Paint Job
 

I'm looking into repainting my Boxster and would like to know what to expect to pay for that. There are a few dings that need to be repaired and the front bumper cover needs a little attention... just looking for a ball-park figure for a good job.
Thanks for any replys,

derb

Hmm. Well, I scratched up the side of my Boxster a few months back. It required repainting the passenger rear quarter, blending into the door and door sill, repaint the back bumper, repaint the side mirror, re-apply 3M to all areas where needed. Supposedly repainted the back bumper - I think they just buffed it since it really had some minor surface scratches. Anyway, that came out to around $2200 but it's absolutely PERFECT. There really wasn't much area to paint - mostly it was the blending that added so much. Also, the place I took it will only allow a handful of people to work on Porche, Ferrari, etc. I was extremely clear that it had to look just like it did when they were done. While I have a '99, the paint (up to that point) was flawless....

Full car, quality strip, reprime and paint (PPG or equivalent), expect to pay $8000 or more. If it's done right, it should look MUCH better than the orange-peelish factory job.

A few years ago I repainted a 911 after an impromptu wind storm sand blasting.
It was a 2/3 insurance, 1/3 my cost job. Total was slightly over $9,000. Outrageous, but it was beautiful.

First thing that needs to be addressed is your definition of a "good" paint job. Second, is an analysis of your current paint and body (the car...not you) :) . Resurfacing is an entirely different animal from stripping and starting w/ bare metal. A "good" paint job can easily pass $1000.00 in materials alone. Add a hundred hours or more of labor @ $60-75/hr and you can look at upwards of $6K in a hurry. Although it's centered around the streetrodding hobby, there's usually a pretty good paint discussion going on here:
streetrodding.com paint booth

In general, one should avoid painting a Porsche if you can.

Can the dings be taken out via PDR?

Can you get away with just painting the front bumper?

If so, go that route!

Good luck.

I have repainted a couple of old cars the cheap way (Maaco...) less than $1000; it is a good way to make a daily driver better from about 10 feet away. I would NOT go that route for my Boxster unless it was old, looked beat up, had high milage and I was going to keep it until I drove it into the ground! At least that way the people you pass will see a nice car! This kind of paint job will probably decrease the value of the car if it is less than 5- 7 years old.

A complete strip and paint job will cost at least $6000 and could go to $8000 depending on the shop. Look around if that is what you want, for that kind of money expect a "better than factory finish". Probably not worth it either. I have never done this since I would never get your money back (I typically trade my cars at between 3 & 5 years old). It might be worth it for a classic that you plan to keep for 5 - 10 years!

If you want some limited repairs take it to a few body shops and ask what they would suggest. You will find the prices and the recommendations will vary. When you get the work done it will help if you can just leave them the car and give them a time window (it will not save you $, if there is no serious time pressure they often do better work). If the bad areas are low down on the car this will work quite well. Take the time to go over the car with the Body Shop and if it is a small shop try to meet the owner and take a little time talking about it, arrange an appointment so that you go there at a good time. I have done this on two of my cars and have been quite pleased with the results; they seem to be able to match colors very well these days. I have found smaller shops are better for this kind of work (avoid the larger collision specialists). You should expect a finish that is on par with the factory paint job. The front bumper cover damage (rock chips and front end parking lot scrapes…) can easily be repaired like this for about $500 (I have done this on two of my cars). The dings will be tough depending on size/location. I would expect to pay anywhere from $500 to $2000 depending on how much work they do.

As in life when it comes to paint jobs you get what you pay for!

Thanks for the replies so far.
The car is a '99 and t's been 'rode hard and put up wet' as they say. I don't think anyone on this forum in their right mind would have bought this car but I had my reasons.
The front hood has a few rather large dents and the bumper cover needs some work. There are several dings that might be able to be fixed via the PDR. A lot of scratches and swirls everywhere. All cleaned up it looks great- just don't look close up.
From the replies so far I think I'll take it to a shop that my mechanic said does good work and see what they have to say. Maybe some areas just need some TLC.
Basically, all I want to do is spend a couple of thousand dollars so this car doesn't embarrass the Porsche name.

Thanks again.

derb

If you find a great detail shop and a great PDR guy, you may be able to squeek by with only a bumper repair.

I once had a 2000 Black Box that looked very very rough when I bought it. After a number of go rounds with Klasse All in One and about five coats of Klasse Sealer, even I was impressed.

Good luck.