Respray/Paint Touch Up vs. Car Value

[CravingBavaria]

I was going to put this in one of the more specific threads, but thought it was a broad enough topic to be discussed in the main forum.

I am lucky enough to have bought my E92 from the only owner besides me, and he didn't need anything resprayed or opt to have anything resprayed. That being said, there were some things cleaned up with touch up paint here and there.

I'm a perfectionist and I want my "used" car to reflect that as much as possible. I am a firm believer that once you have any panel resprayed you're lowering the value or the scope of potential buyers. Sorry if this offends anyone who may have had their front bumper resprayed from normal wear.

I do have things that need touched up and I want them taken care of, I'm just proceeding with HEAVY caution. I took the car over to a local spot repair shop hoping that there was some magic fixes that existed to clean up the issues without respray, but sadly that isn't the case.

I have zero faith in myself to use the touch up paint myself, so I am thinking about bringing the paint to the spot repair guy to clean up more professionally. It's VERY simple stuff like a door ding that's unfortunately missing some paint, and curb rash curving up from below the right side of the front bumper. It's stuff I notice...

The purpose of this thread was to gauge thoughts on touch ups and if it's even worth it? Also wanted to see if there are actually good techniques to perform a near-flawless touch up? A friend of mine says he has a touch up guy that can do a really good job I just haven't got the chance to go over to him yet.

Thanks for the thoughts!

[m3_tristan]

Touch ups always look like shit. I'm a perfectionist too but I rather just respray. To me the respray route will always look better.

With the value, why does it matter? Sure it hurts it a bit but in the end just enjoy the car.

[BayE30]

spot painting bumpers is for used car lot trash. it will hurt the value more than taking off the bumper and having it refinished properly.

as for door dings, a professional detailer can make touch up jobs on door dings almost disappear, but dont expect that work to come cheap, its very time consuming.

[akkando]

I think on front bumpers for a car like this with some miles on it, it doesn't lower the value much if at all, especially if you document it with proof it wasn't from an accident. Sure some people will be turned off, but other people will want to buy it more because "it looks like new"

To an enthusiast they might even prefer if you had the reflectors shaves and the bumper resprayed or euro bumper.

If it was a collector car then you could have an issue. Or where things seem suspicious like front fender and door etc.

[Scrippy]

A re spray isn't to much of a resale killer unless you change colors. A proper paint job in the original color wouldn't bug me as a buyer as long as it's not a shit job. When people change color making the doorsills and engine bay show this is when it hurts ya. I would expect a full respray by a competent shop to go for 5,000-6,000 minimum and anything less would raise a flag.

[Epoustouflant]

I recently went through this dilemma on my Fire Orange paint.

I opted for the touch up first - but it looked like complete shit.

I recently did the front bumper respray, shaving the reflectors and a full PPF.

The resale aspect is non sense to me, if you have enough miles to need a respray, I will make the case it actually increases desirability over a beat up, chipped alternative.

[CravingBavaria]

Thanks for the input so far from all of you. Seems like the consensus is respraying isn't that big of a deal.

I think it's just natural for me to want to keep the car as close as it did from the factory OR able to be put back to how it was from the factory (lips, spoilers, etc). I don't own a collectible M3, but it feels good to know that everything on my car is original paint aside from very minor touch-up jobs.

I'll put more thought into it. There is really only one spot that I would consider respraying, a gash in the right rear fender (about an inch by quarter of an inch, I might post pictures), that has been touched up and can't be noticed unless you are doing a detailed inspection of the car. The spot guy said that they could blend it with the rest of the bumper.

**That brings up another question, thoughts on blending?**

Luckily the front bumper is pretty general wear and tear and I don't have to think about respraying that

[Ab28]

A bumper respray is not a big deal at all.

I’ve redone a number of cars and as long as it’s right, it’s better than road rash and blemishes.

Let’s not kid ourselves, these cars are not museum pieces....and factory paint ain’t always that great.

Drive your cars, fix them, enjoy the experience.

[SoCalRPM]

While I agree that a resprayed panel can cause doubt for some because it may be evidence of a covered up accident etc... I think that should be separated from value.

Some perfectionists have a panel resprayed simply to ensure the car is top notch - because touch up doesn't always look great.

I'll be honest, I have a nasty rock chip on my hood. My car's paint is otherwise a pretty solid 8/10. Swirl free. Ceramic coated and meticulously maintained. And I'm weighing a respray instead of a touch up because I want it to be perfect.

Resprayed doesn't always equal lesser value.

[Scrippy]

Respray is no big deal. I have two front bumpers and I've painted them both twice already and not one person has commented or even noticed at car gatherings. I daily my car and do track events when I can. I have over 210,000 miles and the daily use is responsible for the majority of the chips. My hood has two good chips as well and it will be next for a respray. So far my body shop has never let me down with an exact match but my car is garaged so the paint is in good shape other than chips. If the hood turns out bad I will probably respray the whole thing the OEM jet black. Like one of the other folks said earlier, just enjoy the car and don't worry about petty things like a resale down the road.

[6ixSpd]

Originally Posted by CravingBavaria

I am a firm believer that once you have any panel resprayed you're lowering the value or the scope of potential buyers.

No.

[Astheros]

As someone who works at a BMW certified shop:

A shitty paint job would def make me question the car and its value

But a well done job would not make me question anything

People get panels or cars painted for many reasons... most of the time it is small damage and or chips from normal wear.

As long as carfax is clean i would not care much

[aggieshan]

To me, from a buyer perspective, I would avoid any used car with respray panel (except front bumper).
1. The quality of the respray is not guaranteed. For a buyer, I have no idea about the body shop quality.
2. Even with the great respray, it is difficult to tell if there is any paint putty beneath the paint. Over years with heat, sun, cold, the region will become a potential issue.
3. Potential accident which is not disclosed by seller.
4. Original paint is still the best in my opinion.
5. To do the respray, some panels may need to be removed, which could cause rattle or noise if not re installed carefully.

[SAMM3Y]

Personally I'm function over form, sure I don't want a car that has previously been In accidents and has door dings from hell but I don't want a museum piece that I'm afraid to leave at a park and ride or drive in the rain. A solid 7-8/10 aesthetically works for me. I can't see the outside when I've got my foot down.

The garage queen/cars and coffee meet social wash it and park it works for some but not for me. I'm sure that's the song of the people who drive 08 beaters like mine but I can't imagine babying my car or being concerned about a well repainted panel. These cars are aging. Having said that mine is all original but I'd never bother having the bumpers etc repainted under my ownership unless I'm doing the whole car.

I care more about number of owners, mileage and states it's resided in. Major maintenance is a plus. I've seen Midwest sub 30k examples look like rusty hoopties underneath on lifts where a 120k west coast example still look like new. The sedan guys seem to care more about resale value on these cars more than the others
For the rest of us just don't fook it up and plan on loosing $ they're not cheap to own.

[Johal E32]

I certainly prefer original paint over resprayed panels. However, I did not let this deter me from purchasing my E90 M3. The PO had every record, including the insurance claim paperwork, body shop receipt, etc. It was obvious the car had a very high quality bumper respray.

Ultimately, I think resprayed body panels would only hurt the resale value if it is a very low mileage "garage queen". But if a car has some miles on it and you actually drive it.. I don't think there is anything wrong with a high quality respray on a panel or two.

In fact, I just sent my E90 in to the body shop to get the front reflectors shaves and the front bumper resprayed

[steezus]

Originally Posted by Johal E32

I certainly prefer original paint over resprayed panels. However, I did not let this deter me from purchasing my E90 M3. The PO had every record, including the insurance claim paperwork, body shop receipt, etc. It was obvious the car had a very high quality bumper respray.

Ultimately, I think resprayed body panels would only hurt the resale value if it is a very low mileage "garage queen". But if a car has some miles on it and you actually drive it.. I don't think there is anything wrong with a high quality respray on a panel or two.

In fact, I just sent my E90 in to the body shop to get the front reflectors shaves and the front bumper resprayed

What did they quote you? I wanted to look into around my area to get my bumper done too.

[W///]

I think one thing that you can do that would put potential buyers at ease would be to show proof of why you sent the car to the paintshop. If I saw damages before, and saw that I was just minor cosmetic stuff, then it would really be a non issue for me.

At the end of the day, it depends what your goals are for your car. While special to me, the E9x M3 is not a super valuable classic or a barn find. I've had my rear bumper resprayed because running 295's at the rear put a ton of rock chips right behind the wheel. Since I know I'm keeping the car forever, to me it was a no brainer to repaint it.

[CravingBavaria]

Appreciate the continued replies. The consensus of go ahead and respray seems to have changed slightly as more comments come in.

I've been thinking about it more and trying to piece together what I want my car to emulate.

First my thoughts on it with my ownership. What I've come up with is that my car is not a garage queen or a museum piece, BUT I don't drive it enough or in the manner to disregard how it looks, ("eh it's a beater, whatever"). I see lower mileage one owner cars come up for sale and think that my car could be a near flawless mid-mileage car if it didn't have the cosmetic issues.

Regarding resale, I don't know what I want to do. I told myself since this is my first "real" car I am never going to sell it. But eventually I may want a rarer spec with lower miles and would seem useless to keep mine. But I am still striving to have one of the nicer ~80-100k mile cars to put up for sale if that time ever comes.

Has anyone noticed that it seems like prices have gone up slightly? I was looking around my price range on the usual sites yesterday and there was nothing remotely worth considering for the price I got my car at just 6 months ago. Another reason I am just striving to have the best car possible without potentially screwing it up with a respray, but still wanting the car to look it's best.

Attached is a photo of my main issue. Rear left fender, previous owner love tapped something and covered it with touch up paint. Could this at least be re-done to look better?

[Johal E32]

Originally Posted by steezus

What did they quote you? I wanted to look into around my area to get my bumper done too.

It is $1600 for a full respray and reflector shave. I did the math and it's cheaper than getting a Euro bumper for ~$1,000 plus quality paint which is around $800-$1,000 here in the Bay Area, California.

[aggieshan]

I would leave the damage as it is. Respray the whole rear quarter panel is a big deal unless you can do a local treatment.

[Epoustouflant]

Originally Posted by Johal E32

It is $1600 for a full respray and reflector shave. I did the math and it's cheaper than getting a Euro bumper for ~$1,000 plus quality paint which is around $800-$1,000 here in the Bay Area, California.

That's crazy. I paid 600$ for shave and respray with BASF's RM paint line & clear.

[tooloud10]

These cars are anywhere from 8-13 years old at this point. It's really starting to seem unrealistic to walk from an otherwise good car simply because it's had a panel properly repainted, especially if you've already gotten picky about the body style, color, transmission, and options.