I went to paint the roof - $700 with 5yr warranty
Original is metallic paint on 2010 Corolla
He then offered whole car 3yr warranty - later he reduced the price to $1200 and also reduced the warranty to 2 yrs.
I am concerned - i later discovered that their 2yr warranty means they use enamel paint as opposed to urethane.
2 or 3yr warranty means that they will use a sealant and then spray with a mixture of base and clear.
He also said that if I paint the roof, it will look new - suggesting that it will be a mismatch. My original plan was to apply clear on remaining oxidized areas myself. They seems to keen to sell painting the whole car.
I plan to keep the car for 5yrs.
Could you comment on the paint strategy? I planning on proceeding at 3 yr warranty. I have no clue on the sealant + mixture of base and clear.
+1
A few months before I sold my Karmann Ghia, I took it for some minor body work and a re-paint. I don’t recall the body shop’s price differential between the cheapo paint and the “better” paint, but on a car that was then 9 years old and which I was planning on selling, I didn’t see the economic sense of paying for the “better” paint.
The car looked good and it ran very well, so I was able to sell it fairly easily.
I am not painting to sell it.
“Urethane paint is more durable and resistant to chemicals and weathering than enamel paint. It also has a higher gloss finish.”
" Urethane is a type of paint that does require a clear coat. This means that it’s more expensive and more difficult to apply, but it’s also more durable. If you’re looking for a paint job that’s going to last, urethane is the way to go."
Especially with all the turmoil of the last couple of months. Where I am the market seems to be shifting once again to used cars.
My daughter turns 16 this year and I’m already looking for her first car. When you find a car you like you’d better be standing right there with money in your pocket or it will be gone tomorrow (at least for the age and type of car I’m looking for).
I saw some news coverage recently about a new car dealers’ association in NJ, who were concerned with the big drop in their sales of new cars over the last month or so.
I am not looking for the type of car you are looking for, not by a long shot, and I can confirm that this is how the market works right now. Even old cars, in non-running condition sell reasonably quick, for way more than I’d be willing to pay.
Your choice but I think we are mixing up terms a little. There is base coat/clear coat that requires a clear over the base but you can do a single stage ureathane. Dulux, the original enamel has the top film glossy but cannot be buffed or it will destroy the gloss film. Acrylic enamel can be buffed and is more durable. Urethane is the next step and more durable. It is so tough you can buff after a couple hours of air drying.
I think they could adjust the shade to match the weathered paint but they won’t on a cheap paint job. If the original paint called for clear (coded CC on the paint tag). I would do the clear to match original. I’d also likely do the whole thing but with the urethane. If you have spots that you were just going to clear, you will have a blotchy finish. It will look bad.
Now expect grinding marks, over spray etc. on a cheap paint job. The more work you can do yourself in removing trim and masking, the better. Might turn out ok and might not. Spraying a car is easy. Prep is not. Paint is also expensive so you get what you pay for.
Bottom line is what makes you think you’ll get give more years out of it? In my humble opinion anyway.
