Considering some of the places I take my truck........ I think spending big money on a paint job would be a REALLY bad investment. (we have thorn trees here that just LOVE making creative designs in paint.....)

 

Paint and bodywork are based on geographical location and skill level. If you want a $299 MAACO paint job, then you're going to get a $299 MAACO paint job. In reality, you're not spending money on the paint job itself, but rather the prep work itself. The more detailed the prep work, which can be very tedious, the better the final paint results.

Going back to my initial statement, it's not accurate to post (on a worldwide platform) "How much should I expect to spend for paint/bodywork on my vehicle?" Paint and body in my neck of the woods (Oklahoma) will run cheaper due to lower labor costs along with the lack of rust & corrosion which takes a toll on vehicles. Pose that same question in California or the PNW and the results will probably be much higher for the same vehicle due to labor costs. Take someone who owns a vehicle up in New England, and it's an entirely new ballgame because of the environmental factors which wreak havoc with vehicles.

How good you want the vehicle to look is based on how much you're willing to spend. Don't factor in the fact that the vehicle's resale value might be less than a quote you receive from a competent paint shop. Vehicles are depreciating assets, so you'll never get out of them what you put in them. Consider for a moment you spend money on a quality, non-bank breaking paint job. The vehicle looks good and you're happy with it. A year later, someone is impressed with how it looks as well as the mechanical care of the vehicle and offers to buy it for more than you thought it was worth. Did you make out ahead if you sell the vehicle? Mentally, yes. Accounting-wise, no.

But there are times when the accounting can be ignored. I have a 2006 Mazda 3 hatchback with 144K miles. The body is rock solid, engine runs like a champ, the suspension and drivetrain were rebuilt last year, and the interior is in relatively good condition; however, the transmission is acting up. The vehicle has a re-sale estimate of $1,900, yet a core transmission would cost me almost as much. Should I junk the vehicle just because a "new" transmission costs almost the same as the vehicle's value? In my mind, no. I will, instead, drop the transmission and rebuild it myself and continue to own a vehicle that is a great daily driver while also cheap to operate. Since I have no plans to sell the vehicle in the next five years, I am saving myself money on not having a car payment or possibly purchasing a used vehicle that may reveal an ugly problem within a year or two.

Keep it simple and enjoy your truck the way you want.

 

The finish will only look as good as the sanding lets it. The flatter and smoother the better the shine. That takes hours of sanding, which costs money.

 

I paid 900 bucks to get my hood and roof redone on my 98 Dakota a few years ago. That was done right, not just a paint job.

Sometimes you CAN polish a turd, but shouldn't. AKA throwing good money at bad

 

the brief time i spent in the industry. went to job corps for paint and body, hated body focused on paint. spent a year trying to make it happen in real life, wasn't worth it. everyone wants $300 maco price, but $10k show quality.

the process as i remember went like this...

body guys get the car for a few weeks, strip it, fix damage, hand it over to paint. paint guys prime it, blow it down and spend about a day masking/priming. another day, or several days sanding and cleaning. then paint depends on if it's getting jammed or just the outside. full paint including jambs, you have to mask everything, clean, tack and spray the jambs... that takes at least a full day. then you have to bake, strip the jamb mask, close everything and mask for the outside paint. clean everything again, shoot it, bake it and inspect everything, another day or 2... then fix any flaws and detail it, up to another day normally, more if something went horribly wrong. had a problem with our clear coat once, hardener was defective and the clear came off in sheets the next day. once we decided it was good and signed off, it went back to the body guys for a bit so they could slap it back together.

we could do partial damage in a day or 2, paint side.

anyhoo, $300 doesn't really even cover tape and paper honestly, or scotchbrite, or gas to run the oven, commercial lease prices are insane, booths are expensive, insurance, special surface additives and chemical treatments for painting/fixing plastics, quality paint aint cheap, mixing station with scale and computer, high volume air supply with quality air treatment system... i can actually see $6k being fair. lot's of work and overhead.

 

I had my Porsche painted at Maaco a few weeks ago, it looks great! They did good on the bodywork, pretty good on the prep and taping, and the paintjob was almost flawless. Mine is integrated clearcoat, 4 year guarantee. Makes the red metallic really pop. It was a color change and for that they paint the door jams and the insides of the trunks (front and back.) Cost was about $1700. They use Sherwin Williams paint.

 

Btw, the Porsche is the second car I've had painted at Maaco this year. The other one turned out pretty good, too.

 

$1700 sounds way more realistic for a decent cheap paint job. i've spent $500 on a good rattle can job, between good paint, tape, paper, primer and other misc supplies.

though out of the original 3 quotes op had... i would go with (A). pulling the glass, fresh trim and badges is doing it right and would result in the best end product. well worth the money assuming you cant diy and want quality automotive paint. sikkens, ppg, basf and dupont make oem paint.

 

I have painted whole cars in the past (I restore old Mopars for myself). I plan on painting my 2nd gen because I'm doing a full restoration. I chose a "special color" which costs $1200 just for the paint. Now I have also painted cars for people. I charged them $600 over material cost. That gave me 4 weeks to get it done.

 

Ever make a trip to WA?