First off, if I am posting in the wrong section, please forgive and advise me the proper section....Thanks!

I have a 1st gen with Persimmon Red. I plan on keeping the same color.

It has numerous dings around the entire vehicle with only one dent, which is on the hood and left fender. This is the only place where paint is missing and you can see the primer. There is rust where the dent is on the fender, and that is all the rust I can see.

My first plan is to go to someone who does paintless dent removal and fix as many dings as I can - in hopes of saving a few $$ by not having the bodyshop do it - - thoughts? Am I better to have the shop do ALL the work or doesn't it matter?

When I do the repaint of the entire car, am I best to take the entire car down, or am I ok leaving the original paint where there is not rust. Ideally I imagine it is best to leave as much original as one can, but I didn't know if that would be a bad idea because I do not know what may be under the paint. Can it be rusting UNDER the paint and I won't see it?

So far I was given an estimate of $3000.00 to remove emblems / trim / etc, fix dings, address dent and rust, and paint. - Fair price if done right? I imagine I could save a little by removing as much as I can myself BEFORE turning it in to the shop.

Given the year and how close it is to becoming a classic, will a repaint lower the value?

I know these may sound like novice questions, but I am not familiar with painting procedures / bodywork and am hoping there is someone here who IS.

Lastly if anyone knows of a VERY GOOD (not just "decent") shop to have this done in the SW Florida area let me know. I am in Naples, and I am willing to go as far north as Tampa, and east to Lauderdale / Miami.

Thanks in advance

 

Wow...Surprised there have been NO replies / suggestions !

 

Three months later... I'd suggest posting it in the "interior/exterior/audio" section. Have you not repainted it yet? 3k isn't high for a paint job, but it isn't cheap either. I would only pay that much if I saw that the shop did top notch work, and I knew they were going to use a really good paint system, like Dupont Chromasystem or something. For 3k, make them do everything, including repainting all of the badges, trim, mirrors, wipers, and all those little exterior things, as well as the engine bay and door jambs. That amount of work is well worth the expense, believe me.

As far as lowering the value, no way. A high quality paint job is going to fetch you more money if you sell it. What good is "all original" if all the original stuff is in bad shape?

 

I know of a good body shop in Naples. Let me know and I will go with you for a better price. I also need some work done on my SE.