Paint My Pontiac

[Buffaloed]

I have 2005 Pontiac Vibe. It's essentially the same as a Toyota Matrix. It has no rust or collision damage. The previous owner babied it and had it detailed and buffed every year at Delta Sonic. I think they buffed the clear coat right off it because it's a dull chalky white and I can see grey areas through the paint.

I just sunk $1200 into for a new catalytic converter using the Vibe Stimulus Check and now I'm thinking about painting it. It wouldn't need a lot of prep work. Naturally I'm looking to do this as cheaply as possible but I want a professional looking job that's going to last. It will look like a new car if it's done right.

Can I save money if I do the prep work myself including removing the trim?

I looked into DipYourCar - World Famous Peelable Auto Paint . I don't think that would end well.

What do our experts advise?

Click to read more...

 

[ProstheticConscience]

If you just put $1200 into a 2005 Vibe...well...don't know what to tell you. Spend what you feel like at this point.

 

[Buffaloed]

If you just put $1200 into a 2005 Vibe...well...don't know what to tell you. Spend what you feel like at this point.

I only paid $2200 for it because it had a hole in the a catalytic converter when I bought it 2 years ago. It managed to sneak through one inspection. The woman (aka the neighbor) I bought it from was shopping for a new car and said the dealer would only give her $1800 on a trade in. It has 105,649 miles on it. The car is easily worth the $3400 I have invested in it.
2005 Pontiac Vibe for Sale (with Photos) - CARFAX

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I only paid $2200 for it because it had a hole in the a catalytic converter when I bought it 2 years ago. It managed to sneak through one inspection. The woman (aka the neighbor) I bought it from was shopping for a new car and said the dealer would only give her $1800 on a trade in. It has 105,649 miles on it. The car is easily worth the $3400 I have invested in it.
2005 Pontiac Vibe for Sale (with Photos) - CARFAX

K...well, Vibes aren't going for that much around here. Just did a quick search on autotrader, and the floor was about 2 grand Canadian. Just a quick google search tells me that repainting a car is anywhere from $300 to $1500 so I honestly don't think you'd be saving that much if you did the prep work yourself. A few hundred? Maybe? The prices quoted on Carfax there really surprise me...I don't want to insult your ride or anything, but my personal feeling is anyone who's asking for $5k+ US for a used Vibe from that time period is really shooting for the moon. I mean, if you really like the car and you want to keep it, drive it and want it to look new, go ahead and spend the coin for a new paint job. But (and once again, this is just strictly my personal opinion here) do so knowing the chances of you ever seeing your money back from it are slim to none, and slim probably ain't seen around much in Buffalo. Harsh northeast winters, lots of salt on the roads, lots of ice, higher chances of crashes if it's a daily driver...not going to take much for it to be a write-off in an accident.

Ran into the downside of driving an older car myself recently. Used to have an '02 Acura RSX. Loved that car to pieces. Garage kept its entire operational life, 2 owners from new, full service history...then I drove over a ladder than fell off the back of some idiot's truck on the highway. Radiator struts mashed in, estimated at $4K damage. Boom, gone. Instant write-off, and that's for a relatively minor accident. Freak chance, out of nowhere. Can happen at anytime.

So yeah. You *might* be able to save a bit of coin by doing the prep work yourself, but if you're willing to put money into refurbishing a 2005 Pontiac Vibe, you may as well just pay someone to do the full meal deal than sweat over it sanding down the body on your own. Just view it as a pure expenditure that you're cool with because you want your car to look as good as it can, and you're willing to take the risk of it being munched in an accident because that's your ride.

 

[Individual 1]

I can't see getting it painted being worth it. You would be better off putting the money towards an inevitable repair, or to your future car.

 

[Winger98]

I guess my question would be how much do you like the car? Is it purely an economical driver or do you just have a hankering for ol' Pontiac Vibes? If you're going to do all of the prepwork, I'm not sure it'd be much more of an investment to get a cheap spray gun and a compressor and just paint it yourself. It's not going to look perfect, but with some patience (and a lot of time) I think you could make it look pretty solid.

K...well, Vibes aren't going for that much around here. Just did a quick search on autotrader, and the floor was about 2 grand Canadian. Just a quick google search tells me that repainting a car is anywhere from $300 to $1500 so I honestly don't think you'd be saving that much if you did the prep work yourself. A few hundred? Maybe? The prices quoted on Carfax there really surprise me...I don't want to insult your ride or anything, but my personal feeling is anyone who's asking for $5k+ US for a used Vibe from that time period is really shooting for the moon. I mean, if you really like the car and you want to keep it, drive it and want it to look new, go ahead and spend the coin for a new paint job. But (and once again, this is just strictly my personal opinion here) do so knowing the chances of you ever seeing your money back from it are slim to none, and slim probably ain't seen around much in Buffalo. Harsh northeast winters, lots of salt on the roads, lots of ice, higher chances of crashes if it's a daily driver...not going to take much for it to be a write-off in an accident.

Ran into the downside of driving an older car myself recently. Used to have an '02 Acura RSX. Loved that car to pieces. Garage kept its entire operational life, 2 owners from new, full service history...then I drove over a ladder than fell off the back of some idiot's truck on the highway. Radiator struts mashed in, estimated at $4K damage. Boom, gone. Instant write-off, and that's for a relatively minor accident. Freak chance, out of nowhere. Can happen at anytime.

So yeah. You *might* be able to save a bit of coin by doing the prep work yourself, but if you're willing to put money into refurbishing a 2005 Pontiac Vibe, you may as well just pay someone to do the full meal deal than sweat over it sanding down the body on your own. Just view it as a pure expenditure that you're cool with because you want your car to look as good as it can, and you're willing to take the risk of it being munched in an accident because that's your ride.

I don't know. I've seen a lot of folks posting here about old cars they have sunk money in because they like the car. The money you get back from a vehicle isn't going to come from selling it, imo. It's going to come from it being on the road and how much use you get out of it. We just had to get a new van. Paid $5500 out the door for the last one, put 100k+ miles on in the past five years, and we didn't trade it in because it was in pretty rough shape but can still be a good beater/hauler. We almost certainly got our money out of the thing, despite the recent spat of repairs needed.

@Buffaloed sinks $5k total into that Vibe, but gets five years out of it...that's not bad. How much would be sunk into monthly payments on a new car over that time frame? $8-15k? And would still be owing on it after that?

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I guess my question would be how much do you like the car? Is it purely an economical driver or do you just have a hankering for ol' Pontiac Vibes? If you're going to do all of the prepwork, I'm not sure it'd be much more of an investment to get a cheap spray gun and a compressor and just paint it yourself. It's not going to look perfect, but with some patience (and a lot of time) I think you could make it look pretty solid.



I don't know. I've seen a lot of folks posting here about old cars they have sunk money in because they like the car. The money you get back from a vehicle isn't going to come from selling it, imo. It's going to come from it being on the road and how much use you get out of it. We just had to get a new van. Paid $5500 out the door for the last one, put 100k+ miles on in the past five years, and we didn't trade it in because it was in pretty rough shape but can still be a good beater/hauler. We almost certainly got our money out of the thing, despite the recent spat of repairs needed.

@Buffaloed sinks $5k total into that Vibe, but gets five years out of it...that's not bad. How much would be sunk into monthly payments on a new car over that time frame? $8-15k? And would still be owing on it after that?

Which is what I said. Is it worth repainting a 2005 Vibe from an investment standpoint? No. Hell no. Not even. I'd personally be amazed if he sees dime one back from that. Is it worth repainting it because he wants to keep and use the car and wants it to be as protected from the elements as it can be and look as good as it can? If he really likes the car and wants to have it around for as long as possible, sure. But the amount he's cool with paying for that is clearly up to him.

 

[TaLoN]

Which is what I said. Is it worth repainting a 2005 Vibe from an investment standpoint? No. Hell no. Not even. I'd personally be amazed if he sees dime one back from that. Is it worth repainting it because he wants to keep and use the car and wants it to be as protected from the elements as it can be and look as good as it can? If he really likes the car and wants to have it around for as long as possible, sure. But the amount he's cool with paying for that is clearly up to him.

For the record, spending money on cars in general is a poor investment. Investment is not why money is spent on cars in the first place.

 

[LarryFisherman]

I only paid $2200 for it because it had a hole in the a catalytic converter when I bought it 2 years ago. It managed to sneak through one inspection. The woman (aka the neighbor) I bought it from was shopping for a new car and said the dealer would only give her $1800 on a trade in. It has 105,649 miles on it. The car is easily worth the $3400 I have invested in it.
2005 Pontiac Vibe for Sale (with Photos) - CARFAX

mate

every automaker is offering 0% at the moment

treat yourself with a dumb financial decision at the right time and walk off with a new vw/audi, bmw, or volvo. you deserve it.

you've reached a phase of the vibes life where you can only dump hordes of cash to maintain it. i wouldn't spend another dollar on it.

you'd be better off taking the 4-figure sum to paint it and putting it towards a used subaru or something.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

For the record, spending money on cars in general is a poor investment. Investment is not why money is spent on cars in the first place.

Absolutely. But it's hard to address the subject of repainting a 2005 Vibe (even though it's just a rebadged Toyota Matrix and not actually some horrible GM product) without getting into whether it's worth it at all...

mate

every automaker is offering 0% at the moment

treat yourself with a dumb financial decision at the right time and walk off with a new vw/audi, bmw, or volvo. you deserve it.

you've reached a phase of the vibes life where you can only dump hordes of cash to maintain it. i wouldn't spend another dollar on it.

you'd be better off taking the 4-figure sum to paint it and putting it towards a used subaru or something.

... ^^^ because that. Or even better, go for a leaseback a couple of years old and save yourself some of the depreciation.

 

[Buffaloed]

I got the $12.97 Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating - 16 Fl Oz.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XYPS3PS/
It almost looks like the car has a clear coat now. It's not glossy like it would be if there was an actual clear coat, but it's smooth and does have a little shine. It was dull and felt like chalk. I washed and clay barred the car before applying. Supposedly it will last 6 months with a single coat and up to a year if you do layers. I'll take it down to the river and do a 2nd coat tomorrow. That car is a chick magnet. It also does a fantastic job of keeping my phone fingerprint free.

 

[ProstheticConscience]

I got the $12.97 Turtle Wax 53409 Hybrid Solutions Ceramic Spray Coating - 16 Fl Oz.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07XYPS3PS/
It almost looks like the car has a clear coat now. It's not glossy like it would be if there was an actual clear coat, but it's smooth and does have a little shine. It was dull and felt like chalk. I washed and clay barred the car before applying. Supposedly it will last 6 months with a single coat and up to a year if you do layers. I'll take it down to the river and do a 2nd coat tomorrow. That car is a chick magnet. It also does a fantastic job of keeping my phone fingerprint free.

It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it. Just washed and waxed my 2013 Civic SI today. Went to pick my wife up from work, and when I pulled over, all the young girls were slammed up against the windows like Night of the Living Dead. Was hard to explain.

 

[TD Charlie]

I had a car sprayed by a cheap chain type shop when I was in high school. The owner was a family friend so I got the fancy package and I think he charged me just a shade over 100 bones. They plucked the emblems and taped the windows/chrome, and laid down a thick layer of gray flake w clear coat. There was some overspray on the top of the front bumper that was a perfectly straight line, as if they held a yard stick soaked in paint over it. Overall, incredibly worth the money.

If you can get a shop to spray and pray for a few hundred bucks, I say go for it. Be sure to choose a color that's close to your original paint though, because a cheap spray they probably won't be opening any doors/the hood/trunk...It's literally just a quick slap of masking tape and they go nuts with a gun.