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How much should I pay to have my Prius painted?=The 'clear coat' has worn off.

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by ski.dive, Oct 23, 2018.

  1. ski.dive

    ski.dive Active Member

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    Hutchinson Island,FL. Mt. Snow,VT
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    How much did you pay to have your Prius painted?
     
    #1 ski.dive, Oct 23, 2018
    Last edited: Oct 23, 2018
  2. Kenny94945

    Kenny94945 Active Member

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    Location:
    Sausalito
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Four
    Depends on your perfection level.
    If the clear coat is peeling, that coat needs to be completely removed before painting.
    Whether chemical stripping (which will also take the color, machine sanding (color
    coat may or may not survive), or primer sealing over the color once clear is removed
    (require color coat and clear reapplied) or to paint just the affects panels or the
    entire cart are some options.
    Then the perfection, remove trim, door handles, windows so there are not paint edges,
    mil thickness of paint, overspray detail of the jams are your choices.
    So a range of $500 Miracle Auto Painting to $20K factory emulated paint.
    So this I'd say this can not be answered over the internet.
    I'd also question why the clear is peeling, repainted before?
    That's my two cent comment, good luck.
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  3. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    Location:
    Redneck Riviera (Gulf South)
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    How many miles?
    What's the car's street value?
    How important is it to you that the paint looks good...or great...."or perfect?"

    If your car is worth $6,000 I would not tie $2,000 up into a paint job unless I knew that I was going to be driving it for another 10 years - and you CAN'T know that unless you have a time machine, since somebody with a cell phone might rear-end you 10 minutes after you drive away from the body shop!

    Advice:
    1. Ignore it.
    2. Determine your car's real-world value, and then try and determine what it's worth to YOU.
    3. Get three guestimates from the three busiest local collision repair shops and stare and compare those estimates with your car's street value.

    Then?
    Get back with us with those values to ground check everything.....(optional.)

    My guess is that you're the typical VT/FL retired person.....so you're going to have a different idea of what this car is worth than a younger driver....and it might not be your only car in your only house.
    That might give you a considerable advantage over a person who has one house and one daily driver that they need to get to the one thing that you may not have any more-------a job.

    In other words, you may have a lot more time to throw at this 'problem' than the average person.

    USE that advantage!

    Good Luck!
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    boston
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    2012 Prius Plug-in
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    Plug-in Base
    i wouldn't go over $600. for a car that old
     
    Skibob likes this.
  5. Skibob

    Skibob Senior Member

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    Get a paint gun and do it yourself. My neighbor painted his van in his backyard. Looks much better than it did.
     
  6. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Greater Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    From my point of view, the cost is secondary: you want to have a good working relationship with some shop. Someone who does a careful, thorough job, will not oversell you, and is willing to follow up.