no damage paint question

[Brewer]

if a previous owner who is a paint specialist at a body shop, paints a modest sized snake\fire logo on the passenger side door and the drivers door equally. And a highly reputable hi end restoration paint shop was able to paint over the "logo" properly & seamlessly.

Does anyone see this effecting the overall value of this viper?
Their truly was NO damage whatsoever, just a scaly flamed viper
stripe across the door (in the inset area of the door) It was
taken care of at the hi end of restoration quality, reciepts and
reputation all are verifiable if necessary.

Problem I have, Is If someone notices interior issues that might give away the fact that at 3000 miles, this car had some basic paint done BACK TO THE ORIGINAL PAINT I am worried people will think my car was in an accident. And my resale would unfairly take a huge hit.

Could I get some feedback from other viper owners on this, I realize there are dont ever touch anything on the viper owners,
I have to hope that there are logical buyers who see no damage ever done to my vehicle and a PERFECT GORGEOUS paint job. NO ONE has EVER noticed this until a door is opened and they look inside
somewhere. They look at me and say AHAA!!! as if I had a 3 car pileup and a complete rebuild of the car. My carfax is clean as day.

Input please.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

What evidence is there of the repaint? A really good repaint should be undectable. If you can tell it's been repainted, then the repaint is not a good job. And sure, if it's not a good job, it makes sense that it will affect resale.

 

[TAXIMAN1]

What evidence is there of the repaint? A really good repaint should be undectable. If you can tell it's been repainted, then the repaint is not a good job. And sure, if it's not a good job, it makes sense that it will affect resale.

Not sure if I agree with that.. What you are hinting at is "no one would catch it"....

Original poster, are you asking because you are "considering" doing this, or because its already done?????

My advice would be to, be UPFRONT with a potential prospect. And DOCUMENT the cars before pictures... Anyone who knows these cars, and knows body work. Can pick an accident car up, in about 5 minutes... If the car was not hit, and you document this. I dont see it effecting value at all..

UNLESS we are talking about a super rare, super low mile, collectable car here. (i.e., Car with UNDER 5k miles, GT2,FEACR,VOI,VCA,etc,etc). Then, yes.. Value probably would be effected . Otherwise, I doubt it really would..
Truth is. A good percentage of these cars with miles on them, HAVE been painted... Weather the owner knows about it or not... Side Sills,Front Facia,etc

 

[Jsparks]

Somebody keyed my car last year and had to have her painted. Can't tell at all! I wouldn't worry about it...or just take pics of the snake logo and show if they ask..

 

[Brewer]

yes, I am the owner and the paint was done a few weeks after I bought it in 2004. The previous owner owns his own body\paint shop and did the work himself. It was actually, pretty nicely done job.
It was just a nicely done (in my opinion) tacky side door graphic.
If that makes sense to anyone. I had one lexus dealer look at it and notice somehow (by openoing the doors and looking inside somewhere)that the doors were painted over\repainted. He and his appraisers offered me 15 to 20k less than the general going rate for my cars year, mileage and shape. I was shocked, he HAD to think the car was in some accident. I said, "an identical accident on both sides?!" No one has an issue with the paint job thats seen it as far as quality, but I am not a pro. I had it done at a place that handles ferraris, lambo's, and all kinds of vintage collector
cars. I did NOT go on the cheap when having it done. THAT I can obviously document. I don't want to sell but my wifes expecting our first child and I need a back seat (in the next 6 months)
Any advice is very appreciated. I am not some shady guy selling a damaged car, this is frustrating.

 

[Flexx91]

What do you consider the 'going rate'? If its NADA value then you're in for a rude awakening. Values of these cars are purely market driven (ecomonics) not average depreciation. If I could get the current NADA suggested trade-in value for my '05, I would be driving a new '08.

And a far as paint goes, the proper way to repaint a Viper is to remove the body panel and paint it independently. This is how it is done at the factory. Blending, feathering, masking and taping can affect its value.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

What evidence is there of the repaint? A really good repaint should be undectable. If you can tell it's been repainted, then the repaint is not a good job. And sure, if it's not a good job, it makes sense that it will affect resale.

Not sure if I agree with that.. What you are hinting at is "no one would catch it"....

Not at all. Getting an undectable paint job has nothing to do with hiding the fact that there was paint work. It has everything to do with repairing the car to as good as OE. If you can tell the panel was painted, it by definition isn't a very good job, let alone a job equal to OE.

I had one lexus dealer look at it and notice somehow (by openoing the doors and looking inside somewhere)that the doors were painted over\repainted.

Apparently the dealer could tell the door was repainted because there was evidence of the repaint in the door jam - evidence of masking or overspray perhaps. Regardless how the dealer could tell the door was repainted, the fact that he could tells us the repaint wasn't as good as it could have been. As one of the above posts states, the way to do the repaint is to remove the panel and all attached parts so that nothing has to be masked and there is no overspray. If that is done, the repaint should be impossible to detect unless the door is disassembled. Even then you may not be able to tell.

Again, it has nothing to do with deceipt. It has everything to do with your car being as good as OE. But it brings me back to the point. If you can tell that paint work was done, the car isn't worth as much as if there was no paint work or if the paint work is not detectable.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

All of this raises an interesting question. If an owner has top notch paint work done and it is not detectable to even a trained eye, is he obligated to inform a prospective buyer of the repaint even if the buyer doesn't ask about it? And a possibly unrelated question is whether you, personally, would tell a prospective buyer about prior (undetectable) paint work even if the buyer didn't ask whether there was ever any paint work done.

 

[Brewer]

I am sorry, but Phoenix, you are nuts. There is NO DAMAGE to the car. Never has been. Its a Paint job. and a darn good one to anyone that views the car as it is intended to be viewed.

Now, if some, and there are plenty, anal retentive viper car collector type comes looking with his toothbrush and magnifying glass, he may reject my car. Well guess what, I DROVE my car and enjoyed the heck out of it. It has, OH MY GOD, a few miles on it.
I actually had the audacity to drive and enjoy it, NOT store it for special occasions or collect it. I have awesome unique rims on it as well, they blow away the stock rims in cool factor, but, OH NO!
They are not factory, I must be screwed. I am obviously a bit frustrated with the Snobby hi end attitudes of some viper owners when we own the poor mans supercar. I am glad I am from a generation that values working hard and playing hard, actually eats on the china instead of storing it type of crowd. My car will sell anywhere
from 44-49K to a normal person like myself. They will get a good deal because I am pricing it properly. Not ridiculously.

I have researched virtually every viper for sale in this country
and at various dealers, on top of being friends with a number of
viper vendors and dealers who I run things by. So thinking I have no idea of what my car should go for is insulting and arrogant. I am pretty sure I am more aware of the viper market
than that gentleman. On top of all this, nobody actually answered my question of how much is fair to deduct from the price, IF AT ALL, due to the fact I had the doors painted. Lastly, thanks for insulting me and the place in Chicago I had paint this. Evidently, the fact that Lamborghini, Porsche, ferrari and collector cars are ALL done beautifully where I went
is not good enough for some vipersnobs. If they painted the car
without dealing with areas any normal person would care to look
it probably was ME ok'ing that. I paid thousands to do the job.
I cant remember, but maybe there was a significant price jump to
essentially do the interior paint that was never a problem to begin with.
Someone please, nicely, explain to me how keeping as much of my original paint original, is a BAD thing?

That jack@#s Lexus dealer inferred that the car may have been in an accident I MAY have been concealing if the doors were painted.
How an accident happens to both doors identically is a mystery to me. Of course the same brilliant dealer brought out his carfax and asked me this gem, "were you aware that this car was in (and he names a state) for 1 year?! I walked him to the back of the car and pointed down to the liscense plate, WHICH WAS FROM THE STATE HE NAMED! I was just being given the business by an old sales guy. I get that a lot being a younger viper owner.

Any way. I will be better prepared with proof of what I did as I sell it privately.

 

[ViperJay]

brewer, if you need a back seat then just buy a honda as a daily driver for 8k and keep the viper. you will get hosed in this market anyway. vipers are flooding the market and it will only get worse in the next 8-12months. you own it so enjoy it. i just had another child and bought my viper 4 months before she was born. kids dont cost that much in diapers.

 

[Phoenix SRT]

I am sorry, but Phoenix, you are nuts. There is NO DAMAGE to the car. Never has been. Its a Paint job. and a darn good one to anyone that views the car as it is intended to be viewed.

Now, if some, and there are plenty, anal retentive viper car collector type comes looking with his toothbrush and magnifying glass, he may reject my car. Well guess what, I DROVE my car and enjoyed the heck out of it. It has, OH MY GOD, a few miles on it.
I actually had the audacity to drive and enjoy it, NOT store it for special occasions or collect it. I have awesome unique rims on it as well, they blow away the stock rims in cool factor, but, OH NO!
They are not factory, I must be screwed. I am obviously a bit frustrated with the Snobby hi end attitudes of some viper owners when we own the poor mans supercar. I am glad I am from a generation that values working hard and playing hard, actually eats on the china instead of storing it type of crowd. My car will sell anywhere
from 44-49K to a normal person like myself. They will get a good deal because I am pricing it properly. Not ridiculously.

I have researched virtually every viper for sale in this country
and at various dealers, on top of being friends with a number of
viper vendors and dealers who I run things by. So thinking I have no idea of what my car should go for is insulting and arrogant. I am pretty sure I am more aware of the viper market
than that gentleman. On top of all this, nobody actually answered my question of how much is fair to deduct from the price, IF AT ALL, due to the fact I had the doors painted. Lastly, thanks for insulting me and the place in Chicago I had paint this. Evidently, the fact that Lamborghini, Porsche, ferrari and collector cars are ALL done beautifully where I went
is not good enough for some vipersnobs. If they painted the car
without dealing with areas any normal person would care to look
it probably was ME ok'ing that. I paid thousands to do the job.
I cant remember, but maybe there was a significant price jump to
essentially do the interior paint that was never a problem to begin with.
Someone please, nicely, explain to me how keeping as much of my original paint original, is a BAD thing?

That jack@#s Lexus dealer inferred that the car may have been in an accident I MAY have been concealing if the doors were painted.
How an accident happens to both doors identically is a mystery to me. Of course the same brilliant dealer brought out his carfax and asked me this gem, "were you aware that this car was in (and he names a state) for 1 year?! I walked him to the back of the car and pointed down to the liscense plate, WHICH WAS FROM THE STATE HE NAMED! I was just being given the business by an old sales guy. I get that a lot being a younger viper owner.

Any way. I will be better prepared with proof of what I did as I sell it privately.

Damage or not, if you would pay the same for either of two equal Vipers with only diifference being that there is detectable paint work on one then you are unique, indeed. In most instances, why would anyone pay the same money for a repaired car, especially when they can see the repair, as they would for a car that had no paint work? And why should someone believe you when you say there was no damage, just a repaint? That may be true, but why do you think people should take you at your word? It's an uncertainty and uncertainty costs money. It's not snobery; unless the repaired car costs less, why would a buyer take a risk that the repair wasn't a good one when, because you can see the repair, it may well be that it wasn't a good repair?

BTW, if you know that your car will sell anywhere for $44-49k, why did you even ask how much the repair will devalue the car?

You started out asking for input and when I give you mine, you tell me I'm nuts. If you don't want to know what folks think, why did you ask? I may not know how much of a hit you'll take, but you will likely take a hit of one sort or antoher. Don't kill the messenger. And keeping as much of the paint as possible original is, of course, a good thing. Who said it wasn't? But, the paint that is not original must look original.

 

[ulllose]

I am sorry, but Phoenix, you are nuts. There is NO DAMAGE to the car. Never has been. Its a Paint job. and a darn good one to anyone that views the car as it is intended to be viewed.

Now, if some, and there are plenty, anal retentive viper car collector type comes looking with his toothbrush and magnifying glass, he may reject my car. Well guess what, I DROVE my car and enjoyed the heck out of it. It has, OH MY GOD, a few miles on it.
I actually had the audacity to drive and enjoy it, NOT store it for special occasions or collect it. I have awesome unique rims on it as well, they blow away the stock rims in cool factor, but, OH NO!
They are not factory, I must be screwed. I am obviously a bit frustrated with the Snobby hi end attitudes of some viper owners when we own the poor mans supercar. I am glad I am from a generation that values working hard and playing hard, actually eats on the china instead of storing it type of crowd. My car will sell anywhere
from 44-49K to a normal person like myself. They will get a good deal because I am
pricing it properly. Not ridiculously.

I have researched virtually every viper for sale in this country
and at various dealers, on top of being friends with a number of
viper vendors and dealers who I run things by. So thinking I have no idea of what my car should go for is insulting and arrogant. I am pretty sure I am more aware of the viper market
than that gentleman. On top of all this, nobody actually answered my question of how much is fair to deduct from the price, IF AT ALL, due to the fact I had the doors painted. Lastly, thanks for insulting me and the place in Chicago I had paint this. Evidently, the fact that Lamborghini, Porsche, ferrari and collector cars are ALL done beautifully where I went
is not good enough for some vipersnobs. If they painted the car
without dealing with areas any normal person would care to look
it probably was ME ok'ing that. I paid thousands to do the job.
I cant remember, but maybe there was a significant price jump to
essentially do the interior paint that was never a problem to begin with.
Someone please, nicely, explain to me how keeping as much of my original paint original, is a BAD thing?

That jack@#s Lexus dealer inferred that the car may have been in an accident I MAY have been concealing if the doors were painted.
How an accident happens to both doors identically is a mystery to me. Of course the same brilliant dealer brought out his carfax and asked me this gem, "were you aware that this car was in (and he names a state) for 1 year?! I walked him to the back of the car and pointed down to the liscense plate, WHICH WAS FROM THE STATE HE NAMED! I was just being given the business by an old sales guy. I get that a lot being a younger viper owner.

Any way. I will be better prepared with proof of what I did as I sell it privately.

Well I would have to say you r one touchy SOB...... this might get good.
By the way I had my front end touched up alittle from a big rock or something on the freeway. looks perfect can't tell at all. did it devalue the car? i doubt it

 

[Brewer]

Well I guess ULLOSE I was being a bit of a touchy sob, as you say.

I guess I was not clear. Nobody at all ever notices the car has been painted when they view it. ONLY when they open the car door and look down in some obscure place. 99% of people are like me, if
the paint looks undetectable to me and the car has not been in any accidents than whats the big deal.

As far as "how do we know your not lying and the car was in an accident" What kind of twisted thinking is that, how do YOU prove your car was not in an accident. Lets see, your paint job looks perfect but anyone can get a good paint job, right? So PROVE to me YOUR car was not in an accident. How silly. I can verify the doors were painted and the vendor that did them and WHY. Other than that what is a carfax for? Nothing?

as far as guessing where my car should sell pricewise, I figured
49k if I meet someone that has no problem with the door paint.
(and thats a few thousand less than comparables, I am NOT overpricing it) I figure 44k if every person I meet has a big problem with it and I have to discount it what it would cost to (and this IS ridiculous) repaint the doors undetectably. All I am asking for is, does a 2k discount make this right? Does a 5k discount? I have research and numbers, but I dont have the pulse of the buyer.

lastly, I would love to keep it but I live downtown where I have 1 space with my condo, and already rent another for 100 dollars a month for our "cheap car"

I love my wife and I really would want our "nicer car" to be one all 3 of us can be in. (roughly looking at lexus sc430, Shelby GT 500 convertible, maybe BMW 650i) OR the new viper 3 seat concept car complete with racing helmet for the baby