My wifes non-bonneville needs a paint job. What I need to know is how much should we expect to pay for a paint job that will look good for at least a couple years? We will probably keep the car for a few more unless she gets a pontiac Grand Prix.

When we bought the car in NOV 2005, the paint was just fine but has corroded fast especially on the trunk lid and the top. My dad said - "It was probably in bad shape before and they just covered it with black **** so it would look good for sale..."
Really cheap paint job?

At this point, waxing the thing or cleaning it is not going to hide or reverse the damage.

For the record - her car is a black 2001 Dodge stratus.

2-3k

Yeah, mine had one of those couple hundred $$ jobs right before i bought it. kinda got weird. a good one is definitely around 1.5-3k for sure. and goes up from there if you need anything special done like pinstriping or you want trim removed and not just taped over....it all varies.

I work in a body shop and ya you are looking from 2-4 for a nice paint job this is in CND$$

If you do some of the work yourself for prep and reassembly, such as badge and trim removal, rocker panels, etc.. you can save a lot of labor hours.

It also depends on how good of a job you want done. If you want them to strip it or sand it, that'll take time as well.

Paint jobs are ALL in the prep, and work between stages.

some places like my work wont even take cars that people have preped them selfs because they dont want some thing happeing and being blamed for it

Considering you only plan to have the car a couple years, look into a Maaco type shop. I've heard that some of them are pretty decent as long as you go with a simple color and don't need any sort of body work.

IF you do decide on a cheap MAACO or similar style paint job, do yourself a favor and upgrade to the more expensive ones that include prep work like sanding, stripping and masking, with clearcoat and a warrenty.

I have done one once, and did it this way with results that were adequate for 2-3 years. There'* truly no comparison to a high quality paint job, as you do only get what you pay for and like said above, it'* all in the prep work.

So 4 figures for an excellent paint job?

Maaco often runs this special of $250, which sounded a bit cheap for paint. Can't even get a timing belt replaced for that price [ok no comparison there...]
For this car, all we would really want is something basic. there is no metal damage.

As the 2001 stratus'* are not worth much to begin with, we will not be paying $1,000'* for a paint job. I amy take my chances and do the in-need areas myself. It could not look worse than what it does.

Thanks for the replies

If you are considering doing some repair and paint yourself, go down to your local library or bokstore and pick up a DIY autobody how-to book. There are a number of them out there that can help you by teling you how to avoid the worst pitfalls.

Other than that, preparation is still the most important step, followed by the way you treat the paint to finish the job once it'* sprayed.

Good luck and show us your results once you're done.