My Ruby Red was hit-new hood, new bumper, paint =$5000., I asked how much to do the rest of the car paint-$2500, well cash is a little low so I passed. Yesterday they called and said they would do it for $1400. because it won't look good with the old and the new, still I'm a little short-I say for $1000. I'd do it-they call back and say ok-it'll look good-but not show.They also say they don't want me to look over the additional paint with a magnifying glass-Hmmmmm! I say I won't-but I will look over the front with one-they say no problem. What do you guys think?

 

That sounds very high....
If they call YOU and offer a cheaper price, then they themselves know they're trying to overcharge you...
I'd get 2nd (and 3rd) opinions...
I recently took my car to the best paint shop near me, and he quoted me $2500 for the whole car (with minor stress cracks fixed)....

think about it, new front bumper $500, new hood ~$1000....

I dunno, just my opinion...

 

The $5000. is covered by insurance, uninsured motorist hit it. Personaly I thought $1000 for the rest of the car was about right.But I don't really know.

 

Sounds to me like you want the whole car done & correctly, but that's going to cost more money than what you have - currently. Also, it sounds like thet're going to skimp on something because you don't want to pay up. Keep in mind, they're not the only shop in town!! What I don't like is the comment: 'don't look at it closely', they're setting you up for failure right there!

This is what I would do if I were in your situation, a suggestion:

If your stuck on having it done at that shop:
Get the front end done for now, but buy all the base coat color (around 3 quarts), save the rest for a later date. Then when you saved enough to paint the rest of the car (correctly), have them finish the job with the base coat you saved from the previous work.

When they buy the base coat color paint, have it put into 1 or 2 quart & maybe 2 pint cans, it doesn't keep well after it's opened. This way the painter can use just as much as neccessary. I'd talk with the painter first, to see how much he'd need for both jobs & work it all out.
The paint will run around $450 - $500 a gallon. I'd specify PPG (good) or Sikkens (better/best, specially for blending), with their appropriate clear. It'll last the longest, paints the easiest.

It looks like from their bid, they might be using one of these, it's high. My nose was brushed, I had to replace the bumper assembly + brackets, etc., the insurance estimate was $2200. Does it need frame machine time - to check alignment of the frame? How hard was it hit?

If you're not stuck on that shop:
With a total cost of $7500, you should be able to get it done, correctly, for that price!
And, if you do your own work, you could buy the parts yourself, assemble & align them on the car yourself, then look for a shop to perform the body work & prep & paint(best). That'll cut a lot of the labor/parts costs off the bill. Take a close look at your estimate.

I hope this helps.

 

 

For $7500 you should have a show quality paint job.

Pass.

 

They are definately going for the bump. Sounds to me like they are trying to milk you.

 

Two things:
1) They just love Corvettes - cost of ownership
2) It's a "rare" color, Ruby Red.

The main thing is they're just being greedy!

 

They most likely won't take the rest of the car apart if they paint the whole thing - they'll just mask everything off. This is not what you want, trust me.

But I'm just guessing.

 

With comments like that I'd look around for another shop. Any skilled painter will be able to color match and blend the paint to match the paint on the other panels.

Quality body shops don't just install and paint the hood and bumper, they fit the new body parts, remove body parts, sand new body parts, primer, guide coat, sand primer, apply another coat of primer, sand primer again, install body parts final time, prepare lower side covers and front doors for blending (removing mirrors, door trim and handles), mask, color match paint (at least an hour even after a paint store does it), begin painting blending the paint onto the lower side covers and also, the front part of the doors, then spraying clear over the hood, bumper, side covers and doors.

Also, the next day they color sand, buff, reassemble and wash the vehicle.

The cost of the repair sounds about right but, it sounds like the shop is not going to do the repair properly but, still get paid for it. That's why they like insurance work.

Most cheap shops only fit the new parts, scuff the parts, order the factory paint (which never matches), spray the paint and clear never blending or color matching the paint.

Also, look on the estimate to see what the labor rate is.

I would look around for another Paint and Body shop.

 

Maybe I said it wrong-the car was already in the shop because of the accident. I know they rejected the first hood they got-and I saw the one their using after they primed it.They were going to blend, but just asked because I had asked for a price-I'm pretty sure they would rather shoot the rest of the car so I wouldn't complain about any blending inconsistancies. I'll let you guys know-the end total will be about $6000.-but remember they are R/R hodd and bumper. Here a good paint job on a vette runs about 5-6000 and that's not a show paint job.

 

Maybe I said it wrong-the car was already in the shop because of the accident. I know they rejected the first hood they got-and I saw the one their using after they primed it.They were going to blend, but just asked because I had asked for a price-I'm pretty sure they would rather shoot the rest of the car so I wouldn't complain about any blending inconsistancies. I'll let you guys know-the end total will be about $6000.-but remember they are R/R hood and bumper. Here a good paint job on a vette runs about 5-6000 and that's not a show paint job.

 

DUPE-I'm sorry.

 

If they're going to paint the whole vehicle, I would make sure they remove all of the body parts such as body moldings, side markers, taillight lenses, emblems, antenna and gas door lid.

If they're not painting inside the door jambs or door sill, they should mask it off completely so as not to get any overspray on it.

There are a lot of Body shops that take advantage of a customer when the customer doesn't know what to look for.

 

There wouldn't be any inconsistancies if blended properly. That's why painters use this technique. This is a standard procedure for quality body shops.

 

Rick, here's the problem. They have already made enough money off the insurance company to kill a cow. Now, they are trying to make even more. They really should be painting the WHOLE car for the $$ paid out already!!!

 

Thanks guys-I'm going to print this off and take it with me when I go over there next week.

 

Just curious, what shop is doing the work?

Keith

 

I just got my Ruby painted, whole damn car, $3500 ish. That first price you got, get a second opinion. Mine was done at a "quality" shop. The paints not perfect, so they are going to fix it. And trust me, it WILL be fixed. The shop I went to does some awesome work, but I see blemishes. So, say I went to a better shop, it still wouldnt cost what you got quoted.

 

Iv got a couple pics of mine at the body shop ...these guys tore my car down... Click on the link