To respray or not respray

I2C

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Hi, we have a Swift Sundance on a Fiat Ducato that has the notorious paint work issue in various locations on the cab :confused:.

Just had a quote for just under £4000 for a complete respray of the cab. Our dilemma is that we had been considering selling the van and obviously this is a serious wad of cash relative to value (57 plate, selling for £24000 - £31000 private). However, if we try selling it without getting resprayed that’s going to impact what we might get for it.

Any sage thoughts and insights greatly received.
 
We have wondered if it was a go-away price, someone we know who used to be in the motor industry was shocked by the price, he thought more like £2000.

Plan to get other quotes, have two others to try and will keep looking but also wondered if it was worth fixing or just sell with the knowledge we’d get less.
 
As above I would look at a good wrap.
 
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I'm also considering a re-spay.. not to sell, but to smarten the van up.
The crap Ducato paint is pealing above the windscreen and at 20 years old the rest of the paintwork is looking tired.. the decals are cracked and old looking, so a complete respray with no decals ..probably in black.. other than the roof which has been re painted in silver by previous owner.

Haven't had a quote yet but think £4k for a cab is way too expensive..

Don't know much about wrapping, that may be cheaper, but does it not have a short lifespan..?
 
To be honest I would sell without the respray. Only respray if you want it to look nice for yourself. My opinion only.
Thank you, nice to know we’re not the only ones thinking that.
 
I'm also considering a re-spay.. not to sell, but to smarten the van up.
The crap Ducato paint is pealing above the windscreen and at 20 years old the rest of the paintwork is looking tired.. the decals are cracked and old looking, so a complete respray with no decals ..probably in black.. other than the roof which has been re painted in silver by previous owner.

Haven't had a quote yet but think £4k for a cab is way too expensive..

Don't know much about wrapping, that may be cheaper, but does it not have a short lifespan..?
Wrapping is something we’ll look at but the worry is will the wrap take to the paint/body and if the defective paintwork will show through.

Forgot to add, reading information they reckon a good wrap can last 7 years.

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They are trying to pick your pockets at that price:giggle:

You cannot wrap as all the defects will show through the vinyl.

Sell as is and somebody who likes a bit of DIY or knows someone in the trade will sort it out for a few hundred pounds, saving you an awful lot of hassle and money.

If you do get it painted take photos of before and after so a potential buyer will not be wondering why you had it painted.

20 years buying painting and selling cars
20 years in vehicle graphics and signs

Cheers Colin
 
I wouldn’t think wrap would be an option, the material must be so thin it would show any imperfection.
 
They are trying to pick your pockets at that price:giggle:

You cannot wrap as all the defects will show through the vinyl.

Sell as is and somebody who likes a bit of DIY or knows someone in the trade will sort it out for a few hundred pounds, saving you an awful lot of hassle and money.

If you do get it painted take photos of before and after so a potential buyer will not be wondering why you had it painted.

20 years buying painting and selling cars
20 years in vehicle graphics and signs

Cheers Colin
I’m definitely coming to the opinion they’re a bit steep in the price….

I did wonder if trade could sort it for a lot less. There is a lot of flaking, got a lot worse last week when we drove through rain for 4 hours going home, the bonnet completely flaked/bubbled and various other areas started to loose paint.

It’s had a bit missing for a while and having seen others with the same problem we left it but honestly think it could be too bad now to sell. That’s the dilemma we’re having right now, fix it (depending on cost), use it for a while then sell or not fix it and sell and take the hit.
 
I wouldn’t think wrap would be an option, the material must be so thin it would show any imperfection.
That‘s what I’m thinking after reading the process.
 
Halfrauds touch up paint, the new buyers won’t even notice it and the cab will look nice no problem. No way I’d spend that kind of money on the cab just to sell it on.

Youtube is full of mobile dent masters and professionals that’ll come to your home and do touchup as well, so maybe follow that route.

Find someone like this only in your area, there are lots available.

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Halfrauds touch up paint, the new buyers won’t even notice it and the cab will look nice no problem. No way I’d spend that kind of money on the cab just to sell it on.

Youtube is full of mobile dent masters and professionals that’ll come to your home and do touchup as well, so maybe follow that route.

Find someone like this only in your area, there are lots available.


There’s too much missing now for me to touch up myself, think it would make it worse rather than better!

My job today is to find a few other respray places and get a price, as much as I hate it I can’t see anyone buying it the way the cab area looks now after the latest rain we went through and the damage that did :confused: In a couple of places the primer has been removed (silver now showing) which might be the reason the cost to respray is so high.
 
I would sell as is take the hit which may be less than you think and the buyer would know exactly what they are getting.
 
Thank you to everyone for your input/thoughts, wanted to update as I know it can be annoying not to know the outcome.

Found a much cheaper auto shop who can do the repairs for £700-£800. As we like the motorhome we’ve decided to go with them, they’re used by a local motorhome dealer for their paint work.
 
Another common Ducato problem is paint flaking on the van roof. Basic rectification cost me about £200 plus VAT.

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Another common Ducato problem is paint flaking on the van roof. Basic rectification cost me about £200 plus VAT.
Thankfully ours is a low profile coachbuilt so not a problem there - I’d have happily touched in a roof, no-one can see it from the ground….
 
My advice is find out where the local taxi firms use for theirs. £4000 is way OTT

The other idea of a wrap is a non starter. The vinyl will peel with the paint attached in big sheets at random. The paintwork needs to be smooth and rust free, or it will look terrible. Wrapping correctly done will cost as much as a respray anyway
 
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Thankfully ours is a low profile coachbuilt so not a problem there - I’d have happily touched in a roof, no-one can see it from the ground….

I did buy a can of the metallic grey paint and touched it up, leaning through the rooflight, but the following year roof flaking paint was back and getting worse, so I got it done professionally. Next time I wash the roof I will see if that fix has really worked. Fiat paint quality is low at least on their vans. Disappointing, considering the high cost of the base vehicle before conversion.
 
I did buy a can of the metallic grey paint and touched it up, leaning through the rooflight, but the following year roof flaking paint was back and getting worse, so I got it done professionally. Next time I wash the roof I will see if that fix has really worked. Fiat paint quality is low at least on their vans. Disappointing, considering the high cost of the base vehicle before conversion.
Apparently it’s a known problem the flaking (on here and at the auto centre we visited), it was nice of the guys I spoke to telling us ours was the worse they’d seen :ROFLMAO:.

It is disappointing, I’d use stronger language but I don’t want to get banned.

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Apparently it’s a known problem the flaking (on here and at the auto centre we visited), it was nice of the guys I spoke to telling us ours was the worse they’d seen :ROFLMAO:.

It is disappointing, I’d use stronger language but I don’t want to get banned.
Hi 12C
How about a couple of photos so we can all curse under our breath in sympathy :giggle:

Joking aside, that is a sensible price and will make selling a little easier.
Now how is it for damp :giggle:
Cheers Colin
 
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Hi 12C
How about a couple of photos so we can all curse under our breath in sympathy :giggle:

Joking aside, that is a sensible price and will make selling a little easier.
Now how is it for damp :giggle:
Cheers Colin
I’ll do an update in October when it’s getting done with before and after (assuming they do a good job), I’m a bit ashamed at how it looks now so wasn’t brave enough to put some photo’s up ;)

No problems with damp at all, inside (have a damp meter) or underneath which is one of the reasons we‘re keeping it, why change to something else and start worrying all over again!
 
We have wondered if it was a go-away price, someone we know who used to be in the motor industry was shocked by the price, he thought more like £2000.

Plan to get other quotes, have two others to try and will keep looking but also wondered if it was worth fixing or just sell with the knowledge we’d get less.
We have an Adria Coral 680SL and had the cab resprayed as paintwork had gone to base in places on the bonnet, windows and door jambs, it cost us £1,000 at a local place last year.
He had to remove some decals which we have not replaced, don’t know if this will affect the resale place.
Hope this gives you an idea.
 
We have an Adria Coral 680SL and had the cab resprayed as paintwork had gone to base in places on the bonnet, windows and door jambs, it cost us £1,000 at a local place last year.
He had to remove some decals which we have not replaced, don’t know if this will affect the resale place.
Hope this gives you an idea.
Sounds as though we have the same problem as you had. Our estimate is £700-£800 depending if any more paint peels as they do the work.

Decals were mentioned and they said they’ll put them back on - don’t see it a problem if they’re not there personally so don’t see why it should affect the resale value. I’m missing one letter from the decals already (it’s been in our cutlery draw for the last 3 years!) so may ask them not to put them back on and we can later if we want to.
 
Sounds as though we have the same problem as you had. Our estimate is £700-£800 depending if any more paint peels as they do the work.

Decals were mentioned and they said they’ll put them back on - don’t see it a problem if they’re not there personally so don’t see why it should affect the resale value. I’m missing one letter from the decals already (it’s been in our cutlery draw for the last 3 years!) so may ask them not to put them back on and we can later if we want to.

Think decals are expensive to buy so probably would opt to take advantage of that offer. Some were missing when we bought the mh, doesn’t bother me either but have heard it can affect the value.

Paintwork all has to be sanded down first to make a key, hence the cost I suppose.

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