How bad would painting my car destroy its resale value?

[muffinman]

I'm coming into some extra spending money this summer and was contemplating painting my entire car white. I've always loved the Ibis White but could not find one with the options I wanted...

I know doing so would hurt my resale value but I'm planning on keeping this for the long haul (5-6 years at least) and might even never sell it.

I put my chances of actually doing this at like 10% but it's def. plausible... anyone know a ballpark figure for how much a GOOD QUALITY paint job would cost? A pretty penny, I know, but again, I'm in this for the long haul and I'll have some spending money this summer.

I may even consider selling my current whip and buying a new Ibis White if I can justify the costs (if it equals out to about the same amount for getting a quality paint job + depreciation hit).

Thanks

[UrKurt]

Good paint jobs are $$$! Unless your big spending is a $300 Earl Scheib job (strongly discouraged, that is, unless you were planning on painting your trim white, too ) you'll be much better off buying a car for the same price you'll sell yours for. Just don't forget to remove those ECodes and CO's. Guess you'll be out the chip.

[Audi Juice]

I wouldnt even consider buying a car with a non factory paint job. I think it would discourage or limit the number of buyers you could potentially have. Some people might not be bothered though if it is clean

[tvieira24]

It'll cost more to paint it than it will to find another in that color.

[tvieira24]

BTW complete repaints range from $4k - $6k including door jambs, trunk and engine bay.

[ibiski]

I wouldn't be interested in a repaint for sale, although I'm sure it'll look sweet if it's done right. What color is your car BTW?

[muffinman]

I wouldn't be interested in a repaint for sale, although I'm sure it'll look sweet if it's done right. What color is your car BTW?

Dolphin Gray - I love the colr when it's clean.. but it's got a "green-ish" look to it when it's dusty that I don't like.

Plus, white A4's are hotness.. I've always wanted one and white's more flexible when it comes to modding

[quattro.it]

It would totally destroy the resale value of the car. It would be very hard to sell or trade in on a new car. You would be better off ($$) to just sell or trade it for an Ibis white A4.

[ibiski]

Dolphin Gray - I love the colr when it's clean.. but it's got a "green-ish" look to it when it's dusty that I don't like.

Plus, white A4's are hotness.. I've always wanted one and white's more flexible when it comes to modding

Know what u mean... when I went to the dealer, there was a dolphin gray s-line and a white one. I chose the white. Like many said, if you're gonna spend $4-6k to repaint, try to trade it in for a white one.

[Audized]

I'd say you trade it in for a white one. It's totally not worth the money you will have to spend on repainting your whole car. Just spend some time looking hard, you will find one. I'm sure Nico can help you out on this one.

[LimiTed]

dude dolphin gay b7's are so much more rare. rock what you got.

[vtracer20]

unless it was done by a dealer and covered by a warranty i wouldn't consider it. I bought my old gli jetta and part of it was repainted and the clear coat started to flake. I didn't know it was repainted till a vw specialist measued the paint thickness on all panels and wouldn't cover the flaking by warranty.

[R1NSE]

get a vehicle wrap ... you get a white car and then just remove it when you want to. Generally, I think it costs about $12 a square foot. It even protects the paint from wear and tear. You can leave it on the car for up to 3 years with no damage to the paint.

[Robr10]

on the subject of painting your car...would painting the roof black also devalue the car ? would the vinyl wrap be a better option?

[R1NSE]

on the subject of painting your car...would painting the roof black also devalue the car ? would the vinyl wrap be a better option?

I think so because you can easily return the car back to stock. My buddy has a company that does it. Here is what it looks like on a santorin blue B5.



He's in the DC area but pretty much any vehicle graphics store can do it for you.

[Doctor]

on the subject of painting your car...would painting the roof black also devalue the car ? would the vinyl wrap be a better option?

Yeap I've done that in the past, and I've lost some money when I sold it...Not much though, about 100euros...Big deal...
However the vinyl is a good trick...

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[Louis J.]

Muffinman: You have such a nice car...I think you're suffering from "the grass is greener..." syndrome. Seriously, you should be happy with what you have but if you really want a change, trade your car in for an Ibis. A quality respray will run $15k+ and that won't include the engine bay. When it comes time to sell, you will loose quite a bit of $$$ but more importantly, it will be a very hard sell because everyone will question why you would do such a thing. Just on the basis of cost alone, you should trade the car in...that is, if you really need to sell your car.

[4RingRook]

I wouldnt do it. Keep your car, and get a car duster to keep the green look at bay.

[Sharkfin]

I'd say keep the car because you already have money into it not to mention the connection, use the extra cash to do some serious mods!

[muffinman]

thanks for the input... and yeah, i'm being realistic. the chances of me actually doing this are small, but who's to say i won't jump at getting a new '08 Ibis if the right deal presents itself?

but damn.. i was figuring like $3-3.5k for a good paint job

Louis, that very well may be the case... hard to disagree that black or white is more "striking" than DG though

nsmith, yeah, I may just do that... thanks

[freeflow]

Muffinman: You have such a nice car...I think you're suffering from "the grass is greener..." syndrome. Seriously, you should be happy with what you have but if you really want a change, trade your car in for an Ibis. A quality respray will run $15k+ and that won't include the engine bay. When it comes time to sell, you will loose quite a bit of $$$ but more importantly, it will be a very hard sell because everyone will question why you would do such a thing. Just on the basis of cost alone, you should trade the car in...that is, if you really need to sell your car.

Youre on crackkk!!! $15k?!?! I got a complete respray for $3200 from a place The Collection dealership recommended in Miami after it got keyed up. Looks brand new and the dealer agreed.

[TinaTbolt]

i would never ever buy i repainted car. you should love your audi no matter what - but if you dont, trade it in... and actually wrapping it is not a bad idea what so ever. you protect the car and you get the color you want. DONT paint the car, you'll ruin something perfectly good.

[Louis J.]

Louis, that very well may be the case... hard to disagree that black or white is more "striking" than DG though

Can't disagree with you. black>white>dolphin

Why not trade on an ibis B8?

Youre on crackkk!!! $15k?!?! I got a complete respray for $3200 from a place The Collection dealership recommended in Miami after it got keyed up. Looks brand new and the dealer agreed.

No, I'm not on crack, maybe my standards are just higher than yours. I just got my 993 C4S fully resprayed six weeks ago for $9k. I got it done at one of the three most reputable shops local to me. The other two quoted $12k and $14k and that's just for a complete respray, not a color change (no door jams etc.). A color change would add another $5k at least as all doors need to come off for a proper job.

This is not the first car that I've done a complete job on nor is this my first time getting work done at a body shop. Great for you if someone resprayed your entire car for $3k and you're happy with it. I can assure you it wouldn't meet my standards (it's just not economically possible unless your buddy is doing it for beers and $3k) and I'm sure you'll probably start seeing deficiencies within a couple of years.