To Paint or Not To Paint?

Hello Folks,

In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
your experience?

Thank you very much for any thoughts,
David

Nope. Any sophisticated buyer will think you are hiding something with the
paint job.



"David" <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote in message
news:kojci21tdccrj7c642iis3rku9f7cd8rn3@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> Hello Folks,
>
> In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
> you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
> your experience?
>
> Thank you very much for any thoughts,
> David[/color]

On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:44:41 -0600, David wrote:
[color=blue]
> Hello Folks,
>
> In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
> you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
> your experience?
>
> Thank you very much for any thoughts,
> David[/color]

How bad is the paint, and have you tried buffing?

A good Detail shop will charge from $65 for a buffing to $150 for buffing,
cleaning, waxing and going over tha carpets with an Extractor. Make sure
they have an Extractor and NOT a 'shampooer'. BIG difference!

This would probably be more worth the money. Unless you're selling it for
8-10,000 dollars, a decent paint job will cost $1500-2400, and and "Earl
Scheib" paint job will lokk horrible.

"David" <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote in message
news:kojci21tdccrj7c642iis3rku9f7cd8rn3@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> Hello Folks,
>
> In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
> you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
> your experience?
>
> Thank you very much for any thoughts,
> David[/color]

The answer really depends on the condition of the factory paint job, the
quality of the re-paint job, and the particular vehicle

If the factory paint is just faded, a good quality polish or cleaner
followed by a good quality wax can probably make it look like new again. If
there are just a few nicks or scratches, a good body shop can touch up the
affected areas instead of repainting the entire vehicle.

A good quality re-paint of the entire vehicle will probably cost well over a
thousand dollars, which you probably will not recover when you sell the
vehicle. A cheap paint job will look like a cheap paint job and probably
detract from the vehicle's value, unless the car was trashed to start with.
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:44:41 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Hello Folks,
>
>In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
>you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
>your experience?
>[/color]
Thank you very much for your replies.

You have convinced me that painting it really doesn't make sense. Although
it is in very good shape, it is only an '88 Mazda MX6, so the cost of a
quality paint job in the price range that you are talking would surely not
be recoverable. And my own personal ethics won't permit a cheap paint job.

The existing factory paint is really not that bad. There are no dings, but
there are a few small scratches. Specifically, what is troubling me is
that there are some pin-stripes, which are flaking badly with age. If I
only buff and wax they will look pretty bad (worse) afterwards. Should I
just do it anyway?

But then my second concern is that the new owner may say, these pin-stripes
look so bad that I need to re-paint the car. But if I have it waxed, won't
that adversely affect his ability to have it painted?

You can tell that I haven't had any experience with these kinds of things,
so any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thank you again,
David

On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:18:16 GMT, Hachiroku <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote:
[color=blue]
>Make sure
>they have an Extractor and NOT a 'shampooer'. BIG difference![/color]

Hachiroku, could you please elaborate a bit on this?

Thank you,
David

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:04:19 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu>
wrote:[color=blue]
>
>You can tell that I haven't had any experience with these kinds of things,
>so any advice is greatly appreciated.[/color]

It's a 1988 MX6. <G> I doubt it's a rare or collectible car, and
nobody expects an 19 year old car to be perfect. An 18 year old car
that looks pretty good and runs well is doing GREAT!

For a car like that, the selling price between an average condition
example (compared to other 19 year old cars) and a spotless example,
will rarely be more than a few hundred bucks. It's still an 19 year
old MX6, without modern safety, style, and convenience features, no
matter how shiny it is. Did I mention it's 19 years old? <G>

Get it spotlessly clean, wax it, and sell it to the private party who
will give you the most money. In my area, a pro detailer will do all
the hard work for $85-100. You can do it yourself for ~ $25 in
special supplies (rubbing compounds and wax), some household cleaning
supplies (409 or Fantastik, glass cleaner, rags, paper towels, and
your vacuum cleaner) and a few hours of hard, Karate Kid-style muscle
work. You'll have enough supplies left over for other cars.

There is no way, no how, a dealership of any kind is going to have any
interest in that car, unless they're totally hosing you on the
purchase of the replacement. This will be a true private party to
private party sale.

Don't worry about future repaints, pinstripes, etc... If the next
owner really wants to do that, either he or is body shop will deal
with it. Freshly waxed cars get hit and repaired every day, the
people who need to know have the knowledge to deal with it.

Good luck! <G>

"David" <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote in message
news:4c4fi25tpopbdcdps11f31annssq16551j@4ax.com...[color=blue]
> On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:44:41 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Hello Folks,
>>
>>In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
>>you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
>>your experience?
>>[/color]
> Thank you very much for your replies.
>
> You have convinced me that painting it really doesn't make sense.
> Although
> it is in very good shape, it is only an '88 Mazda MX6, so the cost of a
> quality paint job in the price range that you are talking would surely not
> be recoverable. And my own personal ethics won't permit a cheap paint
> job.
>
> The existing factory paint is really not that bad. There are no dings,
> but
> there are a few small scratches. Specifically, what is troubling me is
> that there are some pin-stripes, which are flaking badly with age. If I
> only buff and wax they will look pretty bad (worse) afterwards. Should I
> just do it anyway?
>
> But then my second concern is that the new owner may say, these
> pin-stripes
> look so bad that I need to re-paint the car. But if I have it waxed,
> won't
> that adversely affect his ability to have it painted?[/color]

There are 2 ways to apply pin stripes: paint and tape.

Most modern pin stripes are tape, and if the stripes on your car are flaking
off, they may be tape. You can re-stripe the car pretty easily with a
little practice or have an auto accessory or body shop re-stripe for you.
Waxing the car will not adverseley affect a re-paint because a good body
shop will strip the wax before painting. If you want to apply tape pin
stripe, you should wipe the area with rubbing alcohol to strip off any wax
and road film.

Painting pin strips takes more skill and is best left to someone with
experience.
[color=blue]
>
> You can tell that I haven't had any experience with these kinds of things,
> so any advice is greatly appreciated.
>
> Thank you again,
> David[/color]

Good luck!
--

Ray O
(correct punctuation to reply)

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:07:58 -0600, David wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 15:18:16 GMT, Hachiroku <Trueno@ae86.gts> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Make sure
>>they have an Extractor and NOT a 'shampooer'. BIG difference![/color]
>
> Hachiroku, could you please elaborate a bit on this?
>
> Thank you,
> David[/color]

With a Shapooer, you put some kind of soapy or foamy mixture on the
carpet, usually rub it around either with the brush or the shampoo
machine, and then suck it up vacuum style. The 'scrubbing' action breaks
down the fibers of the carpet, and actually has a tendancy to push the
dirt further into the carpet rather than lift it out.

An extractor is a bit of a different beast. A good shop will pre spray the
carpeting and upholstery (BTW, why isn't it pronounced "ufolstery? ;)
with something that loosens the dirt, and then you use the extractor on
it. The big difference is the extractor doesn't have a brush on it, so
you're not moving the dirt around. It sprays a soapy (and usually warm)
mixture into the carpet and almost immediately lifts it out.

You would think this is nothing more than a glorified vacuum cleaner, but
it WORKS! They are amazing.

The clostedt thing you can buy for home is a Bissel 'Green machine'.
Similar idea, and you can use warm water in it, but it's not the same. I
did my Supra with one when I bought it, and it came out real clean, but
it's a small machine and the carpeting was in very good shape to begin
with.

A professional extractor generally runs $2,500 - 7,000 dollars. I was
selling used cars at a place where the boss rented a bay to a friend that
wanted to start a detailing shop, and he got one of the $7,000
machines. But, boy, would it clean! Even if the carpet had grease or oil,
as long as it wasn't POUNDED into the carpet it would lift it out. I went
to work for a Toyota dealer, and we had one of the ones for about $2,500
and I did the interior of my '85 Celica. The Master clutch cylinder had
probably been leaking for years, and while it didn't get it out 100%, it
made a very noticable difference.

On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:04:19 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
[color=blue]
>On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:44:41 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>Hello Folks,
>>
>>In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
>>you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
>>your experience?
>>[/color][/color]
Thank you very much guys. You *all* have given me some great tips and
guidance! I now know what to do -- with assurance.

Best regards, and stay well,
David

On Sun, 08 Oct 2006 06:27:37 -0600, David wrote:
[color=blue]
> On Sat, 07 Oct 2006 06:04:19 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
>[color=green]
>>On Fri, 06 Oct 2006 06:44:41 -0600, David <invalid@socrates.edu> wrote:
>>[color=darkred]
>>>Hello Folks,
>>>
>>>In general, is it worth the cost and effort to have a car painted before
>>>you try to sell it? i.e., is the cost generally recovered? What has been
>>>your experience?
>>>[/color][/color]
> Thank you very much guys. You *all* have given me some great tips and
> guidance! I now know what to do -- with assurance.
>
> Best regards, and stay well,
> David[/color]


Always glad to answer ON Topic questions once in a while! ;)