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

So back to the OP car then :p

I mentioned to my indy recently about maybe getting it fully resprayed in time and they pointed out a place they used on their own cars. Got a chance to pop in this morning and having a look around and chat. Friendly guy and the condition of his unit was outstanding. been going for a long time but the place looked like new with everything neat and tidy. The guy admitted to being quite anal with his work though!

He said they use a higher quality lacquer than OEM that's thick and makes metallic paint really stand out. Was quoted £1400 inc VAT for the respray (flatten > colour > lacquer). He immediately could tell the bonnet had at one point in its life been resprayed too. I pointed out the few stone chips on the bumper and wing along with some scratches here and there that paint correction was unable to remove fully. All good.

The price is much cheaper than I thought it would be, makes me want to do it sooner but I will let more chips and scratches build up before booking. He said this kind of job on this car would normally be in the £2000+ range.

I don't regret having the paint correction done early in the year though, it was in a world of buffer trails and swirls that bothered me greatly and it's now much better off for it. Though since the lacquer has thinned from the correcting, the swirls/marks will return quicker. All the more reason to get a respray.

So combine that with the brake calliper silver refurb (or bmw performance brakes, haven't decided yet!), the car will be so minty :D
 
No it doesn't warrant it now, but it will in the near future as more stone chips and scratches accumulate, though tbh it is stuff you expect to see anyway on a car that is over 10 years old I suppose.

The paint is in good condition, yes, no rust, no dents and no major issues other than what I've already mentioned (stone chips and some scratches) - But those alone are enough to bother me when I see them, even if not major. On my old car this wasn't an issue as it was silver, on this it's a different story, even the lightest of marks show up!

I guess I just want it to be totally perfect at all times which I accept is never going to be possible on a dark metallic paint car, I can only try my best over the years I guess.

FWIW, it wasn't 3k over book, the others with similar age, spec and mileage were all around 1-2k difference and this was the only one with new tyres and new Inspection 2 service and new alloy refurbs all round, so actually reasonably inline, price wise.
 
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Regarding the quoted price of it, it is a discounted rate 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. I'm not saying it's not unlikely that it could be a lower than OEM quality job, anything is indeed possible these days with garages and body shops, but down here I have only ever chosen places that have been recommended by people I trust and have always been given a quality service.

Having said that, it's not like I want to get it done next week or anything, plenty of time to mullet over :cool:

As Tom says, I want to keep this car for years and years, it would be totally awesome to have all outside components looking as if they were just installed off the shelf!
 
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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!
 
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 :)
 
[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.
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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.
 
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!".
 
Alright alright I understand! Dark metallic is balls to keep clean and appreciate up close when aged :p I guess I do completely forget about it though when on the road and the right pedal gets a bit of movement :D

Tom|Nbk said:
You own an E46 M3 now anyway, shouldn't you be looking for some kind of sick vinyl wrap or dat plasti dipz m8 :D
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It did actually cross my mind a couple of times. But alas I shall not fall into that stereotype!
 
"Can we get a ride in the M3??!"

Yes, yes you can.

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That was around 7000rpm :p


Isn't this what sports cars are all about? Enjoying the drive and character of them, then sharing that with others? :)
 
Clear coat wrapping is almost as much as the full respray quote above lol. Sod that. Maybe I should just treat it like "battle scars" - a sign of proper usage? :D

Speaking of usage, my little cousins were upset they didn't get a ride, so before I left for home I gave them a ride, can't be leaving anyone unhappy now, especially the little ones, they don't forget these things!

Take a guess who enjoyed it more haha!

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But then I'd want to respray the front then clear wrap it, no point wrapping a front end that's already got some stone chips/scratches. It's £450 to spray the front end, and another wad of that to clear wrap.
 
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