Guest burt280zx Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 i took my car to the body shop today and i got quoted 1500. that includes all the body work and paint. he said he would be welding in new rocker panels, buying new fenders and fix the various rust spots. DO you think im getting a good deal? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim240z Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 Either that guy is REALLY hungry for work, or you're gonna get a very shoddy job. Not imposible, but be very wary and get the quote in writing with very specific details on what he will and won't do. Many bodyshops won't even think about just painting a car for that much. Tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 I personally don`t recomend trying to haggle over the price of a paint job. If you beat someone down on their price, and they feel like they are spending too much time on the car. They will start to cut corners. The price sounds fair from a private individual, but very cheap for a "proffessional" body shop. I`ve had some pretty nice paint jobs (with body work) done for less than 1500.00 but they were by a personall friend and I NEVER question his price. I`m always sure to tell him to let me know if he runs in to any unforeseen problems. If/when he does, I`m quick to throw him a few extra bucks for his trouble. This keeps him happy, and he`s more willing to go the extra mile for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest ZMFDM Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 im paying 6500 for extensive work on mine, it's alot of money to put out, but it's much less of a hastle then trying to find a rust free z up here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 I paid $2500 5 years ago and have cancer all over the car. What's worse is the paint job had a 10 year warranty, but I moved to another state so I can't "redeem" it. I don't know that I would anyway. If they did such a crappy job the 1st time, I don't know that I'd trust them again. I would never trust a body shop to paint a Z, unless it is a personal friend or they specialize in Datsuns. Haven't found a shop that specializes in Datsuns... Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest burt280zx Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 it is a personal idividual doing it, his father-in-law owns the body shop and on the weekends he allows him to do work like this. The shop only does insurance work, so he only being working on it on saturdays and he said it would probaly take him 10-12 days to do it all, so about 2 and half months, but i guess since ive waited for so long i can wait this much longer LOL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMortensen Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 If nothing else, have him take pictures as he cuts out the rust and welds in the new panels. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JKDGabe Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 If it's possible I'd want to work with him. Not only do you see what's being done to it you get to learn... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 240hybrid Posted November 6, 2003 Share Posted November 6, 2003 I hate to be this way but I have been force to...."Don't trust anyone" as far as cars go. I had a guy to a few small patches on my frame rails, cause I didn't have a welder at the time. He patched the area where the sway bar bolts up, and I dropped the sway bar out to install some oil pump springs later and I went to bolt it back up....they didn't weld the nuts on the inside of the frame so they stay in place and wasn't able to bolt it back up. So I was forced to do their job all over again and found that the sheetmetal they used was lighter than my fender metal, "We use metal thats heavier than anything on this car" is what they said. What a crock. I redid the work the right way myself like I should have done, and they wanted to do all my body work and paint. Thank the lord I didn't let them. I remember asking will you cut this out, pointing to rust bubbles, and he says "if theres rust there we will." WTF, "IF"?? The rust bubbles means rust you brickhead. Sorry for getting off on a rant, that story always gets me going, and hope it helps others in the future not just myself. If you can't I would visit them after cutting the rust out, as their welding it in, and as their filling areas, so that you can know as much as possible. Don't leave yourself open to being shafted is all I have to say. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest 72datsun240z Posted November 8, 2003 Share Posted November 8, 2003 i don't really think you are going to get a nice paint job for 15 hundred bucks and if you will it will at most last one year . I am in auto body class on my high school right now and i have my 78 280z in there that was painted about 5 years ago for about$2000 the whole top of the car was faded out meaning (no BLING BLING) and the car was one big bubble in rust terms i mean . i am doing a complete body restoration on it while i am shaving the rear bumper the gas door and the side markers . There is 4 major rust spots and the reason for shaving the gas door is because the rust is so bad that i just have to do it anyways what i am trying to say that even thou i am doing all the work by myself i already spent $350 on the paint itself with the reducer another $250 on clear and the reducer for the paint $80 for sandpaper $80 for primer $30 for 2 gallons body filler $50 for the fiberglass and that does not in clude any materials for the shaving that all to repair the body into original shape. what you should do is go to your local paint store and ask for all your prices on your paint and other stuff than try other shops shoving them the price list of your materials and telling them the quality of a paint job you want. Also keep in mind if you go with a dark color like black for example any little imperfection on the body will show. I would also encourage you to get someone who knows whats he doing and help you do it on your own but if u wanna body shop to do it believe me i would rather pay more for a quality paint job than less for a cheesy one . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waynekarnes Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 regarding the body shop quote of 1500. that's a bit on the low side, BUT ... i have a friend that owns a body shop in san jose ca. she tells me, that things are really slow now. people get estimates, and then keep the insurance money. things are tight, jobs aren't coming into the shop. she's been taking in jobs, sometimes, just to break even, so that her painters and bodyworkers, don't start looking for work at another shop. she's done 4 paint jobs, where it covered, materials, labor and the cost running the shop, no profit, but it keeps the doors open. the body shop, where you got that quote, may be doing the same. ask em. by the by,my friend's shop painted the batmobile. the one that was in the last batman movie ... think the movie was called, batman forever. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinhZXT Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Hi , I just have something to add since I 've just had my car painted and it costed 1800 plus I had to remove everything on the car to make it easier for him to do the painting and preping. The owner was a friend of mine also. Ask your painter is he gonna take down your old paint. I am sure I will not. He will scuff it up alittle and paint right over the old paint. This is not good because you don't know what kind of paint was used 20 years ago. If you put new paint of top of that it will lift or crack in a year or so. I suggest you come up with the list of things you want to be done to the car and make sure he understands it and always check his progress regularly that way 1. He can't cut corner and 2. if you see something you don't like you can tell him to fix it right the way instead of waiting until afterward. 1500 is cheap if you do it the right way. it's not cheap if you just buy paint and shoot it. Good luck BTW pick a bright color because it doesn't matter how good that guy is there will be imperfection here and there and it will stands out if the color is dark. The color for my ZXR is metallic silver. he puts so much sparkles in there it can blind someone when it hits the sun. hehe Vinh http://vvu.tripod.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
t-tom Posted November 10, 2003 Share Posted November 10, 2003 Man I wish I was only spending 1500 bucks! The bare metal resto of my 71 fairlady is pushing 10 grand. Of course that is painting the inside, outside and underneath the car to show standards. 1500 bucks sound really cheap I would watch em every step of the way. To make sure there not just filling the car with bondo and then painting it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Z-rific Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 If it was paint only, I'd say that sounds okay. But he's going to be cutting out sheetmetal and welding in new? That takes skill and time. I'd be wary. Even if he shows you an example of work done before, you still can't see what's underneath new paint. If you have good instincts, trust them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denny411 Posted November 12, 2003 Share Posted November 12, 2003 For my 1500.00 paint job,the car was stripped to bare metal, all rust was cut out with new metal welded in,smoothed the rear valance,shaved the marker lights,installed a fiberglass air dam, and painted the 3 pice spoiler separately. The car was finished in base clear and still looks good. BTW...I did have all of the trim,mouldings,lights,bumpers,grill removed when I dropped it off. It helped to give him a wide open time frame. He worked on it in between other jobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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