Cost of having a shop repaint our cars?

[monte11sec]

I know that this topic has been brought up before but I have to bring it up again.

 

I am looking for a shop (in Dallas Texas) to repaint my 72 Monte Carlo which would include taking the car down to bare metal, doing door jams, repair any minor metal damage that they might find and replace the vinyl top. I'm assuming that the hood, fenders, doors, and trunk lid will come off. I do not want a frame off restoration.

 

I brought the car to several shops about 1.5 to 2 years ago and got quoted $10,000 for this kind of work. Well, I put the job off temporarily but I am ready to do it now. The only problem is I brought the car back to the same shops for another quote and now I am getting quoted $20,000. What is the deal? The car has not gotten any worse, each shop has complimented me on how straight the car is, but the price has doubled. I realize this kind of work takes many hours to do and that these shops are using quality materials but $20,000 is a very hard pill to swallow. I am also being told that this is the starting price and it could go up depending on any unexpected things they find once they strip the car.

 

Is $20,000 the norm now? If so, I can't afford to get this car redone the way I want. Any suggestions? What is it costing other 1st gen. members to have their Monte Carlos done and how much work was done for the price you paid?

 

 

 

[wallaby]

I see your predicament. I had mine done 7yrs ago for about 10k, and had all the stuff you mentioned taken care of. I also had them replace the door hinges. I polished all the stainless myself, but they did the R&R. (it keeps you busy while they have your car).

 

I can't imagine the price has doubled in the 2 years since your last estimate.

[CrazyDavey]

keep looking Joe....I had Red's car done in August. We did strip it but didn't remove major panels like the doors. The top is good so we didn't replace that either and the body was straight. It was a color change to black so there was a lot of blocking. He charged me $7000 but said he would probably want 10 if he did it again......20 is out of line for what your asking...Crazy Davey

[CrazyDavey]

what I did was go to some shops that have some history of doing specialty cars. I talked to them and narrowed it down based on how well I felt they met my understanding of what needed to be done and how they did it. Being on the same page is critical for this kind of thing, I've learned my expectations are usually a bit higher than theirs.

 

Anyway, it's not always what you pay but rather how much you put into research. I've seen plenty of $20,000 that looked like crap. The key is body prep, all the paint in the world won't fix bad prep. I was down there just about every day making sure they were staying on course.

 

I'll put Red's car up against any $20,000 in town and it's black. Allan is right, you get what you pay for but don't just pay without due diligence..Crazy Davey

[monte11sec]

Two out of the three shops I looked at are very well known for their work so I know that the car would come back looking great but it still makes me very nervous spending $20,000 with there still being the possibility that the price could get higher than that if they find additional problems. I don't understand how people afford paying 20 grand and higher for paint work. Are they taking out loans to get their cars painted? How much does a frame off restoration go for....$50,000 and higher? I was totally prepared to pay $10,000 to $13,000 but nothing more. I'm afraid to wait any longer since the price will probably go up to $25,000 or $30,000 soon (the price of a brand new Mustang GT).

 

I guess I'll take Reds advice and keep looking. I wonder if not having the car totally disassembled could bring the price down. One of the shops said that the car does not look like it needs to come down to bare metal and that he may be able to make the final price more affordable.

[Andy's Auto]

What I have noticed is most shops will quote on what they think you will pay. I took Turbo Kitty to one shop for a quote and there was a guy who knew my brother. He said" you are the guy with all the hot rods right? Still got that ....."

 

Either way the shop told my $9,000 on a very straight rust free low mile T Type. I took it down the road to another shop and he did it for $3,000. It came out to die for, especieally for a silver car. And I got the car back with nothing broke in five weeks. He even did the wet sand a week after delivering me the car.

 

Keep shopping, get references and write a contract stating price, work to be done and warranty.

 

Andy

[kc8oye]

20k does sound very steep... Jimmy's yellow monte we did.. he had 7000 into the paint.. I'm not sure if that included our labor for most of the 'rough' blocking or not.. I would have to ask leo tomrrow.

 

[7tonemonte]

I can tell you that we do about 2-3 resto's a year mixed in with the collision work. Everything we do is totally disassembled,taken to bare metal, and fixed from there. 2 of the cars we did 2 years ago were fairly extensive,one using a donor roof from a t-top car,and one getting the entire trunk pan replaced along with a quarter panel, both of these cars came in around 10-12 grand,which was cheap in my opinion. It is very tough to quote a restoration, we usually just do time and materials,and keep a time card in the car for when we work on it. I would say to expect to pay close to 10,I dont see how they can quote you a price before stripping the car. You could end up needing to replace quarters and other major things like that, then what? Do they raise the 20k estimate?

[overdrive]

Quote:

now I am getting quoted $20,000. this is the starting price and it could go up depending on any unexpected things they find once they strip the car.

They've been painting without the proper breathing protection.

You can save by doing the disassembly and paint stripping yourself. Maybe you could do the reassembly, too. I restored a Mustang convertible for my mother-in-law that way, before my son and I did 100% of the work on his 71 Monte. On the Mustang, I did the disassembly and reassembly and all of the engine, interior, top installation and other parts restoration. A shop only did paint prep, shot it, sanded and buffed. I saved her a bunch of money.

If they can get those prices, maybe I'll open my shop to the public. Not.

[monte11sec]

7tonemonte: $10,000 is what I was expecting to pay and two of the shops have already told me that $20,000 is essentially a starting point and that it could be more expensive once they get into the car. There is no way I can afford to spend $20,000 or more on this car. All I want is a very clean driver that I would be proud to bring to a car show every now and then. I am not looking to have a show winner but I also want the paint to come back without flaws and I would like the body gaps to be a little tighter. I would think that I should be able to get that for $10,000 - $12,000.

[Dans '70 Z20]

I would think that would be possible in Texas. Keep in mind two very important things:

 

1- They can make $1000+ just for hanging a new bumper cover on a car and spraying it to match. Takes little time. Can do ten of those in a lot less time than a full strip/paint job. It will also occupy a bay for a long while preventing them from doing short/quick money making jobs.

 

2- The cost of materials to do it right is probably in the range of $1800 to $2000. That does not include patch panels, welding or anything they might do.

 

3- With a new car they know what needs to be done. On an old one when they strip it down they never know what they may be in for (we all know this all to well). The last thing they want to do is give you a quote and end up being way-off. They want to be realistic but still put out a product THEY are proud of. Ultimately your car will be a rolling advertisement.

 

Dan

[7tonemonte]

Very well put Dan!!

 

[stangeba]

Keep looking, you may find a smaller shop or even a "back yard" type place. Be careful and get references. My brother found a guy that did his pick-up for a very good price. He ended up doing much more metal fab work and didn't charge extra but it took him 2 years. The finished product is fantastic! Good luck. Bruce

[Jared Richey]

Thats way to much, $20k starting point? Have they gone crazy

 

You're not wanting a body off, geez that sounds like a quote for a body off!!!

 

You should be able to get a great paint job for $5-7k especially if your car is straight as even the shops have said it is

[CrazyDavey]

Thats way to much, $20k starting point? Have they gone crazy

 

You're not wanting a body off, geez that sounds like a quote for a body off!!!

 

You should be able to get a great paint job for $5-7k especially if your car is straight as even the shops have said it is

 

$5000...well yeah sure but don't forget Jared uses a roller.....

[kc8oye]

i talked to leo about this.. and basicly, with the labor involved to strip the car to metal, apply the body filler, block the body filler, apply the many coats of hi build primer and blocking... and ultimately application of final paint.. it's really not that hard to get to $20k.. especially if there is any metal repair involved!!

 

if you still think $20k is way to much.. i challenge you to spend the hours it takes to block one body panel to perfection on a monte and then come back and discuss it ~ I had 13 hours in my roof ALONE when i painted it...

 

obviously, the more prep-work you can do yourself, the more you can bring that # down.. dismante the car yourself.. do some of the stripping your self.. work your body shop .. you might evne be able to so some of the rough blocking with the body filler yourself to save money..

 

I've seen amazing paint jobs come out of a guys driveway with no paint booth because the trick is in the prep work.. not the application of the paint!

[wallaby]

The shop I had mine done at wanted nothing to do with prior prep. When they stripped off the old paint they also ground out all the old filler and made sure the metal work underneath was sound. I ended up needing a new door skin for a repair that I never knew existed.

 

There is some truth to this sign:

[monte11sec]

Don't get me wrong, I completely understand the time and effort that goes into restoring a car and I would never pretend to be capable of, or have the desire to spend the time needed to prep the car to perfection. My wife would divorce me if I spent that kind of time restoring my car. All I am asking is whether or not it is possible to get my car done for around $10,000 - $12,000? This car is more of a driver than a show winner (if I wanted a show winner than this would be a frame off restoration). I want to take it to the occasional cruise night, make the occasional pass down the 1320, and be proud to drive it on the weekends. The car is currently very straight but the paint is really fading.

 

I just personally can't see myself spending $20,000 to $30,000 to have this car repainted and I don't want to get rid of it because I have owned it since 1987. Maybe I would spend that kind of money if this was a low mileage fully loaded 70-71 Monte Carlo SS but it isn't.

[wallaby]

I can't imagine why your local shops suddenly doubled their estimates. I would expect 10-12k to buy a pretty good paint job.

Maybe this is their busy season and they don't want an endless project blocking their floor space? I'm just guessing but it doesn't matter...their rates are higher than your budget. It's time to shop around.

 

It isn't a good time of year for it, but I got some good leads from local car shows. I see nice paint, and ask who did it for them. I found some nice shops that I hadn't heard of previously, and was able to talk to the car owner about the experience.

[monte11sec]

Yeah, my plan is to go to this event called Cars and Coffee in Dallas this Sunday and talk to some of the people there. I hope I can find some new shops that way. If not then I guess I will have to save a little more money and pay the $20,000 once I have it. I ultimately want the car done right but I hope I can have it done right for less than $20,000.

[jim's 70]

Just from the outside looking in...did they get hosed on the last full repaint estimate they gave? I know most "body shops" around here only do patchwork/ collision work. Believe me, I need to get paid for my time, so maybe they have raised rates due to getting beat up in the past. I have seen shops take on full repaints in the slow season only to get busy and have that old car in the corner be a thorn in their side. I guess my biggest downfall is the benifit of the doubt. I have spent waayyy too much time doing jobs I shouldn't have and not adjusting the price accordingly, but I also refuse to go above my estimate, which is why I don't own my own shop...but that a different topic lol. The point I was trying to get to before I went off all by myself is, Is it possible they priced it that way because they just dont want to do it?? Not that this needs to be out there, but I have severley over priced jobs purley because I didnt want to do them, didn't want to tell the customer no for fear of loosing future businees, but that particular job just wasn't worth it. Something to think about.

Jim

[CrazyDavey]

well I just went through all this and Jim is spot on, a lot of shops just won't do this kind of work anymore. However don't give up Joe, it just might take a while to find what you need but it's doable...

 

It does take a "right place at the right time" to make the deal but I did it just this last August for my wife's car. They took it apart but did not remove body panels other than the hood and deck lid. The car was completely stripped but there was no bondo or rust. It got blocked at least 4 times with 2 coats of color and 4 coats of clear. The price also included show quality chrome on the bumpers...it also was a color change from white to black...$7500

 

 

 

 

and it shows pretty good

 

 

[Mikstudie]

Its all in what you want.There is a shop (a good one)in my area that I talked to and he will fix up my quarters(that has patch work and filler)prep and paint for 4k.I will remove chrome.I dont need perfection i want to be able to drive mine without having to worry about it every place I go.The paint job on my car in my siggy is 27 years old and was done at Maaco,no where near perfect but still looks OK. I look at it this way I want to drive it not admire it and the body filler in my quarters doesn't make it go faster or slower. I get people that knock my car becuse it's not perfect so when that happens I ask them show me your 40 year old car and that shuts them up.I personally have better things to spend 20,30k on than a car thats only worth 15k.JMO!!!!I have said it before and Iam sorry if it rubs people the wrong way but our cars will never bring the money Chevelles or Mustangs or many other cars do,its a fact if there not worth much after 40 years I wouldn't get your hopes ups.Again JMO!!!!!

[monte11sec]

"I personally have better things to spend 20,30k on than a car thats only worth 15k"

 

I completely agree with this statement. I love my car but I am not willing to part with that kind of money for a car that will never give me that money back. I just want the car to have a finish that looks as good as a new car factory paint job (less orange peel though) and I want the car to come back as straight as it already is. An most importantly, I want to drive this thing.

 

Basically, I am still looking for shops that are more in my price range but offer the quality of work that I am looking for. I am absolutely drawing the line at $12,000 but I would love to find someone to do the job for $8,000 to $10,000.

[Mikstudie]

I should have added that I love my car and have had it all its life and will have it all my life...They are awsome looking cars!!!