Full Respray

[chrispy]

I got quoted this morning £1k for a complete respray on my 97 202. The guy doing the work has won awards all over the country for his work and i've seen first hand how damn good he is. I have no intention of ever getting rid of it (even if I win the lottery) coz it was the very first status symbol (to me anyway) that I ever owned.

A mate of mine reckons i'm insane for getting it done but I absolutely love the car and it still runs like a dream and over the last 10 years has probably cost me less than £1k in repairs in total and is serviced independently by a local mechanic who treats it like a baby. When I eventually get a new motor next year I plan on still taking the 202 out on weekends etc and the odd few trips to work so am I being insane for getting it 'restored'? I know I could sell it and add a couple of k and maybe get a cheapish amg 202 but it won't be the same car.

 

[SilverSaloon]

what sort of condition is the car in? does it need a full respray?

 

[C240Sport97]

£1k is very cheap ..

is there any rust treatment included?

 

[Howard]

I would have thought you could double that for a good respray .

 

[chrispy]

The car is in very good condition with the usual rust scabs around the arches, stone chips and four supermarket dents where some dildo parked too close to me and smashed their door into mine. There is rust treatment involved and down below the bottom of the rear passenger door below the plastic moulding (between the door and rear arch) needs to be cut out and a new piece put in.

Clint, the guy who's doing it, is absolutely top notch when it comes to bodywork and spraying and he's the only guy within a 100 mile radius i'd allow to do it. I just can't part with the car (much to my wifes dismay as she wants a clk).

 

[jaymanek]

1K is cheap even though you are in an area where things are cheaper! If he really is that good, id jump at it...

Just remember that it will be 1K that you will never see back come resale considering most early W202's are fetching under 1K now.

 

[evdok]

If your keeping it and love it, runs ok, then go for it, bare in mind it's lost money.

 

[Roger Jones]

That's incredibly cheap. The figures I've seen/heard are £3k to £4k and up.

 

[chrispy]

I'll never sell it to be honest. I could have a Bentley in my garage and my 202 would still be there and driven regularly

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

Im the same, love my W202, first 'proper' car and will maintain it forever more! Seems a very good price, as rough estimates for respraying mine have been around £1800. If you get it done and it's a good job, please pass on his details!

These cars are worth little now, but it's all relative. many people will have cars that depreciate far more than £1k a year, but because it's not 'real money' handed over to anyone it gets forgotten about. My suggestion is, if you're gonna keep it, spray it!

 

[jaymanek]

Yep Ive spent a huge amount keeping my W123 on the road... its all sentimental... economics say we should have scrapped it years ago!

 

[KillerHERTZ]

Remember, its what the cars value is to you not what it would get on a forcourt.

Is this full respray inside the door arches and the like? as said above does seem a tad cheap.

 

[flango]

1K is cheap even though you are in an area where things are cheaper! If he really is that good, id jump at it...

Just remember that it will be 1K that you will never see back come resale considering most early W202's are fetching under 1K now.

I agree 1k for a first class job is cheap and you've seen the sprayers work and are happy so should be no drama's only question is does it need a full respray, maybe paint the areas needed and proessionally renovate the paint on the sound areas? Might make it cheaper but suspect it will not look as good as a full spray

 

[Kompressor_Dude]

shouldnt be such a problem if you go for the same colour should it?

Do they require you to do any prep work? Remove trim etc?

 

[andy27168]

I,ve just been quoted £1500 to completely respray my AMG that is side windows removed, side skirts off, door & boot shuts sprayed, repair fractured front bumper 3 or 4 car park dents, he really wants the front and rear screen removed but i would have to foot the bill on top of the £1500.

 

[glojo]

If you are deadly serious about keeping this car and remember we all say this about our pride and joy, then £1k is extraordinarily cheap for a bare metal respray.

I'm guessing he is going to spray the car in its original colour which will make things easier, but are all the door handles, trim, windows, badges etc all coming off? I am very much old skool and this is what was done on our Sprinter but the engine was not removed and the bay was not sprayed.

I would only consider an expert job to be one where the whole car is stripped and everything, but everything taken out, ALL rust removed, NOT fibre glassed over and the final job oven baked. Remember if filler is used there is a risked of condensation forming between the filler and the metal as the fibre glass goes off.

Has this person got a dust proof spraying booth and an oven?

I wish you luck and I would love to see pictures of the work in progress.

Regards
John

 

[chrispy]

Yup, the job includes the insides of the doors etc but no removal of trim or screens. He has a dust free shop and an oven. I took my sons Mini there donkeys years ago for a quote and watched him working on an old MGB GT. That was a total strip down to the bare shell (absolutely everything else removed) and he showed it to me when finished and you'd swear to god it just came off the showroom floor. He said the guy he was doing it for insisted on the genuine paint at the time and it took him months sourcing the original paint for it

 

[glojo]

Yup, the job includes the insides of the doors etc but no removal of trim or screens. He has a dust free shop and an oven. I took my sons Mini there donkeys years ago for a quote and watched him working on an old MGB GT. That was a total strip down to the bare shell (absolutely everything else removed) and he showed it to me when finished and you'd swear to god it just came off the showroom floor. He said the guy he was doing it for insisted on the genuine paint at the time and it took him months sourcing the original paint for it

Just be aware that if trim, exterior mirrors, door handles, windows etc are not removed, they are a trap for old dirt, grim, car polish etc etc.

It is impossible to have a dust free workshop and real professionals have spray booths.

I'm sure this person knows what he is doing and no doubt he will do a first class job.

When a car leaves the paint shop it should look pristine, it's twelve months later that sorts the men from the boys and on poor resprays we can expect the lacquer to start lifting from around the edges of door handles and any other fixtures that have not been removed.

Whenever I looked at a second-hand car I always lifted a seal around a window to see if it had been resprayed. If there was an indication then I would walk away as I have no confidence in second rate resprays. I'm olde skool and have always insisted on on skool methods Folks thought me bonkers when we had our Sprinter resprayed, but the end result speaks volumes. Everything externally that could be removed was removed; the doors and bonnet were sprayed separately and put into the bake oven before being refitted. It cost just over £2000 and comes with a five year no quibble written warranty.

Regards
John

 

[Harley Man]

£1000 is extremely cheap for a proper full respray, there is most likely £400 worth of materials needed, a day to strip the trim and a day to refit plus the repairs, rubbing down, painting, 2 pack and then polishing, The paintshop I sometimes help at would charge £3,000 to £3,500 for this, if you are convinced of the quality and intend to keep the car go for it

 

[Mark300SL]

my R129 SL was done recently at mates rates - but there was no rust at all on the car
1 replacement door
1 Door skin
I rear panel
n/s rear 1/4 repair

That is effectivley not much more than a 1/4 repair and rear panel more than your car, and no roof to paint!

All repairs, full respray and every blemish attended to = £3300!