It's the question we're asked more than any other, and the honest answer is: it depends — but for good, explainable reasons. Here's what actually drives the price of a full respray, so you can judge any quote (including ours) with confidence.
What you're really paying for
Paint is a small fraction of the cost of a respray. The real cost is preparation time — and preparation is precisely what separates a respray that still looks superb in ten years from one that's peeling in two.
- Condition of the existing paint. Sound paint can be flatted and painted over; peeling lacquer or previous bad repairs must be stripped back further.
- Bodywork corrections. Dents, dings and rust all need fixing before paint — painting over problems just preserves them under lacquer.
- How much comes off the car. Cheap resprays mask around rubbers, badges and handles; proper resprays remove them. You can spot a masked respray in seconds once you know to look at the edges.
- The finish you choose. Solid colours cost less than metallics; pearlescents and tri-coats cost more again because they're multi-stage systems.
- Size of the vehicle. More panels, more paint, more hours.
Rough UK price bands
Across the UK you'll see everything from £1,000 budget resprays to £10,000+ show-standard jobs. Broadly: a budget "scuff and squirt" sits at the bottom, a proper full respray with genuine preparation on an average car sits in the middle thousands, and bare-metal or show-standard work climbs from there. If a quote seems dramatically cheaper than others, the difference is almost always preparation you can't see — until it fails.
Questions to ask any body shop
- Will trim, handles and rubbers be removed, or masked?
- How will existing chips, dents and rust be corrected before paint?
- Is the car painted in a proper low-bake oven?
- Are door shuts included or extra?
- Can I see photos of previous resprays — and the preparation stages?
We're always happy to answer all five. Read about our full respray process, or send us photos of your car for a free, itemised estimate.