Opinions please....what would be a typical price differential between repainting a car in a different color vrs repainting in the existing color? Thanks!

Depends on a lot of things, type of car?, are you talking door jambs, firewall ect. What level of paint job. lota differance between a 72 pinto and a 32 ford! Paint jobs can run a few hundred to many thousands. What are you looking for?

As a non-professional, but as a hobby painter, the difference between a full repaint w/color change as opposed to just a repaint w/o color change, is the amount of paint you will use and the labor involved. For an average car, a plain ole repaint would take about 1 gal. of color. If you do a color change, then the amount of paint you need increases. There again, like Tinbender said, it also depends on the size of the car as well as if it is a Pinto or a 32 Ford. That meaning, you would paint a Pinto so it looks good, but the 32 you would want a killer paint job. Then you have the cost of the rest of the materials, like tape, paper, sand paper, primer, etc... More paint, more time, more money. Know what I mean? Does that about cover it, Tinbender?
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Street is Neat! And Safety Inspections Keep It That Way!

As everyone says but the biggest thing with a color change is that it HAS to come apart to be done correctly that means painting undersides of hoods, trunks ,firewalls,doorjams,hood and around window rubber any place there is color.I dont think you will see a real big diff in materials but the labor has to be more than double.Take a average 32 ford a good repaint with NO body work(aint seen that ever happen LOL) seal it 3 coats of base 2-4 coats of clear(only one color) cut and buff you are looking at @5000 normally around here. Color change 8500(and thats cheap) to 13000 bucks for a top quality job Its a lot of work,just taping off a billet engine compartment is a big job. I now some one will come to the plate and say he only paid 1500 bucks and yep you could just about do it yourself for that(count the hours and times that by 35-75 per hour).But i am talking a proffesionally that you drop the car off and pick it up perfect. You can see the diff in a good job and a excellant job by looking at around the windows,chrome and how the paint looks in the trunk and under hood. Now if its you everyday ford excort take it to Mayco yah cant beat 200 bucks . LO
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Drive like you stole it !!

At least there is someone out there who realizes that a top quality custom paint job is a major investment.As someone who tries to earn a living in the collision repair and custom painting business.The typical materials bill on a complete will run anywhere from 1500-2500 based on using professional quality materials.I had the privilege of viewing Fred Warren's "SHOCKWAVE" a couple of years ago at the Goodguys in Indy and was amazed at the poor quality masking job on the caliber of car that it is.There was tape edges that were clearly visible.I didn't have to get closer than 10 feet to see some of the flaws.I'm sure Fred paid top dollar for the paint job.That goes to show you that when you are getting an estimate for your car be sure you can see some of there work and see if thats the quality job you're wanting!

When you paint a car you need to tear it down. everybody loves factory paint jobs, go to the factory and watch they assemble the vehicle do all the adjustments and then remove the parts paint it and assemble it, no overspray no, no masking tape and you have a very nice job. Time is money good paint jobs take a lot of time and the paint is just the final step.
Dr.Pepper