I'm going to start shopping around to get my car painted and I was just wondering how things should work. (I'm looking mainly at privately owned places around me with decent reputations, no earl shieb)

Do most places require a deposit or should full payment be due only once the work is completed.

I know most places give a general estimate. Lets say I get an estimate and I tell them I want them to paint my car. Will they give me a "final" price before work starts or can it change partway through?

How should warranty on the paint/labor work?

Anyone tips I should know? Any BS things dishonest shop owners try to pull?

Any info would be appreciated, my main thing is I don't want to be told "oh, yea, you have to pay full up front, thats standard in this kind of business" when in reality it may not be how it works, and they're just blowing smoke up my ***. That sort of thing.

Dave

 

It really depends on the shop. From my experience, most privately owned body shops will require some sort of deposit while the dealership body shops don't have as much to lose.

I will say this, though, be prepared to pay what it's worth if you want it to be of the "good" quality. I don't think many people truly understand what goes into repainting a car.

 

You authorize the repair of the vehicle. They don't change anything on the estimate without telling you, since you have to authorize it. The only supplement is basically R&I items. Once the vehicle is finish you have to cough up the dough. If you don't, they can hold the car hostage. After a certain period of time they can put a lien on it. A complete refinish would involve a lot of removal & install items and a lot of covering up. In my area a complete refinish usually averages about 3 grand.

 

So some form of deposit isn't out of the ordinary for private shops. Is it normally something like cost of materials?

I'm not looking for show quality, jams, or engine bay, I'm looking for a good looking car from the outside with all the doors shut. Just paint what you'll see from the outside, but I don't want ripples down my doors from orange peel, I dont' wan runs etc, basic stuff. For 2,000-3,000$ I want a pretty decent job to look at, not perfect, but decent. Something that isn't going to fall off in a year.

I just don't want to be given an estimate, and agree to let a shop do the work at that price. And have the shop tag on 1,000$ worth of "extra" stuff that they did not factor in for, but should have halfway through. Basically someone gives a low price planning on jacking it up halfway through. Obviously if a panel is rotted out underneath they can't control that.

??

 

You don't pay them until the vehicle is finish with the repairs. It's true they will do a ROUGH estimate for you because they know you prolly won't go back. But if you are serious, they will write a thorough estimate for you. They are not going to drop a bomb on you with additional cost. They have better things to do than mess with you over a measly $2-3 grand. The estimate will tell you what they are going to do. Depending on the software they use. But make sure they have a line that states COMPLETE REFINISH otherwise they can rip you off by putting refinish on the estimate a panel at a time. COMPLETE REFINISH cost less than panel by panel refinish. The rest of the line on the estimate are basically stating the parts and time they need to remove and reinstall items for refinish. At the end of the estimate are the "fluff" items like: Flex Additive, Cover car, Hazardous waste removal...etc.

 

Should any related warranty information be on the thorough estimate as well?

Pretty much any paintjob should have some sort of warranty right?

Thanks

 

No, you need to ask about it. If you are that worried, ask for the disclaimer as not all shops will include it. If there is any problems, just talk to the shop estimator, then move up to the manager. If that fails you can report it to the BBB and the Bureau of Automotive repairs(BAR).