My inner battles with rust & paint... (long wind)

[Subix]

No one wants to drive around in a dented rust bucket, least of all cars our beloved SVX.... so I've set out to see the price in getting my SVXi fixed. My Bordeaux has some rusting on the doors and a huge dent in the driver side rear qtr panel along with terrible sun fading across the entire top side of the car. It has 205k on it and most likely needs a head gasket but otherwise is in good running shape. The Laguna has rust holes eating away in the rear wheels and slight clear coat fading on the doors but overall the paint is decent with also the exception of a few scrapes in the bumper and one on the trunk. The Laguna only has 106k on it and I'm sure has many more years of enjoyment to be had.

So many options, too many thieves. It's like taking your car into a mechanic shop without any mechanical knowledge or background and feeling the unease or tension associated with hearing the person ramble on about the endless things that is wrong or needs to be done to fix the car... resulting in a 10 minute speech that makes the person seem like they hate their job and ultimately are out to take you for granted as a customer. I don't like being taken for. Worse is hearing them ramble on for 10 minutes and actually knowing enough about your car to realize they are full of **** and that you had just dodged a bullet with robbery imprinted on it.

When it comes to the paint and rust bunnies, it's a whole different story but the same boatload of trust issues surround it. The playing field is completely different so I feel it's much harder to find an honest estimate giving body shop. Everyone's out to make money (obviously) but many of these shops are geared heavily toward insurance claims, almost guaranteeing a premium price for any and all work to be done. The fear of spending upwards of thousands of dollars and horror stories of cracks, wrinkles, orange peeling and other issues only a year later are enough to scare anyone out of the thought of even bothering in the first place and just letting it be.... or moving on to another car entirely, whether it be another rust free SVX or something newer to replace it with. *sort of goes back to a previous thread I posted about building it up only to let it go*

For the Bordeaux, I want to have it repainted the ruby mica (no surprise right?) and had a local school (high school actually) give me an estimate on it. I was quoted $2,400 and that is for the tri-coat paint job, fixing the dents and rust issues associated with it and of course removing the cladding. To be honest, I was expecting a school based paint job to be far cheaper... nearly half to be honest, but I guess they make money on this sort of thing and it's probably used to pay for equipment, etc. etc. After realizing I do indeed have some sort of head gasket problem that definitely needs to be resolved more so than a paint job and dent removal, I've held off on this for now. My one and only estimate for the Bordeaux has been from that school. It looks like crap in the right lighting lol and ok in others... great on a rainy day! Someone had actually asked if the engine caught fire at some point resulting in the way the hood looks now lol.





Onto the Laguna....

Tried going down to a shop locally here but they were closed by time I got to them. Found another shop locally owned body shop that allows you to submit pics of the damage or issues needing attention. I got an e-mail stating it would be roughly (grab a table, chair or sit down for this) $550 to $650 per rust patch, not including paint which he stated was "above and beyond that of the price of patching the spots". Yea, right. Ok, so.... basically to fix 4 patches that are roughly an inch or 2 in diameter I am looking at $3,200 to $4,000. If I want the entire car repainted and fixed, $6,500.

I'm no specialist at all and could very well be in the wrong here but that just seems like straight out robbery to me. Am I wrong? Even if they were repainting the entire qtr panel, I find it very hard to believe I would be expected to pay $4,000 for 2 rust patches on both sides on the very same panel. So I went for a shop that I knew would totally drop the ball and be the cheapest around in town and very well known for their work...

That's right, went to Maaco..... to get an estimate. Now now, get your panties out of a bunch, I already know the horror stories involved but alas, I wanted to get a real world estimate by someone a little more reputable even if their quality of work has been questioned and bashed all the way 'til Sunday and back. Being sleep deprived as I usually am, I decided to grasp the moment for productivity in getting another estimate so I drove out and met with Chris early in the AM to have him look at it. Surprisingly, he knew the car well enough. Shame I was so tired at the time because it seemed like he kind of wanted to talk about it but continued to answer his questions in as little detail as possible.... "Those are pretty rare right?" "How many were made?" etc. etc.

He had me follow him back in so he could run the numbers and give me an estimate. Asked if I wanted just the spots fixed or entire car painted in which the thought had made me cringe at... and stated 'just the spots, thanks'. A few moments later he printed off my estimate without even giving me a number at first and then laid it out in front of me. Broken down by cost of paint, hours of labor involved and other materials or supplies. The price? $710.86 out the door. But, I didn't jump just yet. He asked if I would like to see one of their cars fully repainted with their premium (supreme) paint job of $1,299 and I of course agreed to take a gander. The car was a light gold painted Toyota of sorts and the paint looked surprisingly well done in which you would expect on a new car. I had mentioned the factors of door cladding and the likes in which he acknowledged and said that I could take them off for them to paint or it would be a slight additional charge to take care of.. and the package was warranted with a 5 year warranty.... which could very well take me onto another car anyways. Entirely painted and rust spots fixed, I would be looking at $1,780ish. Or just do the $710 and live out the clear coat issues and minor spotting that will eventually, one day... turn into something worse looking.





Now...

I'm a realist. Slightly OCD.... and a perfectionist... all flaws as I'm sure you're currently aware of Being a realist, it takes away any and all ideas of perfect and OCD has to find a sideline bench to sit on for chill time. Realistically, these cars are valued at so low that a $6500 paint job could be set on fire by any unforeseen accident which could take place in the future. Realistically, I could buy a 2012 Nissan that would have new everything and be set free for only about $4k more. Realistically, insurance companies would never back the money put into our cars... a market I hope someone fills the gap for one day. Realistically, I'm not rich. lol. Ultimately, in another 100k miles on the Bordeaux, I could be in line for another engine and/or car entirely. (I drive a lot so that's in like 5 years heh).

I'm going to continue to get at least 3 or 4 more estimates, if only I could stray from insurance huggers or thieves in general and see what else I can come up with. For $2,400 on the Bordeaux, while overall a good price honestly to have all the cosmetic kinks worked out, I do admit that I fear the workmanship of a high school crew to a slight degree. They do not offer a second looking at either... he made it clear once you're out, you're out. No more work will be done on the car. So with that, it is sort of a gamble. How much of a gamble compared to taking it to Maaco and possibly getting all the kinks worked out and a 5 year warranted paint job for $1,800 ($600 cheaper than a high school shop offering limited experience and no warranty?). That's to be determined I guess.

Nothing but horror stories are associated with the word Maaco. If a movie were released titled Maaco, it would probably give Paranormal Activity a run for its money. haha... However, if the necessary items were removed prior to taking it in including the cladding and seeing if they'll get the door seals and such, it would work out good for 5 or 6 years then I will have felt I'd gotten my monies worth. I recently PM'd a member here who stated the Maaco paint that looked so stellar in Metallic Urban Grey (some of you may remember that thread, it did look gorgeous) the paint has now dulled after some 4 or 5 years later. Said individual had the $499 paint, single stage. I'm curious as to if anyone here has gotten the supreme package that runs $1,299 and if so, if you would share your feedback. Considering it has another coat and clear coat to top it off, it very well may last well beyond 5 years on an acceptable level.

I can't possibly imagine putting more than $3k into a paint job (at least when you look at all the other factors regarding the car which will or does need attention) but at the same time I don't want to drive around dented rusties. While I'll hear you get what you pay for, it comes down to possible longevity of the car itself and being reasonable overall. I just have to find the right shop to do it, whether it be a local one off body shop or a highly regarded chain like Maaco . Does anyone have any suggestions that do not include the word Maaco or Earl Scheib which would yield great paint/body work results without totally breaking the bank? Suggestions besides the obvious, which is trying to tackle the job myself (which just isn't going to happen... time, space.... just to name a few). If I have to travel out of state to get a great deal on some great paint and body work, so be it. That beats the hell out of a $6,500 price sticker on a complete refresh.

Well, that went into rambling so I'll end here. Would enjoy reading any feedback, stories, experiences and suggestions regarding paint/rust repair through a body shop and such, prices would be awesome too. I would say anything has to look better then what I have to deal with right now but... sadly that's probably far from the truth... realistically.

[Sean486]

With the amount of miles on the Bordeaux I would take that to Maaco for a quick respray.
The rust repair on the Laguna looks a lot more extensive and I don't understand how that quote could be so low. I would look for a shop that does restorations and customs, have them quote it. Ask them how exactly they would do the repair.

[SVX_MY_BABY]

My last paint job that I paid $3000 for is now starting to show the poor prep work done prior to painting. Not happy at all about that. Found a body shop which car clubs use and hobbyists recommend. Was quoted $5000 aprox to paint the entire car. They explained what each flaw was and what caused it.

What struck home was the comment that they couldn't guarantee what might happen down the road because of the previous work done on the car. Which makes sense.

Long story short. If you want to keep your car get a quality job first time out. As for body vs mechanical, no body means no ride. Stop rust as soon as you can. It spreads very quickly.

[Conn SVX]

Well having been in the body business, ( worked at a shop for 3 years ) Back in the day ,1972 to be exact. We could do a real nice ENAMEL paint job for $500.00 , then a gallon of paint was 50 bucks and thinner 7 dollars a gallon etc. check the $$$$$ of paint products and you will understand Y the $$$$ is high. I have done 12 in the back yard paint jobs moon lighting in the mid 80's to pay for my swimming pool instal . mostly lacquer , acrylic lacquer and enamel. A guy at a recent car show came with a 79 Charger . I said nice orange paint job . He said he was tired of looking at it in primer or 4 different colors and had Macco shoot it . He was so happy with it he left it that way . I saw a 1934 ford that was done at a trade school , looked beautiful. Only problem it took them 3 years . All Macco ar not the same , some have pride in their workmanship . ASK around or get a list of cars they painted . Go look at them .

[Green1995SVX]

I had my first SVX repainted by a high school. The cost was under $500, and it came out quite nicely. This was about 10 years ago, but I really think you should be able to do way better than what you were quoted.

[Lookin4SVX]

In 2009 was quoted $700 to fix this rust spot on my Impreza.
I had a matching one on the other side too... so $1400.
Does that make you feel better?


Fortunately(?) it got totaled before I got around to it...

[davew833]

I had my '95 Bordeaux painted using the Maaco Supreme service in 2007 to fix similar problems on the hood, roof, and trunk lid/spoiler. I think it was on special at the time (it was winter) and cost me $1400 out the door. I was fairly pleased with it overall, but there were a few sloppy little defects that a top-line body shop wouldn't have allowed a car to leave with. The gas filler door had some major fisheyes, and there were a few other similar defects. Even with a multi-stage paint job, Maaco typically does not do any sanding between coats or any sanding/buffing of the final coat so whatever minor defects there are you're stuck with. I'd say it looked great from 10 feet. Mine had the 5-year warranty too, but I sold the car about 6 months later so I could buy a house. I've never seen it since then, so I don't know how it held up. At the time, I'd had a similar quote from a regular body shop for about $1800 to just repaint the hood, roof, and trunk lid/wing. It sucks that body/paint work are so expensive these days-- the first car I ever had painted in about 1985 cost me $80 at, you guessed it, Earl Scheib. I don't think they even washed it first...

[Subix]

@Lookin4SVX - I assume that price included the paint and labor involved yes? I'm being quoted nearly that for just patching the panel not including paint. Your quote does make me feel better actually haha. Sorry to hear about your car though

@GreenSVX - is that picture recent or is that from right after it was painted? I'm not sure why a high school body shop would cost more than Maaco even... doesn't make much sense to me really so it's questionable.

@Sean486 - it was shocking to hear a quote that low... I was expecting closer to $1,000 or more but maybe not for what it is. I think it comes out to like $30 an hour for labor which is super cheap, minus the cost of materials.

[Green1995SVX]

Originally Posted by Subix

@GreenSVX - is that picture recent or is that from right after it was painted? I'm not sure why a high school body shop would cost more than Maaco even... doesn't make much sense to me really so it's questionable.

I sold the car 7 years ago. That picture is a couple of years after I had it painted.

[SVX92-97]

Subaru should stand for RUST in another language

[davew833]

I think Subaru and all the big Japanese manufacturers have come a long way in rust prevention-- my '97 Legacy GT wagon's spent 14 years in Montana and Utah winters and has zero rust. Think back to the mid-'90s and ask yourself if you ever saw a 1980-84 Subaru GL , DL or BRAT by then that didn't have all kinds of rust issues in the fenders, door bottoms, hatch, or even the middle of the roof that make the SVX seem rustproof by comparison! (Assuming you didn't live in the South or Southwest at the time.) Same goes for Honda, too.

[1986nate]

Step 1, remove Subaru "rust makers"
aka, the rubber strips in the wheel wells. They trap dirt and moisture and is the main cause of wheel well rust.

[Subix]

Originally Posted by 1986nate

Step 1, remove Subaru "rust makers"
aka, the rubber strips in the wheel wells. They trap dirt and moisture and is the main cause of wheel well rust.

Heh, yea... I noticed that... but for now they are hiding said rust. I'm not sure which is worse..

[LastSVXintheChi]

i got a quote from the macco up here in IL for a repaint and rust fixabout a 2years ago...my hood has is fading and the clear coat is slowly leaving. i also have a big dent in the rear drivers corner (looks like someone hit it with a baseball) that has rust i also have rust in the front fenders over the wheel well and behind them...none of it is exposed yet it is still covered by the paint...and he quoted me $1800 that was for the step above the cheapest thing they had

i only paid about 500 more for the whole car is what i was thinking

[Subix]

Originally Posted by LastSVXintheChi

i got a quote from the macco up here in IL for a repaint and rust fixabout a 2years ago...my hood has is fading and the clear coat is slowly leaving. i also have a big dent in the rear drivers corner (looks like someone hit it with a baseball) that has rust i also have rust in the front fenders over the wheel well and behind them...none of it is exposed yet it is still covered by the paint...and he quoted me $1800 that was for the step above the cheapest thing they had

i only paid about 500 more for the whole car is what i was thinking

I can assume you never bothered with it then?