Member
I took my E36 4 Door sedan to a BMW specific paint shop and they quoted me $5,000. I'm in Henderson, nevada, should I keep looking around or is that the going rate for a paint job now? Because I could buy a decent E36 for that lol.
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Member
A good paint job is expensive. This is especially true if it's an engine out, windows out, trim off color change. Even a same color respray is expensive if done at a quality shop with skilled labor and a decent masking job. Materials cost more today, prep and clean paint booth plays a huge role in the quality of the job, and environmental fees for the shop all play a role.
I agree $5k for an e36 that might we worth less is a bit steep. Ask around and see if anyone knows a body shop guy who moonlights after hours. I know a few independent shop owners here who take on odd jobs for less, it really depends on how busy they are or in some cases if you can offer something in trade to bring the cost down.
Member
I was expecting around $1,000 and I would've been willing to pay that but shit with $5,000 I could buy myself 10 parts cars and swap the panels on the ones with good paint lol.Originally Posted by Twistytee
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I'm lost
I've never even looked into repainting mine, but I know a number of people here have had some success doing the prep work themselves and saved a bunch of money.
Member
$1k barely gets you a Maaco job these days. Think about it, a good shop charges $250-$500 for paint and prep on bumper covers alone. Sand, prep, color and clear on a hood can cost $500. I wouldn't pay $5K on my car because it's not worth that on resale, but I wouldn't trust a $1k paint job either.
Agree with Nanni that doing your own block sanding and prep can save some $$.
Member
I got a quote to paint just the hood at a BMW recommended shop, they wanted $984.
Member
1000? what? it's important to keep in mind how many hours of work are needed to do this. 5000 is a decent price, especially if they take out the engine and all. idk what an hour of painter/mechanic work costs in your place but you can calculate yourself. there will be someone working on your car for several days and that has to be paid somehow.
Member
Get a quote from Counts Kustoms (tv show) I'm curious. They will do it right.
http://www.countskustoms.com/
Attn. NEWBIES: Use the search feature, 98% has already been discussed.
Click the search button, select "search single content type", select the "e36 sub forum" specifically, try the "search titles" then try the "search entire posts".
Member
really confused on why they need to remove an engine just to paint the car, i thought paintining the m3 bumper cover would be cheap now im never buying one
Member
you dont need to, but then you have a black car and a red engine bay for example.
Member
Depends on how good a job you want. $5k is about right For a good job. But paint just the exterior and you do all the prep and you can get it done for about $1k. They will be taping trim and not removing the glass or doing any body work for that price. Maybe find a guy on Craig’s list who paints cars on the side. Unless your car is a show car, it would probably be good enough. For $5k, I would make a down payment on an E46M3 or E92 335i or 135i.
Member
My car was black before thank god and I'm going for a two tone any way between gloss black and blue so that may save some money as well
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Eschew Obfuscation
Couple things here.
1. Nevada, eh? I lived in the Carson valley for a year. Great place to sandblast a car's paint, simply drive it around. Heck, the winds will sandblast your car just sitting in the driveway.
FYI you will have neat roadtrips drives over to Cali to score $5k worth of not-faded body panels. Have fun replacing the roof and rear quarters... because you have to paint it afterwards anyway.
2. Budget, eh? I calculated about $600 for DIY vinyl wrapping, $500ish for DIY plasti-dip. And the color selection is astounding.
3. Show car, eh? $5k is basic bich level for car paint. You want to take home that best-of-show trophy, you need to trailer the stripped shell over to some shop in southern Cali with hot rods and muscle cars lined up for blocks and start laying down stacks of fat moola.
4. Oh, sorry, not a show car? See this thread:
https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...od-Restoration
Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.
Member
These are pictures of the car. Bad rattle paint can job in a matte black by the past owners. The paint is going all the way down to the metal on the hood, I don't want it to rust out so I figured it couldn't be wrapped really. Also the front bumper has never been painted. There's no real base paint for me to wrap or repair lol.
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Member
Earl Scheib or Maaco!
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Trolling with the truth
Buy the necessary tools and materials and paint it yourself. You should be able to do that for under a grand.
Eschew Obfuscation
Ouch, that's a bit rough. You have some body damage on the left rear fender lip.
I vote bondo the dents, hand-sand the rattlecan crap off, buy a compressor + dryer + paintgun setup, build a booth out of 2x4s and plastic sheeting, and teach yourself how to paint with Youtube tutorials.
Or part it out and score a better condition chassis - 4-banger 4-door E36s are common and cheap.
Eat, drink, and be merry - for tomorrow we drive.
Member
For that cost I would look into doing the prep and then find a spray booth and someone to spray it for you OR maybe consider wrapping the car.
Member
There's a large area where paint has come off of the hood. Would I wrap it after prepping and priming it?
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