To paint or not to paint is the Question

[prolego]

I was planning to have my 95 red NSX repainted in January by a friend who does custom cars. There would be no color change. Would just like to get all the chips that have been touched up sanded smooth, repainted and a new clearcoat.

Then I saw an article that indicated repainting would lower the value of the car.

Will the value be reduced even if it is a first class paint job?
How much value will be lost if at all?

Also is there an electronic copy of the owners manual anywhere on the web? I have several questions about certain features of my NSX.

Thanks for the help!
Gale

 

[RyRy210]

Do a search. You will find that this has been discussed many times before. Just search paint or repaint in the subject.

 

[hlweyl]

If you do repaint it, be sure to take pictures along the way.... that way if you go to sell it, the new owner will not question whether or not it has been in a wreck.

Also, you might want to consider a "clear bra" to cover the nose to prevent rock chips on new paint.

 

[DOWNLOAD]

dont paint it

take it to a good detail shop. get a good buff and wax by an experienced person. a repaint will lower the value. u cant justify a complete repaint. prospective buyers will think the cars been damaged. if anything do just the hood or fenders only if the chips are really bad, but you're still gonna have problems explaining the paint work.

 

[nsxtasy]

is there an electronic copy of the owners manual anywhere on the web?

No, but if you don't have one, you should buy one and keep it in the car. You can buy a new one here. You can also buy the nice leather cover for it at the same site.

 

[nicholas421]

i dont think a repainted nsx loses value necessarily... it just makes it more difficult to sell (maybe the 2 are 1 in the same).
mine was done for top dollar at a shop that specializes in high end cars but i still had many potential buyers walk because it was painted.

 

[LJSB]

Your repainted car needs to please only 3 people.
You, the painter and the person you sell it to.
More people will pass on a chipped, scratched, dented car then a well re-painted one and you only need to sell it to ONE buyer.

1st guy: Hey your car is sure nice but the paint is kinda chipped old looking.
Owner: Yeah but that's what the next owner wants.

 

[nsxtasy]

My front end has chips consistent with its mileage (54K). They're hard to avoid.

I know how much it would cost to have the best body shop in the Midwest redo the front end. I would have no concerns about its market value in doing so. The main reason I would not bother doing this is that the process of accumulating paint chips would just start all over again at that point...

 

[nicholas421]

The main reason I would not bother doing this is that the process of accumulating paint chips would just start all over again at that point...

Do you not bother washing your car because the process of collecting dirt would start all over again?

 

[nsxtasy]

Do you not bother washing your car because the process of collecting dirt would start all over again?

You're right. I think I'll have my front clip repainted every week from now on.

 

[kgb_agent]

You're right. I think I'll have my front clip repainted every week from now on.

To continue the sarcasm: So you put 54K miles per week on your NSX?

 

[nsxtasy]

To continue the sarcasm: So you put 54K miles per week on your NSX?

Getting back to the question at hand, though - the fact is, you can repaint your front clip at any time. If it's done well - and that's a big "if", by no means guaranteed - then I don't think it will diminish the market value of the car. A really good job will make the front end look a lot better and will be hardly noticeable. A bad job can be a big problem. So be VERY picky when choosing a place to do this.

My point regarding the process starting all over again was this - after another 10-20K miles, you will start seeing new chips again. If you don't mind that, it's fine to do it. But if you're going to wind up regretting repainting and asking yourself why you bothered, then don't. Hope that makes sense.

 

[prolego]

I plan on putting the 3m invisible bra on the front and a few other locations that get damaged easily.

I am hoping to get the best of both. A paint job without chips and that will not be easily chipped.

 

[Black&Tan97Tnewportbeach]

I like it when girls wear that invisible bra. But talkin about paint, I would think as ling as you cna show its not been in an accident, painting the clip is not so bad . . .

 

[hlweyl]

I plan on putting the 3m invisible bra on the front and a few other locations that get damaged easily.

I am hoping to get the best of both. A paint job without chips and that will not be easily chipped.

If/when I get my car repainted, i'm going to do this also. I used to frequent the corvette forums before buying my nsx and the "clear bras" were very popular over there. Supposedly, you can zaino right over the top of these.

 

[Vegas Boy]

Paint...

I have had just the nose section repainted, will probably do it again next spring. I am not worried about what a potential buyer thinks- I want the nose to look fairly clean. If I did sell it,
any NSX enthusiast considering purchase would certainly understand the need to repaint the nose due to chips, etc. I would agree that before/after pics would be a good idea.

 

[ChopsJazz]

I just gave my car a total repaint. Had to, I hit a deer.

 

[gheba_nsx]

I would prefer a clean well repainted NSX than one with original paint and several rock chips... just my opinion...

 

[myf16]

1. It's only original once.

2. If I'm buying a car that was recently repainted, I wonder how bad the accident was...

 

[gheba_nsx]

2. If I'm buying a car that was recently repainted, I wonder how bad the accident was...

Wouldn't a couple photos before-after be enough for you?

 

[myf16]

Not necessarily. The photos could have been taken at any time before the accident. Maybe if you included a newspaper with a major event headlined and you had the paint receipt from the following week. I guess it just seems strange to me that a seller would spend so much to fix a handful of rock chips. That's why I'd be suspicious.

 

[gheba_nsx]

Hey, I almost believed what you wrote here above (I speak about the newspaper part)!

 

[Joel]

I used to frequent the corvette forums before buying my nsx and the "clear bras" were very popular over there. Supposedly, you can zaino right over the top of these.

Yeah, you just can't Zymol over them.

...uh-oh, did I just start a no-no topic here?

 

[prolego]

Video proof

Several ideas I like have been recommended so far.

I will use a video camera.

Without stopping the camera I will start with a newspaper by the VIN number then backing up walk around the car to show it was not damaged. Then with the camera still rolling show as the sanding is started.

Then filming short clips of the different stages of sanding and painting to the completed job. Maybe throwing in a few more newspapers at different stages.

Any suggestions to make this more foolproof?

Thanks for all the input.

Gale

 

[Carguy!]

Re: Video proof

Several ideas I like have been recommended so far.

I will use a video camera.

Without stopping the camera I will start with a newspaper by the VIN number then backing up walk around the car to show it was not damaged. Then with the camera still rolling show as the sanding is started.

Then filming short clips of the different stages of sanding and painting to the completed job. Maybe throwing in a few more newspapers at different stages.

Any suggestions to make this more foolproof?

Thanks for all the input.

Gale

This sounds like a lot of work to fix some rock chips, if the paint is bad enough then I might do it, but the chips would have to be pretty bad.

I traded in my '94 911 Turbo on a '96 993TT a few years back and it had some rock chips on the front bumper and hood. I received a call from a local doctor that bought the car, somehow he found out I was the previous owner. He wanted to know why the hood was repainted, I told him that it was all original when I traded it in and he later found out that the dealer repainted the front clip.

So I guess they thought it would increase the market value enough to justify the expense. I am pretty sure they have their own body shop and they didn't tell the buyer that is was painted at the time of the sale. I am not so sure if they were upfront with him at that time he would of bought the car because of the repaint.