Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

[TW]Fox · 2 Apr 2015 at 18:50

mrk said:
Regarding the quoted price of it, it is a discounted rate

But discounted for what reason - I still can't see a place that will do the quality of work you will no doubt want to have done for just £1400.

and I did see the other cars they have done too on various marques. My indy would not have recommended this place if they didn't think it was good enough surely.

What some random mechanic thinks is a 'good enough' job is rather different to what you or I would think is a good enough job.

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:03

Both completely valid points and on the whole I would agree. It's a good rate because of the recommendation from my indy and I do have full trust in them based on the years I've been with them and known the guys there. The same reason I chose the local paint detailing guy, again based on recommendation then going to see his unit and speak to him to get a feel for what he does and how he does it.

Maybe I put a lot of trust into people I don't know, but I tend to only do that once I've gotten a feel for them and their business I guess. On the flip side I put less trust into the nearest BMW body shop (Winchester) based on past experiences with them. They charge a premium but certainly didn't give me a premium service!

Tom|Nbk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:08

Sit him down with a cup of tea, explain your expectations and explain how critical it is that it is right the first time...

Fox is right though this industry is such a game of 'that's good enough' because most people would accept that it actually is!

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:09

Interesting test, see their tea choice and if it's not right then simply bounce?

Tom|Nbk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:14

Must be Yorkshire

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:16

Yorkshire is good but it is not "must be" good.

Tom|Nbk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:17

Oh Christ now we are onto my tea is better than yours, pepsilol do you want to chime in with your tea choice?

[TW]Fox · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:25

mrk said:
It's a good rate because of the recommendation from my indy

No it's not, its a good rate because he reckons he could do it for that money to secure your business. A really good place isn't going to take a grand off the price of the work simply because you got recommended from a particular other business.

I remain convinced that anyone happy to do a full respray for £1400 will not do it to a standard that will please somebody with your standards.

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 19:44

Whatever the reasons are there's plenty of time to see more of the guy's work and shop around. All I can tell you is that my initial impression is that he does a good job and takes some pride in what he does but doesn't feel there's a need to charge the expected fee for it. A lot of car places down here are generously cheap, my indy charges £500 for an inspection2 for example, and they all provide high quality one to one service.

I suppose that is one of the benefits of these small businesses, there's a name to a face and a conversation that follows instead of a company name and "our mechanic" type of affair.

We'll see in time

pepsilol · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:25

[TW]Fox;27863353 said:
I remain convinced that anyone happy to do a full respray for £1400 will not do it to a standard that will please somebody with your standards.

If you posted that a couple of years ago I so would have agreed. Since finding my new bodyshop I've thrown all my beliefs out of the window. There are some serious exceptions to that rule my son!

Regarding tea, it's just gotta be that gold one where they paint the leaves or something

I have some corrosion on one door, bubbling on the other door and I want to do the front wings to fix the stone chips.

His proposal to do both sides of the car front to back to avoid blend issues and redo the rear tailgate because I've chipped it......£350!

Gaygle · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:25

Respraying an entire car requires skill, quality tools and more than anything - time. A shed load of it.

Your car looks fantastic, with a full detail and a resprayed front bumper, it'll be as near to perfect as any car will be. Just enjoy it. Or at least think about the other things you could spend £1400 that would bring so much more to the car.

You'd be risking so much. £1400 for a respray on a car is simply not going to cut it. And by the time you've found out it doesn't cut it, your lovely factory finish is gone forever, and you'll be chasing some one man band to restore the original paintwork of your car, which will never happen.

Small businesses have comparatively large overheads for the amount of money they bring in. They can't afford to redo a car 3 times if it's not right, and even the most skilled painter with all the patience in the world won't get something right when stripping down and respraying an entire car, so you'll just be fobbed off instead.

It simply isn't worth it. It isn't worth the money. It isn't worth the risk. And it won't bring you the type of workmanship and finish you crave. Spend the money on a BBK and a full correctional detail, or a carbon airbox if you want to bring a new angle to the car.

[TW]Fox · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:26

Spend the money on fuel and accommodation and drive it to the Alps.

If you just wanted it to look mint and good in photos and nothing else then you should have kept the 318Ci as it's basically the same thing to look at.

Joe T · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:28

^ This

I'm even nervous of having the paint done on my '68 and that currently definitely needs a paint job!

(edit: was referring to Gaygle post, but Fox's isnt far wrong either).

Gaygle · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:30

[TW]Fox;27863208 said:
What some random mechanic thinks is a 'good enough' job is rather different to what you or I would think is a good enough job.

This. Oh one thousand times this.

This mechanic also doesn't know what the car will look like in 1 year time. You're forgetting about the "it'll do" mentality that IMO, the vast amount of people in all trades have.

You will notice things that a mechanic won't. Just think about Paradigms respray and how much he had to fight - don't forget that went through a QA check after it was done, and was still regarded as good enough, with even the manager at Audi saying 90% of people wouldn't notice. You and I would notice this in an instant.

Same with Jono8 and his Fiesta. A garage has done that, QA checked it and felt it has been good enough to present to a customer. Clearly this isn't the case.

Janesy B · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:30

Just drive it and enjoy it. A £1400 paint job is going to be awful, 3 times the amount and maybe you're closer to something that's top notch.

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:37

[TW]Fox;27863615 said:
Spend the money on fuel and accommodation and drive it to the Alps.

If you just wanted it to look mint and good in photos and nothing else then you should have kept the 318Ci as it's basically the same thing to look at.

When I have time free it will get driven to all sorts of nice locations regardless of what I do or don't do beforehand to it. I took the 318 around parts of Europe and always dreamt of doing much more once I get something to properly enjoy such trips in. None of that is a maybe, that is a definite. What is a maybe/likely is what we are discussing now though.

Gibbo · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:38

Janesy B said:
Just drive it and enjoy it. A £1400 paint job is going to be awful, 3 times the amount and maybe you're closer to something that's top notch.

This and the first stone chip you get you will be gutted. Just get the paint polished and a good wax, trust me 99.9% of people will think wow that looks new. Only you really know of the defects from when you wash it as you notice such things being the owner.

Scania · 2 Apr 2015 at 20:58

I had a quote for the rear o/s quarter, boot lid and bumper to be sprayed on my old e38, it was Cosmos Black apparently an awful colour to get right.

I used a BMW / Mercedes approved body shop of good repute and the quote came back at "at least £2000" they warned me it could end up more.

This was back in 2005! I didn't proceed!!!

I'm extremely puzzled why your obsessing with this, the car looks lovely, enjoy it ffs!

Worrying about what it'll be like in a year or so's time - now - is bloody daft!

You seem to be considering a full respray for far too little money for work a competent "chips away" type could do for a few hundred quid tops.

What gives?

mrk · 2 Apr 2015 at 21:03

Know what Gibbo, you're absolutely right. It does look ruddy good it does. I guess it's just the times I do wash it and start drying it off and notice the scratches here and there and the stone chips and go "oh no!".

[TW]Fox · 2 Apr 2015 at 21:10

mrk said:
Know what Gibbo, you're absolutely right. It does look ruddy good it does. I guess it's just the times I do wash it and start drying it off and notice the scratches here and there and the stone chips and go "oh no!".

Thats life with the colour of car you've chosen - I guarantee every single sub 6 month old car I've driven is in worse condition paint wise than yours. They show everything - you can't escape that.

Even if you have it resprayed it wont be long before it's showing marks again. It just can't be helped.