Will a New Paint Job Increase Car Value?

A new paint job does not always add as much to a car's value as it costs. It is more likely to help on a car whose paint is faded or damaged, because tired paintwork gives buyers a reason to offer less. A repair can remove the visible damage, though a buyer may still be wary of past repairs. On a car with sound paint, a full respray may add little.

Does a respray add value to a car?

It depends on the state of the paint before the work, and on who is buying. Peeling lacquer or a dented door can lower an offer. A dealer taking the car in part exchange may take off what it expects to spend on the paint, while a private buyer may offer less or look at another car.

Repairing damage can win back value the car has lost through it. That is not the same as making it worth more than the same car with sound original paint.

To judge whether a repair is likely to pay, compare like with like. Find out what you are offered for the car as it is, then what it could fetch once repaired if sold the same way, using similar cars of the same age, mileage and specification as a guide. The offer is a firm figure and the repaired price is only an estimate, so allow for it coming in lower. If the likely rise in value is clearly larger than the quote, the repair may pay. If the two are close, selling the car as it is may make more sense.

Paint that is already in good order is different. A respray is unlikely to make a sound car worth much more. Machine polishing can make it look cared for without new paint, and our paint protection and detailing service includes it.

Visible repaint work may lower the offer instead of raising it. Colour that does not match between panels, overspray on rubber seals or runs in the lacquer suggest to a buyer that the car has been repainted, and they may wonder why.

When is a paint repair worth doing before you sell?

Damage that a buyer sees at once and that costs little to put right is a sensible place to start. A scuffed bumper or a scratched door is easy to spot, and the repair can often be kept to the damaged panel. Where the colour needs blending, the blend may run into the panel next to it. Light marks in the lacquer can sometimes be machine polished out without repainting.

Fading needs a closer look. Machine polishing can bring back gloss on paint that is dull or lightly faded, but it cannot fix lacquer that is peeling or has failed, and that panel needs repainting. Before a sale, repainting faded panels is easier to justify when the likely rise in price is clearly larger than the quote.

How much does a respray cost compared with a panel repair?

At Coventry Body Shop in Wyken, Coventry, our starting prices are:

• From £49 plus VAT (£58.80 including VAT) for a paint touch-up
• From £75 plus VAT (£90 including VAT) for a SMART repair on a small scuff or scratch
• From £120 plus VAT (£144 including VAT) per panel for scratch removal and machine polish
• From £150 plus VAT (£180 including VAT) to paint a single panel
• From £210 plus VAT (£252 including VAT) for a bumper respray
• From £1,495 plus VAT (£1,794 including VAT) for a full body respray

The final price is set once we have inspected the car, and you get a quote before any work starts.

Set the estimate against the value of the car. A full respray on a car worth a few thousand pounds can be hard to get back when you sell. Where the paint has failed across much of the car, a full respray may be the better option, though even then the car's value may not cover it.

Does changing the colour affect value?

A colour change can narrow the number of buyers. Door shuts or an engine bay left in the old colour show that the car was repainted after it left the factory.

If a car's colour is changed, the DVLA has to be told so the V5C details stay correct. Tell your insurer too, as it may treat a colour change as a change to the car.

What makes a good repaint?

Paint lasts better, and is less likely to put a buyer off, when the work underneath was done properly. That usually means the panels are cleaned and prepared, primer goes on where the repair needs it, and each coat is left for the time the paint maker sets before the next goes on.

Colour matching matters when only some panels are painted. At our workshop colour matching uses the manufacturer's paint code, specialist colour mixing and a spectrophotometer, which reads the colour of the paint already on the car, and the new colour is blended into the surrounding paint where it needs it.

Our paintwork is sprayed in our spray booth by the director, a former Aston Martin technician and painter, who is our only painter. Our workmanship is guaranteed for 6 months from the day you collect the car.

What about paint repairs after an accident?

An accident repair that is done well and shows no colour difference is less likely to put buyers off than one that can be seen. Accident history that a vehicle history check shows, or that you tell the buyer about, can still affect what they offer, however good the repair.

Repainting on its own is not proof of an accident. A paint depth gauge, which we have at the workshop, can show where the paint is thicker than on the rest of the car, as it often is after a repaint, but a reading alone does not prove a panel was repainted or show why.

We are not on any insurer's approved list, though we have repaired cars for customers claiming on their insurance. We can provide photographs of the damage and a quote for your insurer, and deal with the insurer about the repair if you want us to. Our insurance and accident repair support page sets out what we can help with.

A scuffed or cracked bumper may be put right with a bumper repair, which includes plastic welding of cracks where the bumper can be repaired.

Is a new paint job worth it?

It can be, when it puts right damage that is costing you more on the sale than the repair costs. New paint on a car whose paint is already sound is unlikely to pay for itself. If you are unsure, an inspection tells you what the work would cost before you decide whether to repair or sell as it is.

To arrange an inspection or ask about a repaint, call or WhatsApp +44 7903 105777, send photographs with the Send enquiry button, or use our contact form.