What's the cost to repaint / refinish the paint on a Mystique?

[m4gician]

I have a Silver Frost Mystique, and despite my detailing efforts, I can't hide all the rock chips on the front, and minor scratches on the sides, plus I need to replace two dented doors, and a dented rear bumper, what am I looking at for costs? If it's more than the value of this car, I won't do it but I want to know what some of you guys have paid for a similar service?

 

[BrApple]

you get what you pay for ...


go shop around and talk to shops ...


or if you want to be that lazy and not research shops in your area Macco can do a complete respray for 1k, if you want quality work your looking closer to 4k or so ...

 

[m4gician]

you get what you pay for ...


go shop around and talk to shops ...


or if you want to be that lazy and not research shops in your area Macco can do a complete respray for 1k, if you want quality work your looking closer to 4k or so ...

it sounds like everytime you answer you have that "I don't like helping you" tone of voice... I was just asking what it cost you guys in prior experience, I mean ya thanks I understand that and I fully know that a complete respray is $4000 but you know what, thanks for your input it's kinda steering me in the right direction anyway.

 

[Desiato]

It would be a good idea to call around and drive in for some estimates. You can probably have the bumper repaired and repainted for around $200-300. The dents may not cost too much depending on their nature.

Repainting the car probably isn't viable. I have been unimpressed with cheap bodywork and repaints that I've seen. Getting it done properly is only worth it if you plan on driving the car for more than a few years and it's personally important to you. Otherwise, I would just touch up the paint chips yourself.

 

[rouar]

it sounds like everytime you answer you have that "I don't like helping you" tone of voice... I was just asking what it cost you guys in prior experience, I mean ya thanks I understand that and I fully know that a complete respray is $4000 but you know what, thanks for your input it's kinda steering me in the right direction anyway.

Perhaps tones are not tranferred to text properly, but I guarantee you Brian is one of the least pretentious CEGers here.

Anyway, orange peel is common on paint jobs that aren't quality done. If you decide to get your car done anywhere, see if you can find personal testimonials about the shop in question. My old Probe, whose bumper was repainted by the previous owner, was perfectly matching for about six months before it started peeling badly.

 

[BrApple]

it sounds like everytime you answer you have that "I don't like helping you" tone of voice... I was just asking what it cost you guys in prior experience, I mean ya thanks I understand that and I fully know that a complete respray is $4000 but you know what, thanks for your input it's kinda steering me in the right direction anyway.

ever have an off day? ....

just getting alittle tired of people, not just you, asking questions with out thinking first and searching/researching themselves.

also you can't read into what a person types like you can when you speak with someone ... if I really didn't like to help I wouldn't have answered or I would have provided something other then the asnwer you where looking for ... or just flamed you for asking the question ...

what I didn't mention was that price will very by location ...you definately get what you pay for so you need to go around to local shops that you want to concider and ask questions, get an estimate and tour the facility ...

 

[Tony2005]

Perhaps tones are not tranferred to text properly, but I guarantee you Brian is one of the least pretentious CEGers here.
....

Well, I think Brian is more of a "this is how it is" type of person. No hand holding from him :laugh: . So take his post for the technical details and not the tone of his posts. If you think he is bad, you should have been here a year or so ago. You would have been "flamed" all the way to 1988HyundaiExcel-land. :laugh:

 

[rouar]

If you think he is bad, you should have been here a year or so ago. You would have been "flamed" all the way to 1988HyundaiExcel-land. :laugh:

People have been downright civil in recent years compared to the love triangles and fighting we had in 2002!

 

[PacificTourG]

Do you plan on keeping the car for a long time? If so, then it probably would be worth the money for a quality paint job. If not planning on keeping it for a long time, maybe consider getting a cheap paint job.

 

[Tony2005]

... If not planning on keeping it for a long time, maybe consider getting a cheap paint job.

..... or no paint job. Save the money for repairs and maintenance.

 

[BrApple]

that is the other big point that I learned talking with people about my options, what is the goal? long term ownership with a great paint or something to get you by a few years while you driv the car

these all come into account, so you need to go to your local shops and speak to them about it

 

[SVT3391]

..... or no paint job. Save the money for repairs and maintenance.

That's probably what I would do. Wait, that's the exact thing I did.

I spent very close to what Brian paid for his paint, to get the nicely made 3L and HMS transmission from FastCougar. A full overhaul of suspension is set in 2 or 3 weeks. I know my car definitely won't look as good as Brian's when ours are lined together. But I get a big smile every time I am behind my steering wheels.

And if you ask how satisfying the new drivetrain has made the car be, let me put it this way: I pretty much garage my less-than-5000-miles 05 Saab 9-2X Aero -- Cobb stage 2 with Cobb-claimed 280 HP at crank -- and drive my 3L CSVT daily. Saturday I took the Saab out for a spin, and returned in 3 minutes and got my CSVT out instead.

 

[BrApple]

oh don't worry, If I ever need to I will get a 3L and a built trans, but at this point in time I needed paint for the SVT "kit", and I already have Bat Struts and Eibachs so I think my car is pretty fun to drive at the moment

but having a 3L and a HMS trans w/the goodies would be :drool: too

 

[SVT3391]

Don't get me wrong. If money is no issue then I definitely love to get a full repaint. After all, even though my car is still in pretty good condition, it's a 98 E0 no less. It surely envies my other cars that can be stored in garage, with a shiny appearance.

For what I can spend this moment, I did what I think most beneficial to my car, even though my old 2.5 and Ford reman tranny were running very smoothly. I saw that opportunity come up in the classified and I bit the bullet. Originally I didn't really know how much improvement this would be. That was just an impulse purchase, even though a big one it is. Based on most people's responses, I thought a plain vallina 3L swap probably will put down 195 to the wheels, compared to like 165 for stock SVT. That's a 30 HP gain. Shouldn't be able to compared to the 60 FWHP gain (at crank) for the Cobb stage 2 to stock WRX. Well, I was happily proven wrong. The car drives better than the stage 2 92X. Granted, I have only driven the 92X 90 miles after I went stage 2. But I still felt the CSVT's improvement is remarkable.

In another 2 years, I probably can save up for the paint job. But again, I may use that money to go turbo, if FastCougar does create an "affordable" set. But either way, what we are doing here is trying to delay the inevitable -- those cars depreciate much faster than almost anything on the road and if we sell the cars outright tomorrow the price we get will be less than what we just put in. But I still love my car and will keep putting money in to keep the car running -- unless one day it is totally out of control.

So I think my conclusion is one that most people can accept -- it doesn't matter how much the price tag says, so long as we are happy. Based on this, I will say both my 3L swap, and Brian's paint job, are money well spent. I know some other people may consider it's unwise to sink that much of money on a very old car -- my NASIOC friends told me I could have made my 92X a 320HP beast at wheels with that much of money -- and I still happily did it. I know for the next 10 months or so I will need to repay the bill but still, it made my daily commute so much more fun that I am willing to get up at 4:30 am and beat the traffic down to DC driving at 90+ mph. :shocked:

 

[BrApple]

your right, bottom line is what you are most happy with, at this time it was paint for me and the engine/trans for you ... makes sense to me as we will never stop spending money on out cars ... if we get a new one it will start again so I figure I might as well stick with this one if anything at the moment

 

[Tony2005]

... it made my daily commute so much more fun that I am willing to get up at 4:30 am and beat the traffic down to DC driving at 90+ mph. :shocked:

You were diverted to a closed circuit race track, of course, when doing 90+ mph.

 

[SVT3391]

You were diverted to a closed circuit race track, of course, when doing 90+ mph.

I found after 5:30 am, the I-95, as well as the capitol beltway (I-495), are crowded with cars. You need to be prepared to slow down or even completely stop from time to time. However, it's totally different before 5:00 am. Every car on the road drives like just robbing the bank. No cop car around either -- if one car is pulled over then it will immediately build up mile long jam, on both ways.

I can surely do 90 MPH from Baltimore to DC on the I-95, about 80 MPH on 495 South, and 75 MPH on 295. After I cross the MD/DC boundary, I can only do 60. Then after that it's all local.

I get up early so I can leave earlier. Before 4:00 pm the traffic back is really not that bad. After 4:30 pm it will take forever to exit DC and go on 495.

 

[SVT3391]

I already have Bat Struts and Eibachs so I think my car is pretty fun to drive at the moment

Hey, that's exactly what I will be putting on my car next month.
How do you like your setup? And, how much lower compared to the stock?

You know what, those suspension parts were exactly what Pete told me to give up on the Mirko. In front of my house there is a long private drive way shared by 4 homes with some grade. Pete told me I will never be able to drive up without scraping the bottom with the suspension.

 

[BrApple]

Hey, that's exactly what I will be putting on my car next month.
How do you like your setup? And, how much lower compared to the stock?

You know what, those suspension parts were exactly what Pete told me to give up on the Mirko. In front of my house there is a long private drive way shared by 4 homes with some grade. Pete told me I will never be able to drive up without scraping the bottom with the suspension.

i like it alot so far, nice complient ride but firm when needed ... I'd say I got about the 1.5 inch drop that you are suppose to get, when measured this puts the mirko 5 inches off the ground ... the only time I didn't like it was when I was returning from Carlisle, PA to CT on i think it was 78 in PA heading into NJ, the right lane had bumps or something like every ten feet and it hurt after awhile, it was like you where driving over concrete and could feel the space between each slab but it wasn't concrete ...