Original Paint thoughts

[mconners]

Hi Folks,

Well, I wish it was April, but it isn’t so I sit here thinking and planning on what events to do for the summer. As I sit here, there is one thought that I keep toying with.

I am new to classic cars even though I have loved them my whole life. I have a 1970 Buick Wildcat in original Bamboo Cream. Personally, I don’t like the color, its not awful, just not my flavor.

The question I have is this. Is there any harm to the value of the vehicle to have it repainted without the original color? I would like to stick with the GM/Buick colors, but curious if changing the original color could cause the value to drop.

When I do repaint, it will be a complete off frame restoration.

Thanks Everyone and stay warm!!

Mick

Topic

[Amigo2k]

It depends on the car and the history available on the car. If there is no way to determine what the correct color was, via the VIN or firewall tag then there is no harm (as long as you stick with a stock color if building a stock car).

Now, on you car you can determine the original color via the firewall tag. Typically, if it is painted a different color then it came with it can affect the price by 10-20% based on the car.

Now if you had a LS6 Chevelle or a Corvette or a Ram Air IV GTO I would recommend sticking with the stock color.

On your car, in today’s market, it may hurt the value a little bit because your car isn’t a high in-demand car, but some day it might be.

Stick with a stock color from the day and pick something you like because, after all, it is your car (but think about resale down the road too).

If your car has never been repainted ever … keep in mind these type of cars are gaining value with some collectors because they are only original once…

[Anonymous]

My car was just inspected and appraised (pre-purchase), by a national outfit -AAG, Inc.

The inspector/appraiser from AAG told me that a change from factory color, if repainted, results in a 10 to 15% loss in value, at resale.

If you can’t live with the current color, and you want to enjoy the car during your ownership, then I would encourage you to change the color

[Author]

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