Body paint change vs value

[Tremelune]

If you're gonna spend the money to paint it anything other than non-original, why not paint it something no E30 has ever been?

Is this really about resale value? Unless the car is special, the best money is to sell it and buy a calypso. $5k E30 with a $10k paint job is a $5k E30 in a color that you like. A $60k M3 with a $15k color change is a $50k M3 in a color you like. Any car with a $5k paint job isn't one I'd want to own a decade later...so...

If it were me, and I intended to keep it for a while, I'd paint it Carbon Black and never look back. Hell, maybe Porsche Alas Grey. Maybe some shit from the 60s.

I wouldn't worry much about the unseen spots—how often are people eyeballing your engine bay? It would cost more to do a full-car paint job (taking the car apart) than you'd recoup in resale on a run-of-the-mill E30.

[TobyB]

Bronzit is definitely a lot less appealing than Alpine.

3 of the 4 cars I've painted used to be white. Not personally a fan. That's me.

do what you want, do it well.

t

[flyboyx]

here's my take:

first of all, it depends on if the color change is done well or not. when i say "well", i mean pulling out the engine, trunk felts, and interior to repaint everything on the car that was originally white. if you do that, then i would say the car will be worth the same as if it was the factory color.

anything less will certainly lessen the value of the car.

i want to qualify my statement above by saying that i believe this to be true today based on the value of these cars where they sit now. in the future 10 years when an average car is with 15-18k, i do not believe this will still be true. as values rise, there will be more and more buyers that want an all original car.

with that said, i am a guy with a white car that doesn't particularly love white. at least it isn't my favorite e30 color. i am a big fan of calypso. i say paint the fucker!

[CrazyIvan]

Thanks for all the responses! I'm mixed in opinion myself because I know she is already going into the paint booth for the mirrors, hood, trunk, and a quarter panel at the least.

I agree that the Alpine white is pretty, but you just see too many of them (which seems to be a shared opinion). I've loved the Calypsorot Metallic ever since I was a youth, and while I know it's biting off a ton of work I know it'll look beautiful.

I'm interested in hearing more thoughts, keep em' coming

[jhaurimn]

Calypsorot is definitely a lot less appealing than Alpine imo.

Fixed that for you.

White is so boring....you see white e30s all the time compared to calypso.

[Stanley Rockafella]

The biggest issue, IMO, is going from a desirable color (Alpine) to an undesirable color (Calypso).

Depends who you talk to.

I couldnt' give two shits about Alpine. Anything else other than e30 red, white and black, are to me, far more desirable (Cirrus, Zobel, Cosmos etc.)

[nrubenstein]

I don't see it hurting the value, but also I don't see the point. If you are starting out with an Alpine White car, but want a Calypso then just buy a Calypso. However if you want a color like Imola Red that never came on the e30 then thats a different story.

The biggest issue, IMO, is going from a desirable color (Alpine) to an undesirable color (Calypso).

[stonea]

I don't see it hurting the value, but also I don't see the point. If you are starting out with an Alpine White car, but want a Calypso then just buy a Calypso. However if you want a color like Imola Red that never came on the e30 then thats a different story.

[nrubenstein]

Calypsorot is definitely a lot less appealing than Alpine.

A full color change, well executed (interior/trunk/engine bay) will be "fine" from a resale value perspective. The bigger issue is that it'll cost you more than the car is worth.

[djjerme]

...at that point, you'd almost be money ahead to find a clean shell in the color you want.

I would have to agree with what is already said - it's not that people are being anal about originality, but more that look when you pop the hood and the engine bay is the OEM color while the outside is something completely different. Color changing a car is hard, and labor intense to do it and have it look good.

Wrapping a car is not a bad option if you get someone who can do it well. It allows you to test a color for a summer, and then you can always try something else or pull it off and have the car painted. You may decide that Technoviolet was a bad choice, but at least if it's a wrap you can pull it off and try something else...

[e30davie]

if you decide to change the color in order for it not to look completely shithouse you must change the door jams, inside the boot, under the bonnet, in the engine bay. Essentailly you are best of stripping the shell completely and spraying everything.

And if you do that the amount of work required is astronomical compared to just respraying the external surfaces.

one because you have to sand and paint more surfaces, but when removing trim and rubbers you tend to damage things that could otherwise be re-used. Thus you need to buy new trim and rubber etc.

I just resprayed a mates first gen civic in a different colour, about half the size of an e30, and the amount of effort required in changing a colour PROPERLY is quite significant. When i resprayed my own car a few years back it was much less effort.

[c0rbin9]

The the older cars (02's E9's, etc.) a bare-metal color change is pretty accepted (especially if the original color is boring).

That's a good point, though I think a lot of that is because the older cars came with some pretty homely looking browns and yellow. Changing a car from silver to black is different.

[SkiFree]

The the older cars (02's E9's, etc.) a bare-metal color change is pretty accepted (especially if the original color is boring).

Do what you want, but do it nicely.

[sampayne]

On an m3, yes, on a run of the mill e30, no.

^^

[bangn]

Why not wrap it? Won't cost you much, if done right won't harm the paint and means you can enjoy the color you want and pull it off if you feel the need too.

Yuck... go buy a flat brim.

are you building it for you or the next owner.. unless its a MINT original car with a good story I say paint it whatever