Hi. I'm considering a hi mi 91 which was repainted red (original color) by Acura dealer (approx. $2.5-3K) because it was hit on the fender (no chasis damage, I'm told) and owner wanted to make sure the whole car looked the same. Any comments reg. how current/future resale value may be affected and life/quality/issues related to new paint? Thanks.!
How does repaint affect resale value?
- Thread starter lutera
- Start date
There's repaint, and there's repaint.lutera said:
For example, let's say a car is hit on the fender in a minor accident, and it's repaired properly by an experienced, high-quality body shop. You can expect little if any change in market value as a result.
When an entire car is repainted, it can be a different story. Often this happens because of a severe accident. The car's market value drops significantly - even more so if it is totalled and acquires a salvage title. Is it because of the repaint? Not really; it's because of the accident and any change in title status.
With the car you're describing, the problem as I see it is that the car's history is questionable. A fender is damaged and the entire car is repainted as a result? That's difficult to believe - possible, I suppose, but difficult to believe nonetheless, since there is no need to paint the rest of the car to match, and any really good body shop would recommend against doing so. So even if the story is true, you're stuck with a car with a questionable story.
Also, $2.5-3K for repainting an entire car is extremely low, the implication being that either (a) it wasn't entirely repainted, or (b) the shop that did it charges less, possibly because they take shortcuts and/or are just not good enough to charge what the market will bear.
How much less is this car worth as a result of the repaint? There's no easy answer, since every repainted car is unique and you can't compare it with other similar cars. One person could say it's worth $3K less and someone else could say it's worth $15K less and there's no way to tell who is right; it's worth whatever someone would pay for it.
That doesn't mean the car isn't worth buying. It just means that you should be paying a hefty discount to buy a car with this kind of questionable history, since the car itself is a risk, as is its market value when you resell it some day.
HTH
I think Carfax is a useful tool in uncovering past problems, but, as Rob well notes, is not infallible. Their data collection is not 100 percent complete or accurate. When they note a problem, it is usually accurate. When they don't note any problems, it increases the odds that the car is "clean", but it doesn't make it a certainty.NeSX said:
Also you need to realize that Carfax's data coverage varies by type of problem. If there is a salvage title, they usually list it (although I'm familiar with cases where they didn't). But if there is an accident without a title change, particularly if no police report is filed, it will often (even usually) not appear in the Carfax report.
Caveat Carfaxor.
Some will, some won't; it depends on the dealer and the experience of their mechanics. Some won't even look for it.lutera said:
An experienced body shop can often spot accident repair history too.
A very experienced car painter once told me that if you repaint an entire car, it drops the value approximately 40%, assuming there is no significant damage that prompted the painting in the first place.
I agree with the others, ask for photos of the car pre-paint. Also, I can not imagine a shop doing a complete (no color change) for less that $7,000. They have to basically strip the car of all parts, window trim, door handles, rocker panels, bumpers, intake vents, winhsdield wiper squirters, emblems, headlights, side marker lights taillights, etc. Then they have to preapre the surface so the new paint is as brilliant as the original paint was. Several coats of paint, a few coats of clear and then color sand and polish the entire car and reassemble. Seems like about 3 weeks work to me at least.
I hope they stayed withe original factory color and did not change to Ferrari red or Fiat blue or something.....
If done correctly, I do not believe the 40% reduction number - depending upon the age of the car, it could increase value, eg., 1991 that was all rock pitted with some dings and minor dents. Now a 2 year old car with a complete paint job, whole other story -
Good luck.
I hope they stayed withe original factory color and did not change to Ferrari red or Fiat blue or something.....
If done correctly, I do not believe the 40% reduction number - depending upon the age of the car, it could increase value, eg., 1991 that was all rock pitted with some dings and minor dents. Now a 2 year old car with a complete paint job, whole other story -
Good luck.
The paint may be difficult to match for certain color. Some of the NSX's are over 10 years old....
I can't believe the resale value drop by 40% if it is repainted unless it is a half-ass job.
I can't believe the resale value drop by 40% if it is repainted unless it is a half-ass job.
If all other considerations are equal, a NSX that has poor looking paint is worth less than one that has great looking paint.
IMO the value of a NSX is not in the resale but in the owning it and DRIVING it.
Being a experienced painter does not make you a expert in the car sales market. To me, a total repaint on a car that makes it lose 40% of it's value is saying the paint job is only worth 60% in the first place. A failing grade.
IMO the value of a NSX is not in the resale but in the owning it and DRIVING it.
Being a experienced painter does not make you a expert in the car sales market. To me, a total repaint on a car that makes it lose 40% of it's value is saying the paint job is only worth 60% in the first place. A failing grade.
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