Does changing car paint color de-value restoration?

[72Fjord02]

Just to echo some of the comments.

As a person who just did their first restore (or is 90% done as they are never done), another question you should ask is "Do you want to build a really nice 02 or do you want to own and drive a really nice 02"

If you want to build a car, where you get to pick the color, the engine mods, the suspension, brakes, etc you are on the right course. But to do a thorough updating of all the big things listed above and all the little things like trim and subframe mounts. If you have much of the work done professionally it will take months if not close to a year to complete, and will run well in excess of 20k for standard upgrades, paint, and body work, but the sky is the limit. If you sell it in the next few years you will probably get half what you put into it.

If you want to own a really nice 02 and drive and enjoy it. Sell the one you have, learn everything you can about 02s, be patient, shop around, and buy one that has been redone. if you can get a really nicely done one, it will be a bargain.

I did it my way and I love it, and I will never sell it, but it has taken years to get there, and I really don't want to know what the tab is so far :-).

[dubois]

yes

[Gthielen]

YES.

......But by how much?.....and do you really care? It is your car and your choice.

A proper coucours quality repaint (like Blunt's) may make his car worth $25K instead of 27K...is two grand worth it to have a gorgeous orange car instead of Sienna braun? I'm sure it is to him.

If you do it on the cheap, ignoring the engine bay and trunk, your car may be worth 5K instead of 6K. Is it worth it to you to have a silver car when you really want Inka.

Personally, I love Inka and am luke warm on Polaris..but I would never change color...but I am funny that way and would not begrudge anyone else for their choice.

On the other hand, Ferraris and Alfas were often repainted "resale"red to help their value...but now the original period colors are back in vogue.

Bottom line, follow your heart, not your wallet.

George

74 inka

[Samplemaven]

Thanks jgerock and jackf for your detailed response to my question.

I have McCartney's resto guide and from it I determined the Recaro seats in the car were original equipment just as the previous owner had said. I posted pictures in another thread of these seats and got confirmation that they are the real mccoys. I am looking for a restorer for these seats now.

I cannot do much of the work myself...but I expect I can find the people to do a good job.

I am putting together my thoughts on the suspension now, and have ordered a set of Tii alloys from Steve Blunt. Thanks for your comments on Sport vs HD shocks. I had it turned around and thought the Sport shocks were the milder of the two. I will be using the Billy HD's with shorter springs to lower the car an inch or so.

I have no plans to sell the car after it's finished and will be driving it frequently. Fortunately, I have a garage and work shop I can dedicate to the restoration, although most of the labor will be done by others.

Thanks,

[Samplemaven]

YES.

......But by how much?.....and do you really care? It is your car and your choice.

A proper coucours quality repaint (like Blunt's) may make his car worth $25K instead of 27K...is two grand worth it to have a gorgeous orange car instead of Sienna braun? I'm sure it is to him.

If you do it on the cheap, ignoring the engine bay and trunk, your car may be worth 5K instead of 6K. Is it worth it to you to have a silver car when you really want Inka.

Personally, I love Inka and am luke warm on Polaris..but I would never change color...but I am funny that way and would not begrudge anyone else for their choice.

On the other hand, Ferraris and Alfas were often repainted "resale"red to help their value...but now the original period colors are back in vogue.

Bottom line, follow your heart, not your wallet.

George

74 inka

I agree with your point, I will paint it where ever my heart leads at the time that I paint the car. My top four choices, in order, are Inka, Golf, Fjord Blue, then poaris.

Thanks,

[jgerock]

You seem to be like the rest of us - undecided as to what color to spray the car. Thank goodness BMW had lots of choices back then. Besides Polaris and Golf, Fjord is yet another of my "maybe" colors. I'm particularly fond of this car (IIRC Cris here on the FAQ). Note the different wheels in the pictures.

I JUST NOTICED THE LICENSE PLATE: 2JG!

[Samplemaven]

You seem to be like the rest of us - undecided as to what color to spray the car. Thank goodness BMW had lots of choices back then. Besides Polaris and Golf, Fjord is yet another of my "maybe" colors. I'm particularly fond of this car (IIRC Cris here on the FAQ). Note the different wheels in the pictures.

Fjord is just a beautiful color...period!

Thanks,

[tiitouring02]

I agree wtih Gthielen - cars that have been kept as close to original spec are getting more and more rare, so i think a car that's restored to its original spec will always be worth more then a colour changed car. But if you change the colour completely - including the floorpan, and its an original colour then the difference in values will be minimal (IMHO).

I too dont begrudge those that want to change the colour of their car, its their car not mine. My touring is repainted in its original Polaris with Navy interior and i think its very pretty - and you dont see alot of polaris cars around - at least not out here.

I had a Siennabraun car that i repainted original and got a bunch of flack for it while it was in the body shop, but when it was done it was REALLY pretty and i cant tell you the number of people who complimented the colour.

Im putting my vote in for Golf. If you want to see a beautiful example of a Golf tii - go to: thewerkshop.net and you can see a restored (and colour changed) Golf tii. I saw the car in the metal - it was gorgeous.

[Samplemaven]

Thanks... tiitouring02 for the link.

I checked out the link...and you're right, the Golf is really beautiful and unique.

My wife likes it too, so we may have a winner here.

Thanks,

[jgerock]

Your touring is beautiful. There are so many nice cars out there that need to be shown at regional events (and covered in BMW magazines).

My touring is repainted in its original Polaris with Navy interior and i think its very pretty - and you dont see alot of polaris cars around - at least not out here.

[Samplemaven]

My touring is repainted in its original Polaris with Navy interior and i think its very pretty - and you dont see alot of polaris cars around - at least not out here.

Could you post a few pictures of your Polaris with blue interior?

Thanks,

[jgerock]

[quote name="Samplemaven

Thanks' date='[/quote]

Just out of curiousity, what is your real name? It would be nice to know ;-).

[Samplemaven]

[quote name="Samplemaven

Thanks' date='[/quote]

Just out of curiousity, what is your real name? It would be nice to know ;-).

My name is Jim Cambron, and I live in Ringgold, GA.

[cj]

There's an old saying in the car business.

EVERY SEAT HAS AN ASS.

Regardless of your car being purple, green, red or blue, there will always be a buyer. You'll get the price you want if you market it right.

I'll use for example my '68 Camaro. It was originally a 6cyl, 3 on the tree manual trans and was a strippy model.

In 1997, purists bagged on me for building it the way I did. Big brakes, big wheels, big motor and 5 speed. I also added Recaros, Vintage Air A/C and a nice stereo system. I also change the front suspension geometry around to improve front grip and added a quick ratio steering box from AGR.

I recently sold it locally for 10x's what it would've sold for had I restored it to "as original". In fact it sold for double what a RS/SS, big block, numbers match, Protect-O-Plate, ORIGINAL COLOR Camaro sold for at about the same time. The "purists" are still up in arms!

BUILD IT THE WAY YOU LIKE IT. IT'S YOUR CAR! If you build YOUR car the way others dictate you should, send them the bill for the resto and see how much money comes in to help pay for it.

All this "build it original" bullshit is just that, BULLSHIT! It's your FUCKING CAR! PLAIN AND SIMPLE!

DAMN, these discussions take all the fun out of a FUCKING HOBBY THAT SHOULD BE FUN!

Cris

[cj]

YES.

A proper coucours quality repaint (like Blunt's) may make his car worth $25K instead of 27K...

George

74 inka

How the hell do you know this? Someone could see Blunts car and offer 35k because he likes Colorado.

It's all SPECULATION.

Cris