09-13-2007, 02:12 AM
I had my 98 Impreza RS repaired/painted by my best body tech. He did it at his home garage, paid under the table. He COMPLETELY detrimmed the car, took care of dents, scratches, etc. After he painted it, he then removed any dirt nibs and sanded with a max of 3500 grit paper and buffed it all. The car looks BETTER than new.
Cost for materials...$700.00
Cost for his labor...$1400.00
So, I'm $2100 in on a 9 year old car. If I ran it through the shop where I work, the labor would have been TWICE that (maybe a little more than 2x). However, I have larger plans for the car. Good Lord willing, I WILL keep it forever. The next big step (3-5 years down the road) will be a complete STi eng/trans swap.
Overall, weigh what you expect from the car. If it just needs to look nice for a few years, do the Maaco or Vo-Tech thing. If you want it damn-near restored and plan on keeping it forever, find a quality tech and shop, and prepare to pony up the big bucks.
Cost for materials...$700.00
Cost for his labor...$1400.00
So, I'm $2100 in on a 9 year old car. If I ran it through the shop where I work, the labor would have been TWICE that (maybe a little more than 2x). However, I have larger plans for the car. Good Lord willing, I WILL keep it forever. The next big step (3-5 years down the road) will be a complete STi eng/trans swap.
Overall, weigh what you expect from the car. If it just needs to look nice for a few years, do the Maaco or Vo-Tech thing. If you want it damn-near restored and plan on keeping it forever, find a quality tech and shop, and prepare to pony up the big bucks.