gt350mike

My son was driving my AE the other day and slide underneath a pick-up. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the hood has seen better days. Since he was driving, he took responsibility for his mistake & promised to pay for all of the expenses instead of turning it over to the insurance. Since then, I've talked to a bodyshop and they told me that it will cost about $300 for the hood, but the shocker came when he told me how much it would cost to paint the hood; $500 (without paying to mount the hood)!!! The cost of the hood is inline with what I can find on the net ($180 for a CAPA hood + $100 shipping), but the paint/labor seems extremely high. Could it be because the car is pearl white?

I'd appreciate any input on this!

beancooker

500 is so so priced for washington state. it depends on your region. Earl Scheib & macco paint for cheap, but you get what you pay for!!!

xnyc

iTrader: (9)

maybe its time to get a carbon fiber hood =]. kind of expensive for 500 bucks to paint it

Lontar1

iTrader: (5)

body work and labor is really high.. I got an estimate to paint a bumper and the guy wants $350.00 for it... I was like DAMN.. plus he knows me by name...... so go figure.....

getbigtony

iTrader: (1)

yea, i agree. get an OEM carbon fiber hood. it'll save you weight = save you gas, and will also save u an extra 300 bucks or so.

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

$500 just for paint is to high...

I had an estimate for $275 to repaint the entire hood from a DEALER!

Ask is that includes a ton of blending that prob does not "need" to be done.

igzy

iTrader: (18)

Pearl paint is a ching-ching for paint shops. I had several sections repainted on my car and section wise you are looking at about $400 per hood, roof, bumper, fenders, etc. It is because the pearl is hard to match with the rest of the car (they may also need to paint parts of surroundings to make it match) and the paint process is 3-stage vs. conventional 2-stage paint for non-pearl. Shop around good shops and hopefully you'll get it perhaps bit lower and paying cash also helps...

gt350mike

What color???????

I don't mind paying for quality work, but the shop's quote was to paint the hood (no blending of fenders/bumpers).

Thanks for the feedback! I'm going to stop by the dealership in the morning and ask them for a quote.

BRINKLEY

iTrader: (4)

I would definetely get some different quotes, and ask a few of your friends, most people have a shop they prefer.

zagzig

$500 seems about what I was quoted from 2 shops and I have pearl white. One was from the stealership and one from another shop. The stealership was higher. As igzy said, you will pay a premium for pearl paint becasue you have a base coat, pearl coat and then clear. In addition to the additional step it is difficult to match and will probably require some blending.

rmd0311

iTrader: (4)

The last body shop i went to charged me $325 to take out some scratches and straighten the bumper. Then paint it.

$500 sounds high.

Before that I oaid $350 to paint the entire top of the car.

K Pazzo 6

iTrader: (6)

go where you know will do a good job & talk to owner...ask for quote then ask if you pay with cash how LOW can he go, you'd be surprised!

also pearl white is MORE MONEY, its an extra stage of paint the body shop has to do...its 3 step process I believe instead of 2

rmd0311

iTrader: (4)

I did not know that kpazzo..

Noted., never buy pearl white. Looks great... Cost too much to paint.

Thanks

ope2k4

iTrader: (4)

on carbon fiber hood

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

Gray Lustre... So yes that is a three step pearle paint job. The dealer I goto does a great job and stands behind his work.

Here is a pic of my color after some old lady swiped the side of my fender.



Keep in mind, to have that fixed cost $1200. They replaced the drivers quarter panel, removed front bumper and refinished the whole thing, repainted the entire hood and blended into the drivers door.

SO $500 to repaint the entire hood is insane. Keep in mind, most people pay $100-150 to paint and install a front lip. It is not much more work to do a hood...

westler92

Yeah that seems a little high.....however I wouldnt take it to MAACO.....CF Hood is a great excuse now......

cpuguy06

iTrader: (3)

Ya idk if this helps or not, but a paint shop wanted $4500 to sand my whole car down and repaint...I have an 02 with pearl white as well...IMO don't go carbon fiber...carbon fiber looks good if you have a dark car, but when u have a white car with a carbon fiber hood....it looks kinda to me..just my .02

sciff5

iTrader: (1)

Another option is prep the hood yourself which is where a lot of the labor cost comes in. I went to home depot last night and they have sand blast guns for 20$. Get that, get the sand, and rent or borrow and air compessor. Go outside someplace that is already dirty and blast that hood clean.

I am not a painter so someone else would have to tell you how to apply the primer coat.


And for christ sakes mount the hood yourself. I just got quoted over 1000$ to install my Energy suspension poly bushings.. people will try and take your money every chance they get.

claudiusmaximas

eh its opinion based. i personally think the CF hood is a good idea and what better time than now.

TheModCity

very true.

Rock On!

iTrader: (3)

$500 is not a bad price if they blend the fenders. If they dont blend the fenders your color will probably not match on a pearl white. You get what you pay for. If you want it to look good just pay to have it profesionally done.

Rock On!

iTrader: (3)

Oh, and most shops don't want you to prep it yourself cause they can't guarantee the work if you prep it yourself. And always go with a shop that has at least a guarantee on their work.

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

Correct, especially since a lot of how the paint turns out is in the prep work.

Also, I have found that if you get a good shop they don't really need to blend. The dealer I goto can match paint really well and does barely any blending.

shift_2kmaxima

iTrader: (4)

i got quoted $80 bucks to get both of my lips painted,
rear and front....which i'll get painted next week or so....
if i was u i would get a CF hood man
good luck
huso

sciff5

iTrader: (1)

If I was in the thread starters position I would also get a CF hood but it doesnt seem like hes interested in doing that.

upstatemax

iTrader: (15)

I will agree with some others and say that on a white car it will look a bit rice...

On a dark Maxima I would say go for it. When I was going to have my hood repainted it was one of my options, then the old lady hit me and painted it for free...

gt350mike

Thanks for everyone's feedback..........I just talked to the dealership bodyshop and he told me that I'm looking at $300 just to paint the hood. If the needed to blend the fenders/bumpers, it would be more. So it looks like I'm heading to the dealer instead of the local shops!

geenowalker

I paid 275 to have my bumpers painted by a dealership....I will leave their name out, buy it is the only nissan shop in Feasterville Pa. Anyway, the paint was chipping less than two months later. They would not stand by it saying that it was a subcontractor that did the job and I would have to talk to him. They are apparently known (unknownst to me at the time) for being shaddy. You get what you pay for.

PS. Report it to your insurance company regardless of what he says.
Most insurance policies require notification of any incident. If he decides not to pay, you insurance company has the possibility of denying a claim. Neither of your insurance rates can go up if a payment is not made by an insurer.