As I save money to do a bunch of modifications to my car...I tend to think of more things that require me to save more money.

Bah well.

I got a quote from a paint shop asking how much paint would cost on my monte. I asked for a rough quote to have the trim at the bottom of the car painted silver and the cost of adding two silver rally stripes.

They said the estimated cost is $2500.

...really? That seems...high.

 

Is that 2500 for just adding the strips and trim at the bottom? If so, that sees a little high, I would say more like $1500-2000 to ADD the strips and ground effects paint.

Now, if that is for painting the whole car, and adding stripes, that sounds like a good deal to me. I would say for a GOOD paint job, you are looking at about $3,000-3500 to paint the whole car.

 

Paint jobs are indeed expensive. The paint itself, for say a half gallon of base and a gallon of clear in good paint is going to run atleast $400 I'd say. Then there is the cost of sand paper... I'd say easily $50 there, half gallon of primer, medium reducer, top coat hardener, lacquer thinner... it can add up pretty quick. Plus there is the cost of labor and wear and tear on equipment, shop maintenance... $2500 would sound good for a whole paint job to me.

 

the condition of your car is going to be a factor. is there curb grinds, road rash and chips in the bottom trim. or is it a simple splash and dash paint job meaning take the parts off, scuff and paint...

do u want the entire hood scuffed before u put on the rally stripes so it can be cleared over with no paint edges, or do u want to just paint the stripes on the hood and scuff where necessary.... is there damage to your hood that would require bondo, priming, wetsanding before hand etc... all things u need to make more clear before i can give you a proper estimate. the more labor the more expensive...

check local bodyshops for their door labor rates... and DONT GO TO MAACO

 

well on my monte to paint it all was $2300 & that was just the paint, but i painted it myself so i saved on that

 

i know what you say about maaco is true for an entire paint job. they cut corners.

and i thought the same for years. when my G/f got her car it had a horrible paint match job on the front quarter panel/bumper. she got it fixed at maaco for 250. they did a great job in my opinion matching the color and adding pinstripes. it looks as if it was never wrecked.

i know paint costs a lot, but i thought that was due to the amount of sanding, prep time, number of coats, plus all the inside trim.

if hes just adding on..

racing stripes and sideskirt paint should not be 2500 in my opinion.

ask mod mike how much his cost for the lower part.

 

I got mine painted almost 10 years ago, and it was like $150-$200

 

i know times have changed but s**t. take it to another shop pronto.
good thing your a montecarloforum.com member or you would have got taken for a fool.

 

Maaco must use a really cheap paint, thin the crap out of it, and then barely spray a base and clear coat to do a paint job for what they do. And I guarantee you they don't do the job for that price on a car where the clear coat is lifting off.

 

Easy on Maaco guys, you get what you pay for, My mom took one of her Montes there and they did the ground effects for her in silver for $100. The paint stayed on and looked good. Now, I did all the body work on my wifes 71 Impala, New quarters and front fenders, the works, took it to them in primer where all they had to do was tape it off. I paid for a better job not the best but the next one down and told them I wanted extra clear in case I needed to wet sand and buff. They did an excellent job. The shine is gauranteed for 3 years. I paid $850. That was just like last October or so. We get nothing but compliments. No one would ever have guessed who painted it. Not a run or anything and it didnt need wet sanded and buffed. If I did that it would look really nice. I may in a year or so. Most is in the prep work. I did the same with my 77 Grand Prix but I took it to a body shop. They charged me $1800 for a spray, wetsand and buff. So really if they will do it all for $2500, IMO thats a good deal. I couldnt imagine it would need much bodywork other than a few door dings and a good sanding. Good luck!