My wife and I were hesitant for a long while in keeping this car, mostly due to the way it looks. When she talked to cab drivers about Crown Victorias, they wowed her with claims of thousands of miles of service, which is legendary for many make and models of cars. So keeping it around became a point of pride. But the Arizona sun had done heavy damage, and it wasn't pretty. 9 years with hardly any shade from the sun battered an already worn out paint job. Some respray and body work had already been done and was revealed quite a bit more when i removed all the stripes and lettering. I drove it that way for a long time, never thinking I would ever have the ability to have it repainted.
The effect of about a decade of Arizona sun is commonly seen throughout Tucson and is described as "sun burned." The clear coat seems to bake off like sun burned skin peeling. Most of the Crown Victoria ended up this way. At first it was just a little bit on the roof, then the hood, then the trunk. Eventually any surface horizontal to plane of the ground was affected.
I tried to get four estimates from what seemed like some reputable companies. Most places indicated somehow that they were hesitant of taking on the work, especially a somewhat pedestrian looking Crown Victoria. The first, a place I had used for insurance work on the Miata, refused to do the work. They only did piecemeal collision work. They sent me to a second place that would do a full dis-assembly, paint removal, and respray. They humored me and gave me a quote of around $7000, over twice what I wanted my budget to be. They sounded very thorough, and we had some conversations on budget and finding budget auto body places. He mentioned Maaco as a the low ball, just down the street, and gave me some names of what sounded like redneck auto body specialists working out of their garages.
For comparison, I then went to Maaco. I have heard some questionable things most of my life about Maaco and their lack of quality. But the estimate and their clearly listed options were still helpful. I had a lot of positive interactions with them, and considered them for awhile. At the low end with $1000-$1200 full respray and a new bumper cover, it was hard not too.
To get three estimates for comparison, I used the power of Google and found a nearby auto body place, Central Collision Auto Body, with several (20+) 4 and 5 star reviews. Since I've driven by them several times over the years, I was familiar with their work, and enamored with the classics I usually found in front. They were at first pretty hesitant as well about doing the work, claiming to be a $20k auto body place. I may have been mistaken in revealing my budget, as they set about to make it work for that amount.
I was reasonably happy with the estimate and the questions they answered. I pestered them for several weeks about work they could do, and they were more than happy to answer them and have a conversation about how the work would be done.
One thing I think is interesting about garnering estimates from various places is the types of waiting areas each place has. The first place, Dan's Auto Body, had lots of custom artwork on their walls, mood lighting, an HDTV, granite counter tops, and fancy custom furniture. The second place, was all very clean and orderly, with big offices, and large photos of their work, a boring red Corvette. Maaco looked like a Walgreens pharmacy or small clinic, or perhaps a fast food restaurant.
Central Collision on the other hand, while it is a clean and cozy place, is a bit tired looking and dark. It's in what appears to be an old gas station lot, and the waiting area has wooden paneling and old photos of Arizona. It also has a book shelf with some coffee table books. But the books I think speak volumes on the type of people who work there. They are books on hot rods, classic boats, and similarly interesting topics. It seems like a car guy type of place. It seemed oddly homey.
What does it say that the most expensive estimates came from places with fancier, and somewhat clinical waiting areas?
The effect of about a decade of Arizona sun is commonly seen throughout Tucson and is described as "sun burned." The clear coat seems to bake off like sun burned skin peeling. Most of the Crown Victoria ended up this way. At first it was just a little bit on the roof, then the hood, then the trunk. Eventually any surface horizontal to plane of the ground was affected.
I tried to get four estimates from what seemed like some reputable companies. Most places indicated somehow that they were hesitant of taking on the work, especially a somewhat pedestrian looking Crown Victoria. The first, a place I had used for insurance work on the Miata, refused to do the work. They only did piecemeal collision work. They sent me to a second place that would do a full dis-assembly, paint removal, and respray. They humored me and gave me a quote of around $7000, over twice what I wanted my budget to be. They sounded very thorough, and we had some conversations on budget and finding budget auto body places. He mentioned Maaco as a the low ball, just down the street, and gave me some names of what sounded like redneck auto body specialists working out of their garages.
For comparison, I then went to Maaco. I have heard some questionable things most of my life about Maaco and their lack of quality. But the estimate and their clearly listed options were still helpful. I had a lot of positive interactions with them, and considered them for awhile. At the low end with $1000-$1200 full respray and a new bumper cover, it was hard not too.
To get three estimates for comparison, I used the power of Google and found a nearby auto body place, Central Collision Auto Body, with several (20+) 4 and 5 star reviews. Since I've driven by them several times over the years, I was familiar with their work, and enamored with the classics I usually found in front. They were at first pretty hesitant as well about doing the work, claiming to be a $20k auto body place. I may have been mistaken in revealing my budget, as they set about to make it work for that amount.
I was reasonably happy with the estimate and the questions they answered. I pestered them for several weeks about work they could do, and they were more than happy to answer them and have a conversation about how the work would be done.
One thing I think is interesting about garnering estimates from various places is the types of waiting areas each place has. The first place, Dan's Auto Body, had lots of custom artwork on their walls, mood lighting, an HDTV, granite counter tops, and fancy custom furniture. The second place, was all very clean and orderly, with big offices, and large photos of their work, a boring red Corvette. Maaco looked like a Walgreens pharmacy or small clinic, or perhaps a fast food restaurant.
Central Collision on the other hand, while it is a clean and cozy place, is a bit tired looking and dark. It's in what appears to be an old gas station lot, and the waiting area has wooden paneling and old photos of Arizona. It also has a book shelf with some coffee table books. But the books I think speak volumes on the type of people who work there. They are books on hot rods, classic boats, and similarly interesting topics. It seems like a car guy type of place. It seemed oddly homey.
What does it say that the most expensive estimates came from places with fancier, and somewhat clinical waiting areas?
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