Respray

[outnumbered]

opinions needed please.
bonnet and wings resprayed only no damage. crazing on bonnet
local wants £200 at his garage at home.
Volvo want £400.
comments please.
mike

[Harvey1512]

I had scratches on my last Volvo, one was a gouge, which needed resolving before returning, it was a lease car. I used a local repair company who specialised in dents, scratches, repairs etc. He repaired and resprayed one front side panel and the passenger side door. Afterwards it was impossible to tell which panels were original and which had been resprayed.

The good companies, this was one of them, get sent cars by main dealers to sort these problems out. They are specialists.

If your local man has a good name then use him. If no one has heard of him, not running as a proper business etc then walk away and use a reputable company. The chances are Volvo will simply be subbing this out to someone else anyway so don't feel you must use them.

I paid a similar amount for my two panels as you have been quoted. Volvo are just sticking a bigger mark up on the job.

[christheancient]

A thorny question!

Of course your local dealer would ask a larger sum... but I bet they sub-contract the work out.

When I was in your shoes and wanted a dent sorting out (came with the car!), I asked around people I knew for recommendations. Then I showed those people and asked for for a price. And while I was at their premises, I had the cheek to ask for them to show me a current job. Those that wouldn't, didn't get the job. But, in the end, I did find a place where the guy was more than happy to show me some work in progress - and just completed - and I was happy and gave him the job. And he did a good one!

A cheap job will always be a cheap job!

[jim annandale]

It depends on who the local is Mike. A good sprayer will do a good job wherever he does it. Even in a paint booth you still get dust, the trick is to flat the paint down with fine (1200 grit) wet and dry, and then buff it back up with a decent compound (usually farecla) which you can now buy in halfords I've seen. If he's good it'll be ok.

[VivaLaVolvo]

Depends on the reputation of the local guy.

"Garage at home" makes it sound like a rattle can job. However, it may be that he's got a full and proper setup but I'd seek recommendations from people who've used him before.

You'll certainly find it cheaper than Volvo by going to an independent paint shop and as Harvey says, main dealers usually sub this work out anyway.

[Alex121]

Volvo actually have accident repair garages that do all their repair work/spray jobs.

If you're not trying to do it on the cheap, I would stick with the Volvo ones, as they know the cars/paint codes spot on and you'll get a proper guarantee with it.

My last car (crappy corsa) had two doors resprayed, by a garage that 'seemed' like a good one. Within a year the paint was bubbling and flaking.

I got my splitter resprayed last year by my local Volvo repair centre, despite costing £120 to get done, the paint job/finish is spot on and even after 6,000 miles driving through country roads with numerous stone flicked up it still looks immaculate after a wash.

With paint jobs it's definitely worth paying a bit more for someone reputable to do it. I'm sure there are good intendant places though, you'll just have to do your research

[volvo145]

I would go with Volvo as £200 is too little money to do the job properly.
It also depends on how fussy you are with the workmanship.
Have you thought of getting a third price?

[outnumbered]

Harratts have there own body shop near wakefield.
the guy has been recomended via the guy that has detailed my car so i do trust him.
have spoke to the guy and he seems a nice guy and is recomended.
thanks for all your help.
mike

[outnumbered]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

Harratts have there own body shop near wakefield.
the guy has been recomended via the guy that has detailed my car so i do trust him.
have spoke to the guy and he seems a nice guy and is recomended.
thanks for all your help.
mike

There's a lot of Guys round here

[volvo145]

Originally Posted by outnumbered

Harratts have there own body shop near wakefield.
the guy has been recomended via the guy that has detailed my car so i do trust him.
have spoke to the guy and he seems a nice guy and is recomended.
thanks for all your help.
mike

I hope you don't make the mistake I made by going to a guy that was recommended but was not cheap.They do a lot of trade cars.
They had the car twice but could not do the job up to a standard .
I ended up going somewhere else and was told they had used cheaper lacquer. They managed to do a proper job first time.
Needless to say it cost more money in the end.
Good luck whatever you do