Question about paintwork?

Question

This may sound like a bit of a strange question but bear with me...

My question is this.. You've had a bump in your car and dont have time/money to get it done at a bodyshop (who want to charge you £150 for the bumper and £170 for painting) .

You find two websites selling the bumper you need, with a service option to have the bumper painted to match your car - both sites look ok. Thing is, one of the sites is asking £69.99 for painting and the other is charging £100. Do you go with the cheaper one, or would you go with the more expensive one, in the hope that you will get a better paint job - what kind of job would you get for only £69.99?

I would appreciate your HONEST opinions. Thanks :)

Answer 1

if you think you can trust these websites then go for it......i would go to a scrapyard and do it myself or find a friend to do it for you!

Answer 2

I personally wouldn't go with either, especially if the car is more than a couple years old. As your car ages the paint fades and the color can change ever slightly, just providing the stock paint code to some guy over the internet won't guarantee that the part will match. And, even more likely, is that the batches of paint in the factory can vary slightly from the factory paint code so you could have a slight different shade that can't be matched perfect to the code. A good body shop will know this and start with the factory code and do color matching basically spraying the paint onto something and comparing it to the color and then adjusting their mixture to make it lighter or darker.

But then again I'm a perfectionist when it comes to my car. :P If you don't mind a possible two tone look then go for it. If you do go for it it's hard to say which is better, do some research and maybe call them to find out what brand of paint they use. If one uses some off generic brand then I'd go with the other.

Answer 3

I run a bodyshop and I had a customer ask me to fit a bumper that he had bought in exactly the way you describe.To be perfectly fair he got a good deal,the quality of paintwork although not to our own standards was adequate and the colour match acceptable.Obviously if you supply a paint code over the internet there is always going to be an element of risk with the paint match.
Also if you have it done at a local bodyshop and notice a small run or other defect they can deal with it,but you wouldn't want to send a bumper back & forth for minor imperfection would you?Personally I think regardless of wether you pay less or more there is a small element of chance with either supplier.

Answer 4

I work in a VW dealership and was charged £246.00 to paint a front bumper today by a VW recommended bodyshop. VW paid for this but I would go to a local bodyshop and get the job done for £85.00 for exactly the same quality job. Ask your friends for their advice on the best local bodyshop. He will only be in business if the work is good.

Answer 5

If its a fiarly popular car, and popular colour, check out the breakers, you might find one the same colour. But if not I would go for the cheaper one. If the car is more than a couple of years old, a newly painted panel will look a bit different anyway due to sunlight fading the other panels of your car, thats why bodyshops blow the piant into the panel next to the new one.

Answer 6

It`s hard to say !
£70 is about the going rate for a bumper to be painted in "clear over base " the guy who is charging £100 may just have the bumper`s in stock and he might have to pay someone different to paint it ( at a cost of £70 but pocket`s £30 for him self )

The guy who charges £70 may have the bumpers in stock but may also have his own paint scheme and paint them himself !
But i can honestly say if i had to buy one ( my husband is a panel beater / painter ) so not in that predicament , i would go for the cheaper as i think the other guy is just out to make £30 for nothing !

Answer 7

its a toss up,cheaper is better some times,or both could be no good,depends on how they are preped,flex additive and the like. you should also realize the paint match will not be right on,but then if you look close at any new car they are not a right on match either,just something most people don't notice.

Answer 8

i do not know the current exchange for pounds to dollars , but here in America, depending on the color good paint will cost $100
without the labor