Auto Body Painting
Archived Q&A and Reviews
Good auto painter in East Bay
Oct 2013
Can anyone recommend a good auto painter in the East Bay (Lamorinda, WC, Pleasant Hill, Concord, Berkeley, or Oakland) that isn't super expensive? I don't want a cheapie/slap-dash place either. Also, does anyone know how much it costs (roughly) to get a car painted? Do the paint jobs hold up? Do they come with a warranty? We are looking for a reputable place to paint our old (year 2000) car that has 145,000 miles on it. The issue is that the Clear Coat or PermaPlate or whatever the protective paint coating is called has started to bubble and peel. And the paint under it is starting to wear and fade. In other words, the car runs well, but it looks like crap. My son used the car until he went to college, and we'd like to keep it for our daughter to drive in a year and a half. Thanks in advance. Our beater looks like a beater
I would talk to Stewart's Auto Body in Richmond on San Pablo Ave. They do really good work for reasonable prices. You are definitely looking a few thousand dollars, though. Especially to get those surfaces properly prepped. Eden
My body shop recommended Continental Auto Painting on San Pablo near Marin. Jose did a great job on my 1992 Honda about five years ago and the paint job has held up well. I believe it cost me about $2000. lynn
Need to get old Volvo painted
May 2006
after years of wonderful service carrying little ones safely to and fro, my volvo is looking a little worse for wear! does anyone have any recommendations for a place to get her painted that does quality work without charging an arm and a leg? i don't need anything fancy, just a nice paint job and a re-do of the stripes. thanks!
Try Panel Craft on San Pablo near Ashby in Berkely. David Habu, the owner, is very honest and easy to work with.
anonymous with a great paint job
Paint job for 1993 Corolla
Sept 2003
I really want to paint my car. Its paid for and in good shape otherwise for its age (1993 Corolla.) Any ideas on who would be good and how much it will cost? thank you in advance
I just got my even older (1990) car, a BMW, repainted at MAACO AUTO PAINTING & BODYWORKS 250 San Leandro Blvd San Leandro CA 94577 (510) 562-3232. They fixed a deep dent in the rear door, a group of dings on the hood, and then repainted the entire car, including replacing the snazzy little pin stripe. Total cost was about $1800, of which approx. $500 was for the bodywork. It was ready before they said it would be and looked really good, I thought, but they called me and said they weren't happy with the color and wanted to put on another coat for free. They were very nice and pleasant to deal with, and I think the car looks close to brandnew. I think they have cheaper paint jobs I could have chosen, but I went for the version that is supposed to be the longest lasting, since I kept my last car for almost 20 years. I'd gotten a quote for the same work from an authorized BMW place for over $4000, so I was happy with the price. Fran
MAACO has done inexpensive and quality work on my dads celica. The trick for a better job was to ask for the better paint. The basic paint that is sold for the discount jobs will oxidize much faster than the paint that comes from the factory now. If you ask for the range of better paints that are available and pick one of the generic but higher grade paints formulations than the basic paint it will last years longer. mbarone