Paint Job

How much (roughly) does it cost to have a car re-painted? Mine is a 97 Tacoma 4x2, no rust but a bunch of scratches and minor nicks…I have no idea how much it would cost.

Anywhere from $99.95 to tens of thousands of dollars. It all depends on what you want. As with so many other things, you get what you pay for.

OK.
My car is 10 years old, so I’m thinking it’s unlikely I’ll invest 10’s of thousands of dollars on the paint job.
Any idea how much it would cost for a decent (nothing fancy, doesn’t have to look ‘new’ but shouldn’t look like it’s 10 years old) paint job?

A decent job that’s done right…a few hundred. Maybe even $1k. Or just go to Maaco.

I decided to go the Maaco route when I had my 93 Caprice repainted to 2003. I had my pickup cap painted by them previously and was satisfied with the work. They were having a sale on paint jobs so I got the second best package for around $500. The paint was badly faded on the bumper and starting to hairline crack on the top of the car so they recommended having the top stripped and reprimed before painting. They also fixed a few parking lot dings for ~30 apiece. It ended up costing about $1100 with the strippng and ding repairs. I had it painted the original color, if you want a different color it is extra to get the door jams painted.

I removed the grill and as much of the trim and badges as possible to minimize masking tape lines. I washed the car with Dawn dishwashing detergent to strip off the old wax.

Overall I am satisfied with the paint job. It is holding up well 3 years later, but does take more care than an OEM paint job. Before deciding, try and get some word of mouth about the place you take it to.

Ed B.

Yea Macco will likely be the best deal for a low price but at least OK paint job. It will not be a $5,000 job, but I think it is what you are looking for. There are a number of local painters as well, get local recommendations for any of them before using them.

Any of them will give you a price once they see the car.

I do suggest taking it in on a rainy day. Few people bring their cars in on a rainy day and that means they have more time for your car, and there is less dust in the air so you get a better job. They are going to wash the car before they paint (or you sure better) so the rain does not hurt a thing.