Just a quick hypothetical question: If I wanted to repaint my car, say ABP, how much would it cost and how would the quality be?

 

I'm sure the quality at your local Earl Schieb paint and body will be much better than the Acura factory paint

 

As much as the Acura paint sucks, it's better than anything else out there that you could get for cheap. Those lousy $119.95 paint jobs are fit for only throw away cars like Corollas and Echoes. My guess is that you'd need ~$500 paint job to match the quality of the Acura paint.

But in general, it's not a good idea to repaint a car, especially a new one. It's just not as durable, and the painted sections under the hood and door edges would remain the original paint color.

 

Of course it depends on were you take it, I talked with a shop that painted my bike and they were talking around $1300 for a complete repaint, no door jam's, etc because I was talking the same color. I don't agree with the previous comment that it isn't a good idea to repaint because it wouldn't be as durable?? How can you get any less durable? A cat fart would knock the paint off of this car. If you get a good quality paint and a nice heavy clear coat it will be much better than stock.

 

Be prepared to spend a few thousand $$$$. I did a "quality" color change on a FIAT nearly twenty years ago and I spent about $1,300. Keep in mind that this was on a FIAT! There wasn't any molding to repaint/replace, the mirrors were replaced with aftermarket black so they weren't repainted. All the door jambs were painted, parts of the interior needed to be repainted, parts of the engine had to be removed to repaint the engine bay and the interior of the trunk had to be done also. Keep in mind that it may also affect resale since it is not the original color. It's not the paint that's is gonna cost you, it's the labor to remove and reinstall all the parts. It may have been OK on my little FIAT, but I'd think it over several times before doing it to my $30,000+ car.

If you want it done right, it's gonna cost you. You might be better off just trading it in and buying a new one.

 

When I asked the same question at my Honda dealership regarding my 98 4 door Accord they told me it would be around 2G. For everything.. complete repainting of every part of the car.

 

Hell, I've spent $1000 just getting one quarter panel repainted to fix a scratch or dent. I can't see how a QUALITY paint job could cost less than a few thousand dollars.

And since I don't own a TL can someone educate me on what's wrong with the Acura paint? Every TL I've ever seen looks as sharp as other Acuras, which is to say better than most cars on the road.

 

I would really think good and hard before a repaint. I have seen the best jobs here in Orlando from Mercedes to Lexus. Just like in an accident, the car is never the same. I don't care how good the painter is... he's no machine like the in the factory. I have never seen a paint job that matches the factory paint in quality. The places to look are in the door jams and window jams. Around any place that has something hard to take off the car. Putting clear coat on with the same consistency over the entire car is tough. I would never do a repaint except as a last resort.

My two cents.

Scott

 

In the long run, it would be cheaper to buy a new car. To get a factory look paint job, you need to spend THOUSANDS of dollars. And the bottom line is that your car is worth less with a repaint...

 

A complete repaint should run you between $2,500 - $5,000... depends on what type of car (for it's level of difficulty), the type of paint (the color, metallic?)
and most importantly, where you're getting it done.

I have to disagree with a few above, repainting is highly appropriate if your car needs it. And this could be because of the number of time you've run your car into those CarWash or the number of hours you've exposed you car to the sun.

I've seen cars that look better after a car accident. And that's because of the quality of the shop it went into.

In the world of cars, $$$$ can get you anything you can imagine, just make sure you find the right place for it.

bioyuki since you're in S.Cal...you should check out a bodyshop called Marco...I've heard that they are the best at what they do.

 

I have to disagree with a few above, repainting is highly appropriate if your car needs it.

As for me, I have no issues with repainting a car if it needs it. I'm just not convinced it's worth the money to do a color change. If you're repainting an entire car the same color, it will be much less expensive than doing a color change.

And this could be because of the number of time you've run your car into those CarWash or the number of hours you've exposed you car to the sun.

If you have to go through a car wash, go through a touchless one, meaning nothing touches your car but water. I state that because on another post someone referred to a soft cloth car wash as touchless.

Being careful on the car washes along with polishing, waxing, and using a clay bar when needed should avoid the need to repaint your car due to oxidation, environmental damage and surface scratches.

Also don't forget to remove bird droppings as soon as you notice them. They are murder to your car's clearcoat.

 

From what I know, re-painting a car - any car - will reduce the value of the car by about 2500 - 3000 dollars depending on the type of car. This is in addition to the cost of the re-painting. This is because, the new potential owners will immediately notice the re-painting and assume that the car has been involved in an accident. However well the re-painting has been done, it will take a whole total of 2 minutes for a dealer to find out that the car has been re-painted.....and then an automatic reduction in value....you may be able to get away with a re-painting with a private sale however.

Go to the dealer's used car department and talk to them about it...... get their views on changing the factory paint job on a car and how much of the value of the car is diminished...should be an eye-opener....

Re-painting should be a last resort...like after an accident.....never otherwise....

just my 2c

 

If you get a good quality paint job then no one is going to notice that it has been repainted. I have and have had several vehicles painted (usually original colors) and no one that I sold the cars to could ever tell they had been repainted, nor was it a detraction from the sale. It is definitately a personal preference.

Anyway it is a little irritating that we even have to talk about it with a new car

 

I agree. If you sell it privately, normally they would not know about it. But if you trade it in, I guarantee that the appraiser at the dealership would find the re-painting in 1 minute flat. For example, in my previous car, none of my friends knew that a section of it was re-painted after a fender bender. Not even when they were pointed out the general area of the re-painting. As for myself, I could tell exactly where the re-painting had taken place (since I knew where it was done). So could any other person who was a car body expert. The dealership appraisers are car body experts. There are things like paint overspray that cannot be avoided in a non-factory paint job, which are the tell-tale signs that experts look for. They will find the re-painting. GUARANTEED !!!

Also, as an aside, even in the same color, no two paint lots are exactly alike even if it comes out of the exact same paint manufacturing plants at two different times (assuming the paint lots are manufactured a few months apart). Experts would be able to tell the paints apart. Also, paint on a car's body, fades a bit with usage and even if you were to re-paint a section with the original factory color, an expert can clearly tell the sections that have been re-painted. A private person almost certainly will not be able to tell the difference, if the work had been done by a body shop with a reasonable amount of competence.

 

Wow, this thread has gotten a lot of attention. Basically, Acura's paint quality is fine, no problems there. I've just gotten a little used to SSM and was contemplating going ABP if it wasn't very expensive (one of those, What If's) and so I posted the idea. I was only going to repaint if it costed like 500 dollars (don't really know anything about paint). Now I know, thanks to you guys.