Would anyone recommend a good reasonably priced body and paint shop in the SF Bay Area? I'm looking for minor body clean-up and complete paint. I've removed all the trim, top and interior - ready to go. The shops I visited want from $6000 to $10,000 because they prefer quick insurance work. I understand that skilled labor aint cheap, but realistically, the car isn't worth that much. A pretty nice Spider could be had for $10K. I know, it's an age-old dilemma. I can turn a wrench but not good at body work. Any leads would be appreciated. Tony

Prices for everything in the Bay Area have gone through the roof, and so I don't have an answer for you (I'm in Livermore). I just had my 4-door sedan repainted: no body work needed, no rust, and I had myself removed all the trim, bumpers, lights, door handles, everything, and put it all back together afterwards. Sand, prep, and paint. $6,000 total. Labor rates: About $80 per hour, and about $2,000 for paint and other materials and waste disposal fees.

One suggestion: Try the Central Valley. I've had some leather interior work done out there, and prices are much, much lower than in the Bay Area.

-Bryan

I agree with Bryan. Quality paints and supplies are very expensive. My Spider was painted over 10 years ago and cost somewhere between $3-4k with minimal bodywork (and that was after I removed ALL trim). You might try one of the "cheap" places like Maaco and Miracle - you might be surprised that they aren't particularly inexpensive, but depending on the shop the end result can sometimes be decent.

I have a friend that only paints sports cars (and has multiple Fiats and is a board member here), and I'm sure he won't even consider anything under $5k (the last Spider I had him do was about $4k, maybe a little more, about 6-7 years ago), and things have only gotten more expensive since.