I've got a pretty clean 95 F150. I had the typical wheel arch rust along with cab corners. I repaired them myself and was going to have a local shop finish and paint. The shop is going to work with me as to keep costs down.
They quoted me $2000 cash. This includes doing some finish work on the bedsides and cab corners, chip gaurd all along the rockers from front fender back, pass door has some rust at the bottom seam, and repairing some rust on leading edge of hood. Along with painting the entire bed and a tailgate. I have to get the bed loose remove taillights and bumper.
The price really isn't the issue. I think they are giving me a pretty good deal. Is $2000 too much to put into a 12 yr old truck with 170k miles on it? The body guy was pretty impressed with the way the rest of the truck looked . It would look great, but would I ever get my money out of it 3yr or more down the road?
A lot of you guys work in or own bodyshops, what's your opinion?

 

A very generous offer , especially if they are buying the refinish material's

 

Thats a good price, if they are using a decent base/clear and considering the work left, but then doesn't sound like they are painting the whole thing. As far as getting your money back out of it, I doubt it. Very few vehicles can you fix everything wrong, repaint it, and get your money back out of it. If thats your only goal, is to make money on it, probably wouldn't be worth it.

If you want to make the truck the way you want it to suit your taste, and plan on hanging on to it for awhile, it it holds some kind of value to you, then may be worth it.

That era of ford truck goes fairly cheap around here, I got two of em, a 92 302 4x4 with ac, cruise, power locks and windows, digital dash, runs good. Got that in barter for painting a car. My other one I bought years ago, 89, (302 was replace with one from a 92 early in its life), 4x4 5sp, extended cab short box. That one ran good too when I bought it, and paid $900. Neither have great bodys, but not real bad. I doubt even if I painted both myself, and fixed all that was wrong with the 89, I'd get back the amount paid and money put into it, not to mention the labor. You never know, maybe you would find the right buyer looking for exactly what your selling, but I wouldn't count on coming out ahead. Also consider what kind of gas milage these trucks typically get, and the price of gas today.

Thats why fewer older vehicles get painted these days, and if they do the owner probably is doing a lot of the work. With the cost of materials, and typical labor involved, you usually would be better off looking for something allready done with little work needed. Paint alone can often excede the value on an older car if its done right.

 

For the price, I think he is doing a lot. Could I be happy with it not being as perfect as they want it to be? I think, yes.
It's not by any chance going to be show quality or even a restoration. Originally, I just wanted the rusted through areas repaired. Now, it's turning into almost a total repair and repaint. I'm ok with dings and scratches, but the shop wants it looking new. I know they don't want to put crap out their doors, but I'm paying out of pocket on a 12 yr old truck. Not even sure the insurance company would compensate if it were ever totaled or in an accident.

 

If you were looking to cash in on reselling the truck and getting something else in the semi near future forget the repair hassles - however if you plan on holding onto it for a little while deffintily go for it. All I have to do is look at the 35K sticker price on a well equiped new truck to remind me that my 98 is hanging around for a LONG while! You can do a lot of repairs for that kinda cash.

 

Update: I finished the job myself. I bought a cheap spray gun and sprayed in my drive. After a lot of wet sanding and polishing, buffing, the thing looks pretty good. Good enough for me at least. That was what I was worried about, the shop wanted my truck to look showroom new and I just didn't want to go that route.

 

Sounds like you made the right choice.

 

Got any pictures?