The cost of painting a car depends on how much of it needs work. At Coventry Body Shop, our workshop in Wyken, Coventry, starting prices run from £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT) for a paint touch-up to £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT) for a full body respray. SMART repair, dent repair, polishing and panel painting start at prices in between.
Every price we publish is a from price. Your own price is set after we have inspected the car, and it depends on the paint chosen and the work needed. You get a written, itemised estimate before any work starts. There is no deposit to pay. Every job carries our 6-month workmanship guarantee, which starts on the day you collect the car.
Starting prices at a glance
- Paint touch-up: for stone chips and small marks; paint goes on the chip or mark only; from £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT).
- SMART repair: for a scuff or scratch in one small area, not for dents; the small area is refinished; from £75 plus VAT (£90 including VAT).
- Paintless dent repair: for a dent where the paint is unbroken; no new paint; per panel from £90 plus VAT (£108 including VAT) for a small dent, or from £185 plus VAT (£222 including VAT) for a medium dent.
- Scratch removal and machine polish: for marks that sit in the clear lacquer; no new paint; per panel from £120 plus VAT (£144 including VAT).
- Single panel paint: for damaged or badly faded paint on one panel; the panel is repainted; from £150 plus VAT (£180 including VAT).
- Panel dent repair and respray: for a dent where the paint is damaged as well; the dent is repaired and the panel painted; from £175 plus VAT (£210 including VAT).
- Bumper respray: for a scuffed or faded bumper; the bumper is repainted; from £210 plus VAT (£252 including VAT). Bumper repair is priced after inspection.
- Full body respray: for paint failing across the car, or a new colour; the whole car is painted; from £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT), taking 3 to 7 days. A colour change is quoted after inspection.
Each figure is a starting price. The two panel prices cover different jobs: single panel paint is the repaint on its own, while panel dent repair and respray includes putting the dent right first.
Look at the damage first
A dent or a crack that is painted over can still show through fresh colour, straight away or later, so the panel is put right before it is painted. A light scratch in the lacquer needs a different repair from a scratch down to bare metal, and a scuffed bumper corner needs a different repair from a split one.
Rust that has eaten through the metal is a different job again. On a bolt-on panel, replacing the panel can be the answer. Where the rotten steel is part of the body shell, it usually has to be cut out and new metal welded in. We do not cut or weld metal panels. If your car needs that, we will tell you and recommend a garage we have trusted with welding work before.
A small inspection is free. For damage that needs a closer look, the deep inspection costs from £200 plus VAT (£240 including VAT), and that fee is taken off the repair bill if you go ahead with the work.
Repairs that need little or no new paint
Machine polishing
Light scratches, swirl marks and dull paint often sit in the clear lacquer on top of the colour. Machine polishing takes off a very thin layer of lacquer to level those marks and bring back the gloss. Dull, oxidised paint can sometimes be polished back too, but fading caused by failing lacquer cannot. Our scratch removal and machine polish is priced per panel from £120 plus VAT (£144 including VAT).
Polishing only works while there is enough paint left to take off. We own a paint depth gauge, which reads the total thickness of the paint on a panel. That reading is one check before polishing. It covers all the layers together, so it cannot measure the lacquer on its own or the depth of one scratch.
Paint touch-up
Stone chips and small marks can be touched in with paint mixed to your car's colour. A touch-up helps keep water off the bare metal at a chip. A paint touch-up starts from £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT), against £150 plus VAT (£180 including VAT) to paint a whole panel. On a bonnet covered in chips, touching in every one can look speckled, and painting the panel may then be the better choice.
SMART repair
SMART stands for Small to Medium Area Repair Technique. It is for damage in one small area, such as a scuff on a bumper corner. The repaired area is kept smaller than the whole panel, though it can reach past the visible scuff so the new paint fades into the old. SMART repair costs from £75 plus VAT (£90 including VAT). It is a paint repair for scuffs and scratches and is not used for dents.
Paintless dent repair
A dent with unbroken paint can often be worked out from behind or pulled from the front, leaving the original paint in place, with no filler or new paint. Paintless dent repair for a small dent is priced per panel from £90 plus VAT (£108 including VAT), and paintless dent repair for a medium dent from £185 plus VAT (£222 including VAT). Whether a dent counts as small or medium is decided at inspection.
Painting one panel
A panel whose paint is cut through to the primer or metal, cracked, or faded past what polishing can bring back usually needs repainting. Smaller scratches through the paint may still suit a touch-up or SMART repair, depending on their size and where they are. Single panel paint costs from £150 plus VAT (£180 including VAT).
A panel repaint starts with preparation. The panel is cleaned and degreased, then sanded so the new paint has something to grip. Filler and primer go on where the repair needs them. Colour matching uses the manufacturer's paint code, specialist colour mixing and a spectrophotometer, which reads the paint on your car as it is now. On metallic and pearl colours in particular, the new colour may be blended into the panel next to it, so the change from new paint to old is spread out rather than stopping at the panel edge. On paints finished with a clear coat, lacquer then goes over the colour for gloss and protection.
If the panel is dented as well, the dent is repaired before painting. Bent panels are straightened by panel beating, rear quarter panels included. Panel dent repair and respray is priced from £175 plus VAT (£210 including VAT). A bolt-on panel such as a wing, door or bonnet can be replaced where repairing it does not make sense.
Bumpers
Bumpers on modern cars are usually plastic, and they pick up scuffs and cracks from parking and low-speed knocks. A scuffed bumper can often be repaired and painted rather than replaced, and some cracks can be plastic welded. Bumper repair is priced after inspection, and a bumper respray starts from £210 plus VAT (£252 including VAT).
A full respray
A full body respray can be the right job when faded or failing paint has spread across the car, or when you want a new colour. It starts from £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT) and takes 3 to 7 days, depending on the work the car needs. A colour change is quoted after inspection, because the paint you pick and the areas to be painted, such as door shuts, change the price.
A respray needs the same preparation as a panel repaint, spread over the whole car. Dents are repaired and the old paint is sanded before any colour goes on, and trims or lights are removed or masked.
What makes a paint job cost more
Two cars with a scratch on the same door can end up with different prices. The paint is one reason. Metallic and pearl colours are built up differently from solid colours, and a pearl or special effect paint can need an extra coat.
Earlier repairs are another. Poorly attached paint from an old repair is taken back to a sound surface before new paint goes on, because fresh paint over a failing layer can lift with it. A paint depth gauge reading much higher than the rest of the car can point to an earlier repair or respray.
Damage that has been left also adds work. A scratch to bare metal that sits through a wet winter can start to rust, and a small repair then becomes a bigger one.
Comparing quotes
A paint job that skips the preparation a repair needs can look fine on the day and show problems later, such as peeling lacquer or a visible edge around the repair. Putting that right can mean redoing the repair.
When you compare quotes, ask each bodyshop what its price includes, for example whether blending into the next panel is part of it. Our written, itemised estimate lists the work, so you can check it against another quote line by line.
Who does the painting
Paint that is sprayed, from a single panel to a full respray, goes on in our spray booth. Curing follows the paint maker's instructions, and the work is done to the paint maker's and vehicle maker's methods.
The company director, a former Aston Martin technician and painter, is the only painter on our small team, so the same person paints every repair.
Booking and timings
You can cancel or move a booking at any point free of charge. Small jobs can sometimes be done the same day, depending on how busy we are, but allow 1 to 2 days. A full respray takes 3 to 7 days.
Insurance claims
If the damage came from an accident and you are claiming on your insurance, we photograph the damage, prepare a written, itemised estimate for your insurer and, if you want us to, deal with them about the repair. Your insurer decides what your policy covers. Check your policy for your excess. Our insurance and accident repair support page explains how this works.
Looking after the paint afterwards
New paint needs gentle treatment while it finishes curing, so ask us when it can be waxed or polished. After that, regular washing with a clean mitt and a coat of wax or sealant now and then help to protect the lacquer. Some owners add a ceramic coating once the paint has fully cured, which helps water and dirt rinse off. It is part of our paint protection and detailing service, priced after we have seen the car.
To ask about your car before you book, call or WhatsApp +44 7903 105777, or send photographs with the Send enquiry button. Photos taken in daylight, one from a few steps back and one close up, help show the damage.
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