I was touching up a rust spot on my 190 and went a little overboard. I now have a patch that almost matches the original colour. I used MB touchup paint, but it still looks bad. I'll try to post pics later. Now, what to do?
1. I could get it redone professionally
2. I could get a new door (front, driver)
3. I could get the whole car painted a nice black (it's beige now) and get clear indicators and smoked taillights [:D]
4. I could try to repair it myself but no idea how
So, what say peeps? And how much is each option going to cost me? I really would like to spend as little $$ as possible.....
I got a few quotes for my plain white truck, and including prep work, the whole job would have cost anywhere from $2,000-$8,000
Needless to say I decided to do it myself with a circular sander and a few rattle cans. [:D]
Seeing as I went to 4 different shops to get quotes and the range was quite significant, I would imagine you'll find the same is true for your 190e. I wouldn't expect to get it done for less than $2,000 though, unless you don't mind it looking like crap in 5 years.
Actually I don't mind it looking like crap in 5 years, because by then, I'll be able to afford a better paint job (I'm a starving student right now [:)]). All I need is something that looks good now and over the next 2-3 years. Of course I'll take good care of it, wax it, hand-polish, etc. So it's ok if it's a relatively high-maintenance paint job, as long as it's cheap and looks good, I'm ok. Maaco has these paint jobs for like 700 Cdn, are they any good?
Well, I neglected to mention I did call Maaco for an estimate over the phone, (for my truck) and they told me that without prep work it's about $600 US, so that's probably the same as what you saw. Problem is, my neighbor had a Maaco job about 3 years ago and it looks like crap now. I didn't even bother to take my truck in there for a full estimate after my neighbor told me his car was painted at Maaco.
Arguably, prep is probably the most important step, and Maaco specializes in quick sprays, not full service paint jobs. For people who are looking for a quick re-paint before selling a car, Maaco is the way to go. Otherwise, don't waste your money.
BTW, I'm a college student too. My 190e could use a new coat of paint, but I'm holding out until I have enough money to do it properly. I won't let just anybody touch my baby benz. [:)]
heres my thing, maaco cheap jobs are only single stage! if you do the prep yourself and pay extra for the clearcoat they can spray the color decent enough.. I got an estimate for a complete color change and it was roughly 4 grand with me stripping the door jambs and other misc stuff.
Uh oh, that doesn't sound good. Looks like beige is here to stay. Oh well. Hope they (whoever I decide to go with tomorrow) fix the patch ok..... Thanks for the advice guys.....
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