New to This - Exterior Paint

[eglionz]

Hello,

I'm fairly new to even the concept of doing anything to my car other than driving it and occasionally changing the oil on time.

Right now I have a 2000 Dodge Neon and am in the process of repairing/replacing the damaged panels. My car is in good condition but suffered from being hit in parking lots, and the front bumper cover consistantly smashing against the pavement because the art of making driveways that can accomodate small cars and not trucks is lost on the builders in my city.

I have a few questions:

How much can I expect to pay for a quality solid-colored paint job? I've disliked my neon's paint (both the color and quality) ever since I bought it and this seems like a good place to start.

Also, how do I evaluate the shops I'm looking at? Should my paint job have a warranty?

About the bumper hitting the street:

This is a huge problem for me, are there any mods that would actually *raise* my Neon's level to maybe stop this from happening as often? I've learned to identify most of the driveways in the city that will scrape, but all it takes is a moment of forgetfulness and I pull out too fast and screw it up all over again. I'd like to do more on my Neon but I'm worried most mods will just be ruined by the driveway factor.

Thanks.

[EK 2.0]

Hi Stephanie and welcome to Beyond...is your Neon lowered in any way??...I mean from what i can gather, and having driven a couple of Neon's...I havent really had the problem of them scraping their front bumpers on anyting really, but a friend of mine with a lowered Neon does sometimes encounter the scrapes on the really steep ones...

Good body shops will offer you some sort of warranty with regards to their work...and as for evaluations of shops...ask around locally, and see what friends have done...if any...And if not...call around and take your Neon to a few shops and see what they can offer you...


But thats just my opinion and you will get a few more as the day progresses...

Arif

[eglionz]

No, it hasn't been lowered -- I think that's why it frustrates me so badly. It's gotten to where I know which driveways will cause a scrape and can either avoid them or take them slow enough to avoid it, but the damage has already been done.

Also, some of them were so bad it was a crunch. I've chanced a look at my bumper and it looks awful. It's hard to tell if I've gotten better at avoiding scrapes and crunches, or if the damage has raised the bumper enough that it's just not making contact as much as before.

Someone suggested a lift kit, but has anyone ever used one on a Dodge Neon? I'm afraid of making my car look silly. Anyhow, I live in a mountain town and trucks/suvs are the norm here. That's the only way I can explain why many of the driveways are so unfriendly to my Neon.

[ZorroAMG]

Stephanie,

Are you exiting/entering said driveways at an angle with a slow rate of speed? Take a 45 degree to the driveway as opposed to head on. Climbing one wheel at a time with this method should help you reduce the wear and tear on your bumper. My car, as you may see on the website in my signature below, is VERY low and using angles and LOW speed I am successful in not scraping to the point of visible/serious damage.

As for your paint job, get multiple body shop names from either the dealership, performance shops or friends and get quotes from a few. Tell the body shop EXACTLY what you are trying to achieve with the paint work. I would also recommend keeping the color to a similar color as it is now, as it will affect resale if you ever plan to sell it. As well you may or may not (depending on your budget) want to have the engine bay inside and door sills and trunk area painted and if you don't a drastic color change will look awkward and almost ALWAYS harm resale...

I hope I was able to answer some q's for you.

Kind regards,

Mark