Is it worth it?
 

I am going to be getting the front bumper replaced on my 2002 SS soon. Someone backed into it a few weeks ago, again! I have been toying with the idea of getting the whole car repainted while I'm at it, but I'm just not sure if it will be worth it. The body is in pretty good shape, considering she is now 15 years young. There are the typical swirl marks, little dents and scratches, and a few rust spots. That's what worries me the most, the rust. I have owned her for 7 years now so I know what I have done for work and what it still needs. Never ends, does it? Lol The motor runs strong even at 210k! (*Knocks frantically on wood*). So, my question to you guys is, do you think it will be worth it to paint the whole car?

Thank you!

Hi KellyLynn.

The only person that can answer that question is you. It just depends on how much you love your Monte and plan to keep her. From a practical standpoint using resale value as the basis, the answer would be "Heck No"...the cost of the paint job would be more than the value of the car. I don't know the history of your car or what has been replaced in the past, but at 210K multiple part failures are inevitable unless they've been replaced at least once before. On the other hand, if you truly love the old girl you'll take care of her with pride as though she was your mother until that 3800 finally gives up the ghost and makes one last long road trip to Monte Carlo Heaven.

Thanks for your input!

I absolutely adore my car! I know that I will never sell her so I guess I am leaning towards the repaint. I know I wouldn't get back nearly as much as what I've put in anyways. When I first bought her she was valued at about $5.5k and now I think it's dropped to a little over 2 grand. Yikes! Lol

As for work, I've put a great deal of money into her other than general maintenance. A rebuilt tranny, radiator, BCM, control arms, sway bar and links, and numerous sensors. I'm sure I missed some things lol my friend that does all of my work jokes that my car is practically brand new 😂

I guess after all of the blood, sweat, and tears, money and frustration, it makes it a lot harder to give up on something that has become so sentimental to me lol

Repaint it is! 😊

Since it sounds like they body is in good shape (no dents or big scratches) you might consider a " Paint correction". Lots of machine buffing with rubbing compound and polish to remove swirl marks, light scratches and oxidation followed by applying polymer sealant and wax. Professional detail shops charge $3-500 for this. I did this myself a few years back. See "Black Knight", my '03 SS in "My Garage". I did the work in the fall of 2015 and photo was taken on New Years Day 2016. My current project "Black Knight II", a '00 SS was so oxidized the roof, trunk and hood were a chaulky light gray. I successfully removed all oxidation with rubbing compound and with warmer weather around the corner I'll get back after it with polish and eventually it should look just like the original "Black Knight".

I totally agree. I'd look into spot correction of the rust and damage with the paint blended in to match and then buff the rest. That's certainly the most cost effective.

A good repaint is going to cost way more than the car is worth, probably closer to what you originally paid. Certainly a lot of it depends on how bad the rust is and how much work is needed to fix it. If you're just seeing a few spots rust through, there could be extensive damage behind the panel that would need to be dealt with to keep it from coming back.

​​​​​The problem is if you get in a bad wreck, it's still a $2k car, new paint job or not. So it would take almost nothing to total it out and lose all of the money you've put into a paint job.

Another option is a vinyl wrap. You could fix the rust and damage up to the primer level and then wrap the whole car. This would give you the color change/update look at a lower cost than a full paint job. Downside is it won't last as long.

I wasn't too familiar with spot correction, but this seems like the best option. Thanks for the feedback and saving me some money! Lol

It would be similar to someone going in for a nasty door scrape or ding. They'd weld some studs on, pull it flush, level it with filler and then just paint that panel and fade it into the adjacent ones.

A rust repair would be similar. They'd clean the rust off, patch the hole, then level with filler and blend the paint. It certainly depends on the extent of the rust though. If it's real bad behind the panel, it could be pretty costly to fix it correctly.

it is also how much you like the car. my cougar and monte I freaking love and want to keep them on the road and looking good as long as possible. but it is all what you like to drive and enjoy. if you enjoy driving the car and like the look of it. it is up to the eye of the one who owns the car. owning a car is like being married or owning a house there is always some thing but when it is done. or when the upgrade is done like body and paint it would be worth it. it is up to you

Totally worth it.. Im doing it as soon as I save up enough to not get the cheapest job done..

Im getting estimates from 600 to 1500 for a basic sand, paint, clear..

A few weeks ago I noticed that the side skirt on my driver's side was loose and starting to pull away from the frame. Guess what was on the frame underneath? RUST. I was absolutely devastated!

So now I really don't know what I should do. I knew it would be a little pricey to fix the small rust spots on the body, but now that I know that it is on the frame too?! And I won't know the extent of the damage on the frame until I have someone pull it apart. Might just leave it be. What I don't know won't hurt me LOL

Can't win.