Repaint cost

[salspaugh1]

I recently had a professional paint shop give me an estimate on repaint on a very good body with 2 small areas about the size of a quarter of surface rust. The price was, what I thought, out of sight. He would only do if I agreed on removing just about every piece of metal on the car. I was not looking for a show quality paint job. The quote was $10,000. Am I crazy or is that just plain wrong. I was looking to repair some scratches, two minor dents on the lower rear quarter panel and lower rear panel, and basically a color change. With this great forum, what do you all feel is a reasonable price for painting. I realize there are a lot of variables involved. I appreciate any advise.


Steve A

[MJSSpider2K]

perhaps he placed the decimal point in the wrong place. If you check out the local Macco houses and find a good one that will take a little extra time to do it right (espically if your doing most of the prep) you can have a nice BC/CC paint job for $1000. Look for a Macco with some fresh paint jobs in the lot so you get a preview of their work.

[salspaugh1]

Thanks for the reply. I figure he either make a mistake or simply did not want the job. I will take your advice and check out some other places. We are in a small town with only 2 paint shops, but are within 50 miles of 2 larger cities. Great to have a forum with some good advice.


Steve Alspaugh

[Nick]

Yeah $10,00 is definitely much too high an estimate. They probably think you're someone who'll do anything for their classic car and are rich because you own one.

[NJFIAT1981]

Hi Steve,
Where are you located? I have a great guy in Eastern PA that is very reasonable. George

[ORFORD2004]

I just paid $2600 canadian for the job of my 83. And he did the engine bay and the trunk. The engine was out of the car. And another one said 100 hours at $40 per hour plus the material. Between $5000 to $6000...

[Nick]

I'm surprised the quotes seem to vary so much. I know there are some painters who are better than others, but for a basic good looking paint job there shouldn't be such fluctuation in the price.

[narfire]

I'm with orford on this one. I had my 80 done for $2500 cdn, but I supplied the paint to make sure of the quality and he also did a couple of small patches/welding on the door. It was stripped and epoxied/long blocked I think they call it primed ,painted and 3 coats clear. I'm happy with the job and price.

[salspaugh1]

Thanks for the great responses. To George in Eastern Pa. Thanks for the tip, but I'm located in Northwestern Ohio, a little far to drive. These responses have given me the info I need to make a decision on how to go about justifying a paint job. I've determined that the cost won't make a lot of sense with the current value of these cars, but the love of the Spider and determination to keep it looking great will justify the price. That is within reason.


Steve A

[77Spider]

Paint jobs will vary.........!

The range I found was from low balls of $1000 to complete top shops at $10,000. I respect the $10,000 guy for what they do. They do the works including all under body sealers and so on. They also use VERY expensive paints. But if you work at it you can find close to the $10,000 guy for about half that. My guy cut me a break as he was also making some cash off of interiors and mechanics. He sent me to a painter that did us up for $3,500. I've recently heard back from the guy as well and he says NEVER again! The next job he quoted my mechanics on a similar car was $4,800. This includes all body, prep and paint. I did inside trunk, under hood and removed engine...... we did some wheel well undercoating but not the entire under body.....

I say 3K - 5K should get it done. I would be a bit suspect of the 1K - 2K paint jobs........

Also go to or google Auto COlor Library to look for colors for your Fiat years.........