Respray or replace?

raymond said:
Rear wings are £300 new or £120 on ebay. Sills are £120 and you can easily have these parts painted off the car and fit them yourself. Find yourself a good paint shop and get lots of quotes. You do not need to do the whole job in one. I am doing my car one side at a time and my budget will be around £1500. That includes the cost of one second hand rear wing and two sills. My body shop charges me £150 per panel and there should be no problem with paint matching. just some pictures of work in progress on my rear wing.
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I was speaking to one of the best painters in the area and he said that doing a single panel is not a good idea if you want a top notch job.

He explained all the variables that contribute to differences in shade, and I have to agree.

One at a time is ok for insurance work or for Joe Average, but if you want to stand out for all the right reasons, it has to be a full respray.
 
Like @mrscalex says, some cars were mass-market in the first place, loads produced but few surviving, and there's enough people around prepared to pay silly money for a bit of nostalgia based around the car they had when they were young and still had hair. There's just too many Z3s left to go up in value much, except maybe the Ms, and there are quite a few of them left, too.
Stick to the one you know, unless of course that elusive lottery win comes up. A 2.8 would be nice, but not by that much in the real world.
 
As already been said any 20 year old car will need money spending on mechanical and bodywork if you change to another similar aged car so maybe the devil you know if it's fairly good.
You inevetably pick up marks parking dents if it's used as intended mine had parking dents both sides I had them removed but it's got 2 or 3 back .:mad:
Good luck with what you decide.
 
I had mine painted Paul As you know. It's now back to "nice and shiney" thanks to Simon. You like me only use it as a hobby car so if you do have it sprayed just write the money off. You'll not see it again but you will enjoy seeing Monty looking his best.
 
I have a similar issue, my car is mint just about everywhere but I still feel the pang for a bigger engine, ideally a 3.0l but would do a deal on a 2.8.
 
why not have two zeds paul?price of respray could equal the price of the 2.8 in the condition you want.i was thinking of selling mine earlier in the year as you know but i am so glad i diddnt now.i can let you have some for sale signs if you like!no longer needed by me!
 
Its a really interesting dilemma but for me I think it depends what you want from the car and how long you intend to keep it for. I have a 4 cylinder that's in average bodywork condition but I've spent some money (more than I paid for the car) on bringing it into good mechanical condition.

I intend to keep it into old(er) age - perhaps for the next 20 years, and so a respray of this or another car of that age is just inevitable. It goes in to get painted this winter and will cost more than I paid for the car again but it'll look really good and with the mechanicals in order I'll have something that I'm really proud of, that I know inside out and will enjoy owning and driving.

I haven't got money to burn but I treat the car as an enjoyable hobby rather than an investment and over 20 years a respray is only a couple of hundred pounds a year. The 4 cylinder models may go up in value but it will be slowly and not to very much (look at what a decent Triumph Spitfire costs as a guide?)

There's no right or wrong answer so hope you enjoy whichever decision you make. Good luck and enjoy your car!
 
My cars are part of the family and get what attention they need. Wouldn't swap the dog for a better looking one. A few blemishes add character, think its called patina in motoring circles.
 
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