7 Things Bodyshops Don't Want You to Know

1. The Real Cost of Car Resprays

A large share of what a respray costs is preparation time. Before any colour goes on, the panels are sanded, bare metal and filler are primed, and on some cars the old paint has to come off first. The price then depends on the car and the paint the job needs, and bodywork that needs repair before painting adds to it.

Our full body respray is from £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT), and the final price is set once we have inspected the car. It takes 3 to 7 days, depending on the work the car needs.

Labour is usually the biggest part of the bill, because many of the hours go into preparation and masking before the car goes into the spray booth. Metallic and pearlescent paints often cost more to buy than solid colours, and some need extra coats, so the colour of the car moves the figure too. Lacquer, primer where it is needed, abrasives and masking make up the materials.

Ask for that breakdown in writing. A quote that gives one figure and nothing else is hard to compare with another bodyshop's.

2. The Importance of Colour Matching

A repaired panel that sits a shade off the rest of the car is easy to spot. The paint code gives the factory colour, but the paint on your car may have faded in the sun, and one code can come in slightly different shades. So the code is only the starting point, and the mix is checked against the car itself.

At our workshop a spectrophotometer reads the paint on the car, and the paint is made up by specialist mixing from the paint code and that reading. Where the colour needs it, the new paint is blended into the panels next to the repair, so the eye does not catch a hard edge where old meets new. All of the painting is done in our spray booth by the director, a former Aston Martin technician, who is our only painter.

For small, shallow chips, a paint touch-up can be enough. It is from £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT), with the final price set after inspection.

3. What SMART Repairs Really Entail

SMART (Small to Medium Area Repair Technology) repairs a small patch of damage without repainting the whole panel. For damage that suits it, it is usually quicker and costs less than a panel repaint.

The points that decide whether it suits your car:

• Size of the damage: some repairers use a sheet of A4 paper as an informal guide, but depth and position matter as much as size.
• Where the damage is: a mark that crosses a body line or runs to the edge of a panel can be harder to hide with a small repair.
• Colour: some metallic and pearl colours are harder to blend into a small area, and the result depends on the painter.
• Durability: ask how the edge of the repair is finished, because that is where a small repair can start to show over time.

If your damage looks like a fit, a SMART repair may suit it, and the inspection settles whether it will. Say what finish you expect before the work starts, so you know whether SMART can reach it.

4. The Hidden Details of Insurance Claims

Some insurers have repairers they prefer, and your policy wording says whether you can choose your own. Coventry Body Shop is not on any insurer's approved list, though we have repaired cars for customers claiming on their insurance.

If you would rather use a bodyshop you choose, your insurer can tell you what that means for the cost. It also helps to know what the policy pays for, parts and labour included, and what excess you will pay.

For accident damage, get a written, itemised estimate before work starts and check what the workmanship guarantee covers. Ours is 6 months on the workmanship from the day you collect the car. Our insurance and accident repair support page has more on claims, and dents are handled by our panel dent repair and respray service.

5. The Role of Paint Systems in Durability

How long a paint job lasts depends on the paint system, meaning the products that go on the panel, such as primer where it is needed, colour and clear lacquer, and as much again on the preparation underneath and how the paint is applied. A cheaper system can lower the materials bill. Whether it keeps its gloss as long depends on the product and on the work done before it goes on.

Modern cars usually have a two-stage finish, a colour coat under a clear lacquer. The lacquer gives the gloss and much of the protection, and many lacquers include UV inhibitors that slow fading. Many modern base colours are water-based, which cuts the solvent released into the air. The estimate can name the products that will go on your car.

When the damage is on one panel, our single panel paint service covers repainting that panel. Where the match needs it, the colour is also blended into the panels beside it, and the estimate shows when that applies.

6. The Complexity of Bumper Repairs

Bumpers often take car park knocks and low-speed bumps, so bumper repairs are a common job. The damage can be bigger than it looks. Clips and brackets behind the cover can break, and parking sensors in the bumper sometimes have to come off for the repair.

Modern bumpers are usually plastic, and a crack can sometimes be repaired by plastic welding before the bumper is refinished; older cars may have metal bumpers, which need different work. When the cover is badly split or the mounting tabs have broken off, a new bumper can cost less than repairing the old one. Paint on a plastic bumper can also look slightly different from the metal wing beside it, so the bumper is matched to the panels around it.

Our bumper repair service covers scuffs and the cracks that plastic welding can fix. Bumpers are bolt-on parts, so a bumper that is beyond repair can usually be replaced, and the written estimate says which way the job goes.

7. The Truth About Paint Protection

Paint protection can help, but what you get depends on the product and on how carefully it goes on. Wax, sealants and ceramic coatings are the usual choices.

What to weigh up:

• Type of protection: a ceramic coating usually lasts much longer than wax, which wears off within weeks or months.
• Preparation: the paint has to be clean before a coating goes on, and swirls or marks left in it will still show through, so they are usually polished out first.
• Upkeep: coated cars still need careful washing, and some coating makers recommend a top-up product.

If the paint already has swirls or light scratches, our scratch removal and machine polish service can deal with many of them before any protection is applied.

To talk through a repair or get a quote from our Wyken workshop, call or WhatsApp +44 7903 105777, send photographs with the Send enquiry button, or use our contact form.