I'm looking to get my 00 civic painted but not sure what shops are good ect. I live in Long Beach so if anyone knows of shops in that area who are legit post em up. I still need to get some parts ordered before I think about paint. I also need to change the timing belt and get a few other things in order.

Anyway my main concern is the body shop not painting the air dam and front bumper grill. I've been seeing a lot of civics where they just half *** it and paint the entire bumper...Basically want it to look like this when its done (stock) as though the car came from the factory that color. So should I tell them or would a reputable shop already know not to paint those areas?

 

look in the yellow pages and find a few shops that are direct repair shops for insurance companies or call your own insur. company and ask who they recommend.

ask family and friends if they've had work done and if they approved the work and so on.

as far as the fog light baffles are concerned where you take it to, tell the estimater that you want them taped off.

 

its simple. if you're looking for a paintjob that costs a couple hundred bucks, expect to get a piece of sh*t paint job... if u spend a couple grand.. u have the leverage to yell at them if they f*ck up

reputable shops definitely know what to paint, and what not to paint. if they f*ck up, u can yell. thats the beauty of being the paying customer. but if u take it to a grind and bondo shop, they'll laugh at you for expecting more.

 

not looking for cheap but done right, its still hard though going off google reviews. Most are mixed reviews so you have to take your chances I guess. Obviously a place like macco or 1day is gonna be ****, but aside from that its hard to tell between good/bad shops.

So whats a good price range considering the body is perfect? Would the dealer be a good option? I know they paint but heard they source the work out to local shops. In which cases your are basically paying them to be a middle man of sorts.