09-12-2007, 04:18 PM
I had a Buick Century for many years and had it repainted twice by Maaco in 1998 and 1995. In both cases I think the money was well-spent. The paint jobs were OK but the car, no showpiece to begin with, looked like it had been repainted if you knew where to look. The car was silver, and the Maaco silver color was a reasonably close match.
A few years later I had another 11-year-old Buick repainted by a proper collision shop at significantly higher cost due to an accident and insurance payment. It was an odd color, sort of metallic dark purple, that wasn't anything close to a standard Maaco color, and changing the color would most definitely have been a problem. Repainting only the panels that had had the damage wasn't an option either. Anyway, the car emerged looking brand new, but a few months later I started to regret spending so much money on cosmetics.
If I had a ten-year-old car that I liked I'd definitely have the rust repaired properly. I don't know that I'd go for the whole-hog paint job though. I would be thinking: how many more years do I really expect to keep the car, and how smart will I feel about feeling mad about new nicks, scrapes, and dings on a 10-year-old car?
A few years later I had another 11-year-old Buick repainted by a proper collision shop at significantly higher cost due to an accident and insurance payment. It was an odd color, sort of metallic dark purple, that wasn't anything close to a standard Maaco color, and changing the color would most definitely have been a problem. Repainting only the panels that had had the damage wasn't an option either. Anyway, the car emerged looking brand new, but a few months later I started to regret spending so much money on cosmetics.
If I had a ten-year-old car that I liked I'd definitely have the rust repaired properly. I don't know that I'd go for the whole-hog paint job though. I would be thinking: how many more years do I really expect to keep the car, and how smart will I feel about feeling mad about new nicks, scrapes, and dings on a 10-year-old car?