quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I would be hard pressed to spend 5k for body work on a 15 year old truck.

Yeah I wouldn't put money in a 15 year old truck with 200K, instead I'd put that money toward a new or newer truck.

Search for Screaming Cockatoo post about painting his Corvette. https://sigforum.com/eve/forum...790006505#5790006505

It may be worth an attempt at home pending space and tools.

I would have a painless dent removal person do as much as they could and I would also address the specific areas of rust.
I would not worry about going too much into it.

An older vehicle in sound mechanical condition can have value far beyond its monetary value even if it looks like crap on the outside. For example, my dad finally got rid of his ‘76 Chevy Cheyenne a couple of years ago. However, spending a lot of money to make it look great won’t be worth it from a value standpoint unless it’s of value to you since you’ll never get your money out of it if you sell.

If you plan to keep it for years, instead of doing expensive repainting, patch and paint yourself to keep it from rusting out and consider the auto shop paint-match mismatches as “character points” or, like actresses of old, “beauty marks,” and keep on trucking.

I have a 1996 2500 HD Ram 4WD extra cab I bought new. It has 41K and I use it for vacations and towing. The motor is the 5.9 V8, not hemi and not impressive but functional and solid.
@ 10 years ago, I had EVERYTHING done to it, axel seals, new radiator, shocks, all fluids replaced with synthetic and several other things. Recently, I had a bluetooth radio, back-up camera and video F&R cameras installed.

If I replaced it, I'd be looking at 100K +/- and I figure all the new stuff had over it was the cameras and bluetooth, so for $2500 I put those in.
Now, I am in a position to have the dent remover guy do all the parking lot dings.

So, ask me and I'd tell you to get it done. You already own it, know it and there's plenty of life left in it.

I take pride in my stuff, be it a fishing item, bicycle, anything. Keep it up, it lasts a long time.

Any fool can spend money, the trick is to spend as little as you can with an eye to the bigger picture.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I would have a painless dent removal person do as much as they could and I would also address the specific areas of rust.
I would not worry about going too much into it.

Agreed, and with body rust, quite often when there's smoke, there's fire. Check the frame for rust, as well as steel brake & fuel lines. An area often missed when inspecting a frame is inside the front wheel wells. The steel line that goes to the rear brakes likes to rust out between the fuel tank and frame. The tailgate, if too smashed up, can be replaced with a used one, but they can be difficult to color match. Unless the paint is peeling off and leaving just primer or bare metal, I'd leave the paint alone. If it has faded you may be able to carefully buff it out. Painting an entire vehicle is a large undertaking no matter how easy it looks on TV. All this is moot, however, if there are holes in the frame.

quote:

Originally posted by chellim1:

quote:

Originally posted by 92fstech:
$5600 is a lot cheaper than a new truck. I'll bet you'd throw more away in depreciation within the first year if you went that route.

If the truck is mechanically sound, and you're emotionally invested in it enough to put the money into it, I say go for it. Just be honest with yourself and know that that you're spending money to make you happy...it's not as an investment in the truck, because fixing the cosmetics is not going to significantly prolong its usefulness, and if you sell it I doubt you see much return on your investment. There's nothing wrong with that, provided you have the money to spend and it will enhance your enjoyment of the truck.

This. If it will make you happy, do it.
But it won't add enough value to justify if you want to sell it.

Exactly correct. I want to drive it another 100k. I could drive it another 100k without the body and paint work, but it would get uglier without a facelift. It's not worth selling because it's old and well used, but it's worth way more driving a long way cheap.

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I would have a painless dent removal person do as much as they could and I would also address the specific areas of rust.
I would not worry about going too much into it.

Agreed, and with body rust, quite often when there's smoke, there's fire. Check the frame for rust, as well as steel brake & fuel lines. An area often missed when inspecting a frame is inside the front wheel wells. The steel line that goes to the rear brakes likes to rust out between the fuel tank and frame. The tailgate, if too smashed up, can be replaced with a used one, but they can be difficult to color match. Unless the paint is peeling off and leaving just primer or bare metal, I'd leave the paint alone. If it has faded you may be able to carefully buff it out. Painting an entire vehicle is a large undertaking no matter how easy it looks on TV. All this is moot, however, if there are holes in the frame.

there is no rust, except where a rock hit the pillar metal at the top corner of the windshield. The frame, under body, and brake lines are all clean. The truck has never lived in snow country. It's clean. Old but clean.

quote:

Originally posted by gpbst3:
I would be hard pressed to spend 5k for body work on a 15 year old truck.

Exactly, it's a hard decision. I like easier decisions.

Since coming here, I have to assume everything is rusted until proven otherwise.

I vote yes. Make her pretty!

I'll be the pessimist here. The last vehicle I sent to the breakers looked fine on the body, but had rusted so badly underneath that it was sagging in the center and was no longer safe to drive.

Get a real Negative Nelly mechanic to look it over with a jaundiced eye before you commit to body work.

quote:

What is your vote on giving older truck a body shop makeover ?
.....15 yo F150 w/198k miles.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I would have a painless dent removal person do as much as they could and I would also address the specific areas of rust.
I would not worry about going too much into it.

Agreed, and with body rust, quite often when there's smoke, there's fire. Check the frame for rust, as well as steel brake & fuel lines. An area often missed when inspecting a frame is inside the front wheel wells. The steel line that goes to the rear brakes likes to rust out between the fuel tank and frame. The tailgate, if too smashed up, can be replaced with a used one, but they can be difficult to color match. Unless the paint is peeling off and leaving just primer or bare metal, I'd leave the paint alone. If it has faded you may be able to carefully buff it out. Painting an entire vehicle is a large undertaking no matter how easy it looks on TV. All this is moot, however, if there are holes in the frame.

there is no rust, except where a rock hit the pillar metal at the top corner of the windshield. The frame, under body, and brake lines are all clean. The truck has never lived in snow country. It's clean. Old but clean.

Then I would have the paint less dent guy do his work, have that little rust dot handled and then I would wipe her down with some Poppy’s Patina.
https://poppyspatina.com/

Also we need to see some pics of the truck please.

As a P.S. to my earlier post, found out today the drivers side floor pan has rusted through. Frame and the rest of the underbody looks decent.

Ordered a floor pan section tonight, it’s scheduled for the body shop the end of May.

Still cheaper than a car payment.

Maaco is insanely hit or miss. Some shops are great but a lot are shit. You get what you pay for with them. If you go that route, expect orange peel, thin coats, overspray, etc.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:

quote:

Originally posted by egregore:

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I would have a painless dent removal person do as much as they could and I would also address the specific areas of rust.
I would not worry about going too much into it.

Agreed, and with body rust, quite often when there's smoke, there's fire. Check the frame for rust, as well as steel brake & fuel lines. An area often missed when inspecting a frame is inside the front wheel wells. The steel line that goes to the rear brakes likes to rust out between the fuel tank and frame. The tailgate, if too smashed up, can be replaced with a used one, but they can be difficult to color match. Unless the paint is peeling off and leaving just primer or bare metal, I'd leave the paint alone. If it has faded you may be able to carefully buff it out. Painting an entire vehicle is a large undertaking no matter how easy it looks on TV. All this is moot, however, if there are holes in the frame.

there is no rust, except where a rock hit the pillar metal at the top corner of the windshield. The frame, under body, and brake lines are all clean. The truck has never lived in snow country. It's clean. Old but clean.

Then I would have the paint less dent guy do his work, have that little rust dot handled and then I would wipe her down with some Poppy’s Patina.
https://poppyspatina.com/

Also we need to see some pics of the truck please.

God that's funny. Good lord. WTF

Well so far I have two quotes from two shops I trust. One of them I've used twice before (one of my own vehicles, and another for my daughter's Camaro that hit a deer) and they're pretty good, they quoted $6,000. The other family business shop I mentioned previously quoted $5,600. I have one more appt. at another family business shop that appears to have a good reputation, and I want to find one more shop, so I'll have four quotes to consider. My anticipation is most good shops are going to come with prices pretty close together. Then I'll have to make the call.

I should have taken a picture the last time I did a decon, clay bar, and one pass with a one-step sealer using a forced random orbital polisher. I do it twice per year, and it keeps up the paint, but after 15 years of mishaps, hauling for home projects, large parking lots where what happens at Walmart stays at Walmart, and parking outside in the sun and all kinds of weather, it is what it is. The only way to keep a car nice is to keep it in a garage out of the sun and constant sandblast from normal wind and weather.

Hey here's a thought. How much more would it be to paint the whole vehicle. Not where they tape everything off, but remove all pieces and parts, and paint the whole thing, then put everything back on. Are we talking a few thou more, or something truly outrageous only justifiable for a collectible with an owner with generous pockets ?

When did you do that and how much did it cost you ?

Interesting update. My truck has a new booboo, but it wasn't my fault. The person responsible will pay for the repair, but the estimator said since he had to add three additional panels, it would be better to paint the whole truck so everything matches. I'll see what the next (and last) estimator says about that.

Does anyone know if this is std practice, that if there's so much little stuff that needs fixing that they just paint the entire vehicle after the body repairs are completed and prepped ? It kinda makes sense, but I'm not a body and paint man, that is really way out of my wheelhouse when it comes to cars.

quote:

Originally posted by wrightd:
Interesting update. My truck has a new booboo, but it wasn't my fault. The person responsible will pay for the repair, but the estimator said since he had to add three additional panels, it would be better to paint the whole truck so everything matches. I'll see what the next (and last) estimator says about that.

Does anyone know if this is std practice, that if there's so much little stuff that needs fixing that they just paint the entire vehicle after the body repairs are completed and prepped ? It kinda makes sense, but I'm not a body and paint man, that is really way out of my wheelhouse when it comes to cars.

Even if the other person is at fault there is no way an insurance company is paying for a full paint job on a 15 yr old truck with 200k miles. I would think your best case is to talk to your body shop and tell them its an insurance job and to also add in some of you other rust repairs. You might end up well under you $5600 previous repair quote.