How much to paint my car?

Question

I have a 94 camaro ...I want to get it repainted the same color...its got cracks and all the rock chips...i want to paint it white with black racing stripes. I hear those are the cheapest paint colors. Any guesses about how much to expect it to cost?

Answer 1

The prices vary widely depending on quality and materials. The old adage - "you get what you pay for" clearly applies to paint jobs.

For a cheap, quick Earl Scheib job, expect to pay a few hundred dollars - probably around $400. It will generally look OK from a distance, but expect no bodywork, rough prep and sanding marks, overspray with runs and don't expect it to last more than a year or two.

For a better Maaco job, you will probably pay around $1000. They will do an acceptable job, with few sanding marks, very little, if any overspray, no runs and will do some minor filling of dings and wave. It should last for at least 4-5 years.

For a truly great job, it will be around $3000 - $5000... For all intents and purposes, this would be as good or better than the factory paint job and should last about as long.

Answer 2

You can get a really cheap paint job for about $400 or so, which will start to crack and flake in a couple of years. If you plan on keeping the car around for a long time, but don't have much money, you could get a cheap paintjob, then just get it repainted down the road when you have more money.

Racing stripes, however, will cost more, as they have to be more careful and put more work into it. If I were you, I'd just get it repainted the same color, and in a few years you can worry about stripes and a better paintjob.

Answer 3

There are two different types of paint jobs. A factory style paint job that will be of the quality that the car had initially will run anywhere from $2500+.

A cheaper paint job, often referred to as a "respray" such as Earl Sheib or places like it where they either train people to do car painting or just do budget paint jobs will probably cost around $300 if they're not changing the color of the car, closer to $600 if they are. This is because they'll have to remove the doors, hood, and trunk and paint their insides so that they match the new color.

Make sure whoever does it is sanding it first, not just painting over the original paint as that will cause it to look terrible within a few years at the most.

Answer 4

It's not so much the cost of the paint, but preparation time involved.