Dumbass scratched my car over the weekend trying to parallel park. He's actually my cousin's husband's brother (and was definitely drunk), so getting him to fork over the money needed to fix it shouldn't be TOO hard. However, my other cousin, who used to work at a body shop said it'll prob. cost $300 or so to fix this. I'm going for an estimate tomorrow, but I've heard others say it'll likely be that high as well. Why does it cost so much for something that seems to be simple to fix? Or, are these estimates just way off?
Why are "minor" car paint jobs so expensive?
- Thread starter isasir
- Start date
They're probably gonna respray the whole bumper and that doesn't look like a "cheapie" color. When you figure in cost of flex additive, the paint and mixing the paint and color matching it plus the labor that isn't that bad. 
Hmm... I have some other scratches on the car from a car that rear-ended me (and I never followed up on to fix). Would that likely get taken care of as well, since they'd do the whole bumper?
BTW, the car is a 2000 Accord, Nighthawk Black Pearl color.
BTW, the car is a 2000 Accord, Nighthawk Black Pearl color.
911paramedic
Diamond Member
- Jan 7, 2002
- 9,448
- 1
- 76
From experience, and from what another thread was talking about today, it is because the insurance will pay. Sticking it to Da Man.
It was explained the same way that medical bills are so high, because insurance pays for it. I know that because I could lose my job for not asking a patient about their fscking insurance coverage while I was treating them. I would ask most patients, but patients that were truly ill (heart attack, car accident, major trauma or medical illness) I would write "Patient Unable" on my trip report. Not my job to do that, I am there to give care and treatment.
I hate insurance companies, heartless b@stards. (the people that work there may be ok, but the philosophy is bad)
It was explained the same way that medical bills are so high, because insurance pays for it. I know that because I could lose my job for not asking a patient about their fscking insurance coverage while I was treating them. I would ask most patients, but patients that were truly ill (heart attack, car accident, major trauma or medical illness) I would write "Patient Unable" on my trip report. Not my job to do that, I am there to give care and treatment.
I hate insurance companies, heartless b@stards. (the people that work there may be ok, but the philosophy is bad)
911Paramedic, do you have a link to that thread (assuming it has relevance to this post). I couldn't find it in a search.
i don't know why they're so much, but i wish they weren't. i'm taking the car to a few body shops this weekend to see about my bumper, and depending on what kind of prices i get quoted, i may take it to my school's shop and do it myself. I figure i may as well see how it turns out, and if it doesn't then i'll drop the money to get it fixed properly
Sit back, and get ready for a lesson on why it is so expensive.
Your car is painted in metalic paint. Metallic paint, with alot of mica in it (The metallic part) is very unstable. If not used, it will cure in the can much faster than normal paint, and thus the batch will be ruined. It is pretty much use it all or none. That is why some metallic touch up paint does not exist (Like Ford type K7 metallic Royal Blue). It will congeal in the tube or can before you can use it.
First off, paint and accessories is expensive to begin with, because of the volatile stuff in it. You are paying hazmat fees, liability costs, pollution costs, etc.
Now, we get to automotive paint basics. Lets paint a whole quarter panel.
After ALL the labor of getting it to bare metal (Stripping, sanding, repairs, removal of trim, etc) First, you spray self etching primer, usually called Variprime. Then you spray your first color coat. The enamel is mixed with activator/reducer, gloss hardener, fish eye eliminator, then thinned with Xylene if still needed. After a few color coats and wet sanding, then you spray the clear coat (Which also has activator/reducer)
By the time you are done, here is an approx of costs....
1 gallon DuPont Centari acrylic automotive enamel, candy apple red, nonmetallic - $116
1 gallon activator reducer - $20.17
1 quart gloss hardener - $16.99
1 bottle FEE - $46.50
5 gal Xylene - $35.00
1 gal clear coat - $33.75
1 gal activator/reducer - $16.99
1 gal Variprime - $50
1 gal reducer -$23.00
Sandpaper - $20
Total cost - $378.40
$378.40 in supplies alone. Add labor, parts, consumables, etc and it gets expensive quick. Paint is not cheap in any means.
Your car is painted in metalic paint. Metallic paint, with alot of mica in it (The metallic part) is very unstable. If not used, it will cure in the can much faster than normal paint, and thus the batch will be ruined. It is pretty much use it all or none. That is why some metallic touch up paint does not exist (Like Ford type K7 metallic Royal Blue). It will congeal in the tube or can before you can use it.
First off, paint and accessories is expensive to begin with, because of the volatile stuff in it. You are paying hazmat fees, liability costs, pollution costs, etc.
Now, we get to automotive paint basics. Lets paint a whole quarter panel.
After ALL the labor of getting it to bare metal (Stripping, sanding, repairs, removal of trim, etc) First, you spray self etching primer, usually called Variprime. Then you spray your first color coat. The enamel is mixed with activator/reducer, gloss hardener, fish eye eliminator, then thinned with Xylene if still needed. After a few color coats and wet sanding, then you spray the clear coat (Which also has activator/reducer)
By the time you are done, here is an approx of costs....
1 gallon DuPont Centari acrylic automotive enamel, candy apple red, nonmetallic - $116
1 gallon activator reducer - $20.17
1 quart gloss hardener - $16.99
1 bottle FEE - $46.50
5 gal Xylene - $35.00
1 gal clear coat - $33.75
1 gal activator/reducer - $16.99
1 gal Variprime - $50
1 gal reducer -$23.00
Sandpaper - $20
Total cost - $378.40
$378.40 in supplies alone. Add labor, parts, consumables, etc and it gets expensive quick. Paint is not cheap in any means.
:Q
Maybe I'll pocket the $500 or so and just buy some touch-up paint.
Tho' when I tell this guy the costs, I'll probably need to have your post handy, so I can explain to him why it's so high.
Because the entire panel, in this case, the bumper, needs to be repainted, or else the scratches will remain visible.
That, and all the labor and shop overhead.
$300 is on the cheap side. My neighbor just hit my car and its going to be $1600 to repair the bumper and front panel, paint it and blend it in with the doors and hood.:Q
For that scratch, a pint of color and a quart of clear is plenty. Looks to me like a dark blue metallic, which would probably run $30 or so for the pint (and yes you can buy only a pint and not a whole gallon, a gallon would be enough for the entire car). The clear will probably run about $30 also for the quart. Add in a quart of primer, activator/reducer, etc, and you're prolly up to say about $120 for supplies. They'd do the body work (in this case, some sanding and very little filler) and then what they'd do is only put color over the damaged area and blend it in to the rest of the bumper. Then the entire bumper would get a few coats of clear. Most body shops charge $50-70 an hour, so $300 is actually pretty good. A job like that would probably take me roughly 4-5 hours. Most of what you pay is labor, but the supplies themselves arent cheap either.
You can buy it in quarts too. Also sice it is a bumper cover it will need the flex additives which are exspensive as hell. If you don't use it the paint will crack.
Amused
Elite Member
- Apr 14, 2001
- 57,039
- 18,349
- 146
Yep, a scratch only an inch long requires the entire body panel be repainted so they can "blend" the paint. No matter how hard they try, they wont match your color exactly... especially if the car is more than a year old and has faded slightly. So they blend the paint over the entire body panel, therefore making any color variation impossible to detect.
It's VERY labor intensive as well.
It's VERY labor intensive as well.
I didn't get to go get the estimate today, but hopefully I'll get a chance tmw. during lunch.
Question tho' - are there any real alternatives? Should I even look into touch-up paint, or would that likely just make it worse? Basically, even I feel odd about quoting ~$500 to the guy to fix a few scratches. Tho' again, it's not my money, and if that's the price, then that's the price. Perhaps I should just ask for like $300 and pocket the money.
Question tho' - are there any real alternatives? Should I even look into touch-up paint, or would that likely just make it worse? Basically, even I feel odd about quoting ~$500 to the guy to fix a few scratches. Tho' again, it's not my money, and if that's the price, then that's the price. Perhaps I should just ask for like $300 and pocket the money.
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