To paint or not to paint?

[krissaab]

I wanted to get some input on whether or not to paint my 1993 900 Turbo Commemorative Edition. I posted pictures of it on "New Saab in the Garage". It has a wee bit of rust on the hood and three smallish dings - from putting too large of objects in the trunk. One ding looks like it will quickly start to rust. Its been sitting the The Keys for the past 6 years getting a constant coating of salt. I'm restoring it and getting mixed messages. The paint that is on the car is in pretty good shape, but fixing the rust on the hood and the one dent means painting those areas, so I am told. My mechanic says its better to try and just get a rust free hood from another car and massage/buff the ding in the rear quarter panel as good as possible. He tells me not to paint it and that these cars are more valuable with original paint, even if its cloudy or has a few dings. My body guy (of course?) says that if I want to restore the car the 'right' way, I will have to have everything taken off - windows, doors, etc, have it all prepped, primed, and repainted - to the tune of about $4-5,000.

Who do I listen to?

Thanks,

Kris

[nordwulf]

It depends on what you want to get out of the car. Do you want to fix it up and make it look nice so you can drive it often or does it have to be a perfect restoration and show it at car shows and have in your garage most of the time? I would start with a good detailing (clay/polish/wax etc) and see what it will look like. Replacing the hood will be much easier than doing a full paint job. As you mentioned, the paint is still in pretty good shape and a good detailing can do wonders. And a few dings and imperfections gives the car a bit of character.

A good paint job certainly can enhance the value of a car but it's difficult to make money or break even on a Saab restoration.

[Shazam]

Well, first off, no one buys a Saab because they hope it will be worth big bucks someday. So, I don't think you'll have to worry about ruining it's value. It's just not really going to be worth much; unless you happen to find the Saab-nut who wants that exact car. Just remember, that $4-$5,000 that he wants you to spend, will most likely never be gotten back if you try to sell the car.

But anywho, if it was my car, I'd try to keep the paint that is good and only paint what I needed. Get rid of the rust the right way. Whether that is find a matching hood (shouldn't be horribly hard if you don't mind shipping charges), or a de-rust and respray of the current hood. A good body shop should be able to mix the paint close enough, that only minor blending will need to be done with panels that aren't being painted.

It's a tradeoff of how much you want to spend and how much you expect to get back on your investment. You'll come out in the red most likely, but most purchases like this aren't for money, but emotional.

[J-Rod]

I agree with Frank and Shazam. I love Saab's, but you can't really hurt the value of a Saab, unless it's Talledega Red or maybe Beryl Green, since they're pretty rare colors. But there is no way you could make the $4500 back from the paint job since the car is probably only worth $6000 tops fully restored.

But, if you want it to look perfect and don't plan on selling anytime soon, have it painted. I should know. I've spent $15k on a Mustang that is only worth maybe $12k. But it's worth what has been spent to me. So sometimes, it's a matter of what you want, not what the market says it's worth.