Wanna paint my mazda 3 sedan?

Hello forum, this is my first post as you can see :)

But anyway, I just inherited a 2005 Mazda 3 GT sedan recently from a relative of mine. I wanna start doing work to it but the body isnt in the best condition (has alot of tiny scratches and a few larger ones in the back) plus im not too fond of the colour in general, so I was wondering if anyone knows a ballpark price of how much it would cost to paint the car (im just thinking of making it black) or if its even really worth it to paint it at all.

Also if anyone knows a good place that I can call, or visit a website to get a quote I would appreciate the references and help :) Thanks in advance.

$3500 - $5000 to paint a Mazda 3. Depends on the quality u want. Don't cheap out.

You can do a full vinyl wrap for around 2000 that's what I would do. It's different and u could do a matte black, that would be sick

+1 to vinyl wrap

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Originally Posted by Hives

$3500 - $5000 to paint a Mazda 3. Depends on the quality u want. Don't cheap out.

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About right for top quality work (which includes removing the motor, and spraying the engine bay)

Depending on the condition of the body panels, it could start between 1500-6000 if you're changing the color. The extent of what you want sprayed also makes a difference.

I've seen people remove motor, glass, interior, lighting etc. to make sure there is no trace of it being a different color to begin with.

Avoid the "$999.99 Paint job" as they do not take the time to properly prep the car for paint, which means it will bubble, crack, rust or will have crazy overdspray.

Do it right the first time and you will be proud of your car for a long long time

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Originally Posted by Default User

About right for top quality work (which includes removing the motor, and spraying the engine bay)

Depending on the condition of the body panels, it could start between 1500-6000 if you're changing the color. The extent of what you want sprayed also makes a difference.

I've seen people remove motor, glass, interior, lighting etc. to make sure there is no trace of it being a different color to begin with.

Avoid the "$999.99 Paint job" as they do not take the time to properly prep the car for paint, which means it will bubble, crack, rust or will have crazy overdspray.

Do it right the first time and you will be proud of your car for a long long time

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Yeah, most of the car isn't in bad of shape, the back seems to be the worst though, but even there its not completely terrible... and the car is not even that old so there is no rust anywhere, so I was hoping that maybe that would factor into the cost. I was hoping to spend at most $2000-$3000 for a good paint job that wouldn't bubble or any of that and last me a good while, but if you guys are saying upwards of $5000 that seems a little steep to me. Obviously I don't want a cheap job done, but Im not made of money either. I just want something decent that looks good and will last.

Don't waste your money, sell the car and buy another 3 with the colour you like most.

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Originally Posted by sol_searchin

Don't waste your money, sell the car and buy another 3 with the colour you like most.

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Yup. Either paint it to a custom colour no one has, vinyl, or buy another 3. You choose.

The good thing about inheriting a car, is that you know the history of it.
What was done, how it was maintained, how it was driven, etc.

That being said, pics of the "roughness" and condition would probably help us with a better guesstimate. Bottom line though, head over to one of our sponsors and get a real quite. I've heard SP does great work with a quick turnaround.

i say vinyl would be awesome

PICS WOULD HELP!!!

+3 on vinyl +1 on pics would help :P

surprised to hear theres no rust on it

But yea, i think if I was in your position I would go with vinyl for sure

Alot of you are saying vinyl... I never really looked into that, is it cheaper than painting the car? and how would it hold up during the winter season?

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Originally Posted by McGoldie

Alot of you are saying vinyl... I never really looked into that, is it cheaper than painting the car? and how would it hold up during the winter season?

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What colour Is your car now?

Did they give you the car or did you have to pay some money?

If your painting the car the same colour then it shouldn't cost that much..

Also if the car was free just spend the money and paint it... I don't really care for vinyling a whole car

Have to laugh here, some posters are pushing for the OP to vinyl wrap the car, but the strange thing is I don't see any of their cars with a vinyl wrap. I don't think a vinyl wrap would be a long term worthwhile thing to do. In terms of longevity, paint would outlast vinyl hands down.

Pat.

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Originally Posted by sube

Have to laugh here, some posters are pushing for the OP to vinyl wrap the car, but the strange thing is I don't see any of their cars with a vinyl wrap. I don't think a vinyl wrap would be a long term worthwhile thing to do. In terms of longevity, paint would outlast vinyl hands down.

Pat.

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Alot of the posters here were providing a much more cost effective way to change the color of the car, which is basically what the OP wants to do, there is no rust so the NEED to paint is not there, which opens many different avenues. (oh and my extras are done in vinyl)

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Originally Posted by PearlM3

Alot of the posters here were providing a much more cost effective way to change the color of the car, which is basically what the OP wants to do, there is no rust so the NEED to paint is not there, which opens many different avenues. (oh and my extras are done in vinyl)

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I have seen a few cars with the full vinyl wrap, and to be honest every one looked like crap, it is one thing to do a flat panel like a roof or hood and make it look decent. When it comes to panels with complex curves then it becomes a horse of a whole different colour.. I also stand by my assertion that in terms of long time wearability paint would be the clear winner.

Pat.

I got the car for free off a relative of mine, but no i don't want to paint it the same colour. I want to just paint it black, right now its the strato blue mica colour. Thing is though obviously I don't wanna cheap out and get a bad paint job, but I don't want to spend an arm and a leg either, and yeah I also don't know about vinyling the car, it seems like it wouldn't hold up to a harsh Canadian winter, especially another long one like the one that just passed.

Full vinyl wrap can be just as expensive as a new paint job. And as mentioned, not what the OP is lookin to do go through anyway.


OP - just go to 2-3 body shops to get a quote. Color change can be an extra 200-500 extra, to paint inside the door jams. (not including engine bay)

IMHO, I wouldn't pay more than 2500 for a paintjob on these cars.

To save some money, don't be fussy as to getting an OEM factory color code. But do ask what code they are using in case you want to get some add-ins sprayed the same color ATF

The blue is a nice color, i say you get a repaint done of the same OEM color, pay for a good paint job, but since you keep the color OEM you dont have to get the shop to paint engine bay and other hard to reach areas.

Its more like you pay to laint what os visible. I guess you would save some money that way.

I like vinyl, but i cant see it done on the whole car. If it was one of those matte paint jobs thst cost like 20 grand different story :p


But most people are right find some good shops and get a quote from each

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Originally Posted by omalak

The blue is a nice color, i say you get a repaint done of the same OEM color, pay for a good paint job, but since you keep the color OEM you dont have to get the shop to paint engine bay and other hard to reach areas.

Its more like you pay to laint what os visible. I guess you would save some money that way.

I like vinyl, but i cant see it done on the whole car. If it was one of those matte paint jobs thst cost like 20 grand different story :p


But most people are right find some good shops and get a quote from each

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Yeah I don't care much for the engine bay or those areas getting re-painted, and hopefully it would save me money.
I am going to start calling some shops tomorrow and I'll be sure to let everyone know the prices I get.

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Originally Posted by McGoldie

Yeah I don't care much for the engine bay or those areas getting re-painted, and hopefully it would save me money.
I am going to start calling some shops tomorrow and I'll be sure to let everyone know the prices I get.

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If you are going to change the colour have them at least paint in the door jambs, otherwise it will look like total shit. Obviously the cheapest option would be to paint the same colour. That way you can avoid painting the jambs, the engine bay and around the trunk.

Pat.

Hey guys, sorry I took so long I been busy the past week with school and what not, but I finally got around to calling some places, as expected the estimations came out between 2000 - 4000 more or less (I asked about filling my badges too because I dont want to have to repaint the trunk for $500 if I decide to do it later). the lowest estimation though was $1600 but the guy seemed a little shady to me so I wouldnt even bother.

Anyway, Thanks guys for all your help guys!

So pretty much you got quotes, relized you couldn't afford it and now what? lol fail of a thread. Drive your car and if you don't like what's given to you than sell it and buy something you want. Noobs posting about vinyl wraps, do you even know how much a full wrap would cost? your looking into the thousands, yes thousands, labour ain't free and vinyl is just as hard to apply over an entire car than it is to paint it.