” which has had an engine swap. The 3.2 engine is a bonus over the 2.7, but we’re not talking a ‘73 RS here. IMO, $30k (or even $15k) paint for this car would be a waste of funds. He plans to sell it, and I don’t think there is much of an emotional attachment (based on the comments), so I don’t think he wants the best paint work.

I would ask to see some of the shop’s $5k paint work, and try to obtain some referrals of people who have had similar work to make a more qualified decision. If the referrals have had their cars painted over 5 years ago (to see how it holds up), all the better.

Sorry for you back issues? I’m afraid I’m heading down that road myself (back pain, sciatica). I love the involvement of manual transmission cars, and I dread the day, if it comes, that I am unable to shift!

Pretty much on target. I was in love with my 1st 911, Bwunhilda, but she was killed by an idiot with minimal insurance, but I did get to salvage the freshly resealed 3.2L and freshly rebuilt 915 trans, and most of the Elephant suspension and Rennline trim. At that time my back was still good, but now I can barely walk. I like driving it, but it's really not practical for me, and I have too many cars, most of them manuals. I would like to see it go to a good home.

I will probably post it in the for sale here, once I get it painted, with a full list of the mods. Autometric Racing in Charleston, SC, did a lot of the work, along with the now defunct Exclusive Motorworks in Denver, NC.

[josephvman]

I'd sell it as is, because as most have mentioned a $5k paint job is going to be half-assed (by prep they probably mean taping paper over the windows). It will cost more to fix a bad paint job that to do it right, and most buyers would rather know what they're dealing with than trying to guess what's under a bad repaint.

[Reiver]

I had a nice paint job for 10k dealing with a local shop and folks I know....but 5k...they would not have touched it.
5k gets one a home garage paint job with cheap materials....and cheap material will not weather well.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by nathanbs

I safely use $5000 in materials on a “paint job”

Was going to say something like this. The cost of base on my 250 was over 2k just for the paint, and that was a while ago, in a cheap state and on a small car.
Job ended up being about 20k and I’m still not 100% happy with it.

The last quote I got up here was 30k for a TVR that I bought in primer with 10k of receipts for glass work from a vette shop (as in not needing much if no remediation). Car would have been worth 15 finished.

[nathanbs]

Originally Posted by Reiver

I had a nice paint job for 10k dealing with a local shop and folks I know....but 5k...they would not have touched it.
5k gets one a home garage paint job with cheap materials....and cheap material will not weather well.

There’s a couple guys on here that paint in their garage and they would still charge over $20k. It’s all about the time spent. For $5-10k how many hours does that afford someone to spend doing all of this very time consuming work? Anybody that’s half decent minimally values their time at $50/hr if not double no matter what part of the country. At $50/hr that gives 90 hours which is nowhere nearly enough to do this work