coursevector

As our s2000s start getting older and people need new paint I figured I would post some photos and info to help the next person.

Because I didn't go with the most expensive shop I will try to point out any and all shortcomings of my choice over the best.

Deciding on the shop:
Samuels Auto Body - $4500 - amazing work, highly suggested, couldn't start for a few weeks, 2 weeks to complete
Vu's Auto Body (My Choice) - $1800 - great examples, could start immediately, 2 week to complete
National Import Services - $3500 - to be honest they didn't even want to do it
Precision Collision Orlando - Couldn't even get a good quote
Random friend that paints - $1750 - like any random side painter it was too difficult to get him to set a firm timeline

About Vu's Auto Body:
I walked in to see him working on 2 cars: an Aston Martin(DB9 I think) and a Mercedes
Vu is very confident in his work and has an assistant that helps with the prep
He doesn't speak great english, but was willing to sit down and look at wings, lips, paint, etc to make sure I was comfortable
The shop is in Downtown Orlando, right down the street from the Magic arena

Before:
paint was in terrible shape (see pictures below)
a few very small dings

During:
Badges removed - $70 to remove both
Front Lip installed - $120 for prep and installation. He needed to use different flexible materials for the lip
They spent 10+ hours just on prepping the hood
It is worth saying that I never let him know I was coming, so this is a very genuine view of his shop/process/etc
... more to come

After:
Looks good with a few very minor things I want him to do (some of which I never asked him to do)


My thoughts:
Overall very pleased so far, especially for the price.

It is not a $4500 paint job, but great for only $1800.

For example, Samuels would remove headlights & tail lights, remove a few other small pieces, and polish the head lights. (all of which you could do before giving him the car)

Bottom line, if I was paying I would take it to him again, if insurance was paying I would go to Samuels.

Total:
$1990 ($1800 + $120 for lip + $70 to shave badges)
Exactly what he estimated before even seeing the car

Pictures:
Each stage has a separate post below

coursevector

BEFORE:

Driver's Rear Corner:


Passenger's Rear Corner:


Hood:






Rear Bumper:


Front Bumper:


Passenger Door:

coursevector

Day 3:
















Day 4:















Day 8:




Day 11:

coursevector

AFTER:

Driver's Rear Corner:


Passenger's Rear Corner:


Hood:




Rear Bumper:



Front Bumper:



Passenger Door:



Front Lip:

Y0N1P8T5R1F5A4T

I'm diggin' this thread =-)

itsnoe30

I'm interested to see how this holds up over time. I paid $350 over in Tampa to get my front bumper resprayed and my J's lip installed/painted and 2 months later it looks terrible, not to mention they broke my badge, and I had to wetsand down more orangepeel than a Tropicana factory. Granted I've driven 4000 miles in that time but still

Seeing how it looks like Vu's is doing, it might be worth the drive over to see them.

ViperASR

You're not James by any chance are you?

toekneeg

Vu has done several of my family cars as well as many other friends of mine. Spot repairs, collisions, custom work, he's done them all. This collision work is amazing. You made a great choice.

coursevector

Where did you get your bumper painted? Was it at Vu's?

I will try to keep posting paint updates every 6 moths or year. I actually have photos from each of the past 3 years as it went from perfect paint to peeling. It might help others to catch it before it turns bad.

Yep, I am the old President of the UCF Car Club. I assume this is Steve since 299 of your 300 posts are about autocross


Thanks for the recommendation, so far it has been worth it just to hear Vu joke about different spoilers, bumpers, and wings.

itsnoe30

Nope, I'm in Tampa and had it done by some Russians. Never again.
From the looks of your work so far, it seems like it'd be worth the drive.