Dealership Body Shop

[krunk_muzik]

So I'm planning to swap my 03 front bumper to the LSE bumper. But my concern is the paint. I took it to my Lincoln/Mercury dealership to get an estimate with installation and paint. They are charging me 475 for everything (I bought the bumper separately). Is dealership paint good quality? Worth the job? or am i better off taking it to a paint shop?

 

[pektel]

Does your dealership have a paint shop? Or do they just hire it out to a local body shop, and mark that price up?

I ask because some dealerships do just that.

 

[Frasch]

I would rather go the a paint shop and have them do it, due to the fact my lincoln dealer "separate from the place where i got the car" told me that my nav system isnt factory in my 04. So I kinda stear away from them as much as possible... If you have a local college or a community college in town you can take it there and they paint it for free.. all you have to pay for is the paint..just an idea

 

[JWerner2]

I would search around.


If you are willing to pay that price you could for sure find a way better spot than the dealership.

It can go both ways with dealerships and paint. I seen some dealership paint jobs that looked like grade K finger painting.

 

[2000 LS]

Does your dealership have a paint shop? Or do they just hire it out to a local body shop, and mark that price up?

I ask because some dealerships do just that.

I agree, if they have the paint shop on site then try that if you really want to stick with a dealer doing it, personally I would find one on your own though.

 

[krunk_muzik]

Does your dealership have a paint shop? Or do they just hire it out to a local body shop, and mark that price up?

I ask because some dealerships do just that.

Yes they have their own body shop. I usually go to a paint shop when i want something painted, but i figured since it is a dealership, maybe they'll be able to match the color a little better than other shops?

 

[pektel]

Depends on the color, and the painter. My ivory pearl tricoat is VERY difficult to match, because you need to get the base coat shade right. You can't tell if you got it right until you layer the pearl on top. Needless to say, in the afternoon, you can tell that my hood is a slightly different color that the rest of the vehicle. Bugs the sh*t out of me.

 

[LongIslandLSE]

how much did u pay for the 03 front lse bumper.

 

[vettetols]

go to an automotive paint shop and have them take a "picture" of your car. they can match it and even allow for the fade factor. i agree that some paint colors are more diffucult to match though. i paint panels here in va for 250 and guarantee the match so if you shop around you should find a similar deal there. good luck

 

[Gus_Mahn]

A dealership bodyshop is just that, a bodyshop. There are good ones and bad ones. Their paint is no better/ no worse than any other bodyshop just because it's at a dealer. It's probably likely that a dealership would use a name brand top to bottom paint system. Some smaller shops us generic clears which can have less durability than the name brand stuff in an effort to save material costs. Ask them what system they use and what clear they use. If they are using name brand clear and basecoat: Dupont, PPG, Glasruit, Sherwin Williams... You should be good.

Also that Dupont paint camera has never given me an exact match. It does always give me a blendable match. A missmatch may be obvious in his case since the car is getting piece painted. A lot will depend on the color.

BTW what color is the car?

 

[topher5150]

from my experience the local body shops wanted to charge $1500 for what the dealership would do for $200.(rocker panels, right quarter panel, and fender lip)

 

[krunk_muzik]

how much did u pay for the 03 front lse bumper.

I bought it from a guy in my town...he was getting rid of his 06 LSE and i convinced him to do a "trade" off on the bumpers. He agreed and i paid him an extra 200 for the favor

A dealership bodyshop is just that, a bodyshop. There are good ones and bad ones. Their paint is no better/ no worse than any other bodyshop just because it's at a dealer. It's probably likely that a dealership would use a name brand top to bottom paint system. Some smaller shops us generic clears which can have less durability than the name brand stuff in an effort to save material costs. Ask them what system they use and what clear they use. If they are using name brand clear and basecoat: Dupont, PPG, Glasruit, Sherwin Williams... You should be good.

Also that Dupont paint camera has never given me an exact match. It does always give me a blendable match. A missmatch may be obvious in his case since the car is getting piece painted. A lot will depend on the color.

BTW what color is the car?

My car is black. I've heard it's a hard color to match. My dealership told me they were going to use Dupont paint...

 

[Gus_Mahn]

My car is black. I've heard it's a hard color to match. My dealership told me they were going to use Dupont paint...

Unless it's metallic, you should get a good match. IMO 90% of non metallic blacks are the same. There was a time when they were all the same: GM, Ford, BMW... All used the same Dupont code. The rest of the car may need a good buff/polish to make sure it 'pops' the same as the new paint.

 

[LsUnV2]

So I'm planning to swap my 03 front bumper to the LSE bumper. But my concern is the paint. I took it to my Lincoln/Mercury dealership to get an estimate with installation and paint. They are charging me 475 for everything (I bought the bumper separately). Is dealership paint good quality? Worth the job? or am i better off taking it to a paint shop?

i was qouted a lil over a thousand for bumbper paint and install here. the shop here has a downdraft bake booth. so 400 or around there is prob a fair price

 

[vettetols]

I bought it from a guy in my town...he was getting rid of his 06 LSE and i convinced him to do a "trade" off on the bumpers. He agreed and i paid him an extra 200 for the favor




My car is black. I've heard it's a hard color to match. My dealership told me they were going to use Dupont paint...

dupont has a hi end single stage paint, its not as "bright" as bc/cc. should match well with your existing paint