My 2013 G37 coupe (Shadow Gray) has 10 years of chips and other factors effecting the paint.
Thinking of getting it repainted.
What might be a reasonable price for a paint job?
As the car is 10 years old (cars worth about $11,000), not looking to spend a lot.
Would 2 or 3 grand get a decent paint job?

 

I am in a similar boat here. 16-years of sun, beach sand, ocean surf, and pine trees have taken a toll on my finish. A paint correction is in my future for sure.

I will let others more knowledgeable in paint/ body work chime in, but have you considered vinyl wrapping? I've been told that would be much cheaper than a full-on paint job. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

Try one of them Maaco $500 paint jobs. They get pretty good reviews on the Youtube videos I've seen of them.

 

Have you tried getting paint correction done at a detail or body shop? Sometimes it can help clear up the topcoat.

 

Yea, the detail shop is one option I've though of.

 

I mean it would depend. Assuming it shouldn't need any filler or anything I can see it being more than 2k in total.

 

For a reputable shop doing color matching (unless you also want them to paint your jambs and under the hood, etc) I'd been quoted $6k. This was another car (Mazda RX8) but similar size and complexity.

Wrapping around here is nutz - there's a woman with a purple coupe that goes to Znats and local shows and I think she spent $10k on her wrap. Looks awesome though.

Mine is still shiny from 20' away so I intend to try the paint correction first.

 

Agree that wrapping will cost as much or more to have done correctly. Even PPF (clear) is now outrageous. I see shops sprouting up everywhere doing this type of "protect your investment" work.

Wrapping has its place since I like the quality of some of the newer carbon fiber products, and PPF is great for the areas that get torched by small rocks, but paint is my preference.

The problem with paint is that most shops want insurance work with a large blank check. Not many have figured out how to make money doing custom work for very discriminating customers with high expectations.

Has anyone used Maaco? They have been around for many years, so they must do ok work. I did some work at a paint shop when I was younger and the prep itself is key. Good prep takes many hours, which is why shops like remove and replace insurance work.

 

If you love the car and intend to keep it then you could consider the repaint cost but rest assured if you think you are going to recoup it during resale you are going to be very disappointed.

 

I took my car to a reputable car detailing and wrap shop for paint correction. They told me to open the hood as they wanted to see if my car had a factory clear coating tag and it turns out my car did. This tells them that the factory put on a very thick clear coat which is what gives the g37 ot’s shine and makes it very difficult to do paint correction on. A good shop should be able to check for the tag/code under the hood.

 

What does this "mystery tag" look like?

My clear coat, whether it was thick or thin, is shot regardless.

 

those don't exist anymore. Inflation and all that made sure that won't be offered ever again.