Jon_Murgie

Been looking round at late spec classics the past couple of weeks and nearly all of them have had paint of some kind or other, most obvious buy overspray on the rubber that goes across the top corner of the wing just under the windscreen (must be hard to mask there!).

I've always been put off buying cars that have had paint, but it almost seems like the majority of classics have had paint on the front end... is it something I should just put up with then, or keep looking for a minter with no signs of paint?

Paul3446

Mine hasn't been painted, but it's not for sale!

16vmarc

Could be just resprays due to stone chips, they dont have the thickest of paint! Checking the allignment of panels will determine wether it was cosmetic or crashed.

The Zohan

The DBM paint was thin and easy to chip, mine need a ft end respray at 40k due to stone chips.
However the garage that painted it did it properly and you really could not tell. No overspray, etc.

Lot of owners take pride in their cars and like them to look their best so painting the stonechips (often better to have the front end done) is not unusual especially as the paint is not that tough compared to others.

Lot of 5+ y/o cars have paint and if you know what you are looking at/for you can usually tell why.

I always ask when looking and if they cannot satisfy my curiosity then i walk away. Fact of life that cars have accidents and a good quality repair should not be too off putting.

The Zohan

Good points, not just the panel gaps and shut lines, look at joints for new mastic, new welding, new bolts, etc signs of primer overspray and the mess left by rubbing down/primer/paint/filler, etc. Overspray on rubbers there are usually a few signs if you know what to look for

hoskib

iTrader: (1)

why do so many have paint? because what they put on in the factory is ****e

late classic is at best a 5 year old car, i'd say the higher percentage have had some cosmetic work done to them unless they've been wrapped in cotton wool.

don't be put off by cars that have had paint, as long as it's a good job there's no problem

deco c

mine hasnt been painted either and still only has 30000 miles but shes not for sale yet....

struv

when i was serving my time i worked in a main ford dealer and we were allways getting brand new unregisterd cars from the showroom to have bits and peices done AND THEY HADNT EVEN BEEN PDI,D they get knocked and scraped all the time and none off the people who bought them were any the wiser. and they probably went through life telling people my cars never had paint HA!!

Jake

My classic hasnt even seen a bodyshop, but its only done 19k miles

RON

Most of mine has been sparyed... thanks to other people driving in to it..... it was staionary all three times it's been hit!!!

AndyC_772

iTrader: (2)

My classic was resprayed for stone chip damage and for a bumper scuff, both of which were (of course) entirely cosmetic - the car was in immaculate condition when I sold it.

The reason it might be advisable to avoid a car that's been sprayed is if it looks crap or if it constitutes evidence that the car has been in an accident and not repaired properly. A bit of overspray, if that's all that there is, really wouldn't bother me much if it were adequately explained. If the shut lines around the doors aren't straight either, then you need to be wary.

mushkinee

mine has been fully resprayed because someone threw paint stripper on it .
It is 5 yrs old, maybe some sort of classic curse. lol

Graz

Tempted to get the front of mine resprayed, MY00 Red Mica Classic. Its covered in stone chips and some of the laquer has started to flake off.

So not that uncommon to find them with some front end spray work at this age I guess.

Rear quarter of mine has been resprayed as well but that's another story It's not for sale anyway so you're safe!

Jon_Murgie

Cheers guys, seems to be some with and some without... totally understand the whole 'stone chip' blow over and also if a car hits a dealership they are likely to tidy it up with some fresh paint etc.

Will just keep a close eye on any crash-damage...