Paint Shop Advice

[Billy Dagwood]

My mom has had the same car for years. It's a 1981 Mercedes 240D. It's garage-kept (heated) and seldom goes out, so it only has about 80k miles on it. The mechanicals are all in great shape (hey, it's a diesel sans turbo); the thing is a tank. It had a little bit of electrical trouble a few years ago, but that's all sorted out.

 

Honestly, all it needs is a little TLC on the exterior. After all, the paint is 27 years old and saw more than a few Boston winters in its prime. There are a couple small places where rust has started to appear, so my parents want to get it completely repainted while it's still in good shape. I'm not really sure where to take it, and they don't want any cheap Maaco jobs. The internet is sort of a crapshoot when it comes to this sort of thing, and I think word-of-mouth is the best way to get results.

 

SO .. does anyone know where I should take this thing? It's in the Boston area, but I don't mind driving it a little ways if it'll mean a better job.

[Billy Dagwood]

nobody?

[pillboy]

The few body shops I have talked to over the years don't like to do rust work because it ALWAYS comes back and the customer is then dissatisfied. You might have to try a shop that does restorations. And then they are going to want to do such extensive work (to make sure the rust is totally exorcised) that your parents will not want to pay that much.

[Billy Dagwood]

hm .. there's so little, though - it's almost non-existant!

[Fat Charlie]

Where's the rust? Any body shop will be able to replace a panel or three. Assuming the parts are still available, that's the best way to exorcise rust for good.

 

Car dealers use body shops a lot. If you get service done at one, ask who they use. Saying "XYZ Motors sent me to you" can get a little more attention than "I saw your ad in the yellow pages."