Trying again with this thread posted in Paint area recently.

Been struggling with this decision whether to paint my 98 Accord EX or not. Hope I would hear your opinions to help me to decide. Got my 98 Accord last summer to revive my previous ownership back in 2000 that I kept for 7 years.
The body work is clean, but the paint is extremely dull in tan color, without any peels (surprising). Got a quote from local private shop for $2500 for a so called perfect job including few ding repairs, I thought it wasn't good idea since I bought the Accord for $1500 itself plus some work to make it run again total investment was about $3000 overall. Months later, I'm still itching for repaint, so I took it to local Maaco shop for a quote. It's about $800 for the job with premium paint protection. Few my friends advise against it since the total car value is too low to put more money on it. Said making it run decent is more important at that age of vehicle.
Thoughts? Beside that got 160k miles on it and it's burning some oil. Not too bad really, and yes I'm hoping to get few more years out of it, and reach at least over 200k.

 

If you plan to junk the car once it goes out, which isnt far, a paint job is not worth it.
Polish the paint and bring back some shine and drive it till it can't go anymore.

Of if you plan to keep the car forever, or rebuild the engine once it blows, then it would be a good idea to paint it.

Macco paint jobs are honestly a hit or miss.
Some people drive away with nice paint jobs.
Others drive away with over spray and paint runs.

 

That's what most of my friends say. I wouldn't mind keeping it while longer while I'm on a truck payment for 4-5 more years. So with a shiny paint on it, it'll keep me motivated to hang on it longer. The only issue is depreciation of the car keep going down till it turns 25 years old then it'll go up slowly.
Tried polishing the paint with special compound, it didn't help anything especially with the extreme dull. It's as if the clear coat is all peeled off already.
Hmm....

 

The clear on your car has probably been deteriorated from being in the sun over the years. Honda was never known for putting loads of clear on cars anyway. The price maaco quoted was I imagine a single stage paint job that does not have clear coat on top the color. I would stay away from that unless you are ok with spending $800. and in 3 years have your car look the way it does now. The shop that quoted $2500 probably was for a base coat/clear coat paint job. As far as should you invest that much in the car ,you are the only one who can answer that. I bought a 2001 accord that was hit in the front. My intentions are to do a over all base/clear paint job on that when I get finished with all the body work. The advantage I have though is I have been in the paint and body business for 36 years and can do all the work myself. If you want to get your 98 painted I say go for it and don't worry about what a book says the car is worth,know what its worth to you.

 

If you are hesitant of getting a paint job now because of te resell value, sell the car now and cut any losses.
The money spent into the paint job, any money thrown into the new engine/rebuild will not get back into you pocket, ever. And already with 200k+ miles it will not sell easily.

But if this is a car you want to keep for now and don't mind losing some money on it and you want it to look nice. Go ahead and get it painted.
I have my own car and have painted it, dumped money I will never get back into it. I know I won't sell it for the amount of money put into it. But I will never sell it because it's worth more to me than the book, as 76 camaro said.

Single stage work is good and will last some time but also like 76 camaro said, it will fade out.
If there is no clear coat on the car. The body shop is probably quoting 2500 because thy need to strip the old base color off.
Marco will probably give it a quick scuff and shoot the color.

 

If you don't mind some elbow grease, you might consider a roller paint job - seriously. Just have the right expectations going in.

It's what I would consider a 10 foot paint job. Not perfect, but looks pretty good. Most people have no idea its not a factory job. Total cost is between $50-80 including supplies.

There are a couple downsides to this, other than the imperfect finish. It takes awhile to do it right. Also, it's an oil based enamel, so there's no clear coat. That being said, my paint job lasted about 4 years without noticeable fade.

See for yourself: Just painted my Fiero with a roller...(with pics, of course) - Pennock's Fiero Forum



I've heard that Maaco will sometimes have specials for $200 for a single stage paint job if you do the prepwork. The local one here in Charlotte will do it for $300.

 

If you know how to color sand and have extreme patience you can make a rolled on job look good. Only issue is not being able to color sand tight nooks and crannies.