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How Much Does It Cost To Get A Minivan Painted? (Should You Do It?)

Have you owned a minivan for a long time and the paint has started to peel?? Are you thinking about getting it painted again but are trying to figure out how much it costs first? 

If that is you or you have a similar story then you are at the right place as this article is for you! 

Getting your minivan painted can cost anywhere from a few hundred dollars to a few thousand. Whether you just want a cheap paint job or if you need rust, dents, etc. repaired has a lot to do with what the final cost will be. 

If your car is in pristine condition but the paint has faded due to years of sunshine then the paint job will be on the cheaper side. However, if you live in a portion of the country that has a lot of salt laid down on the roads during winter and your car has a bunch of rust then the cost to fix that and repaint your minivan will be multiple thousands of dollars and likely not worth it. 

Having your favorite minivan painted is a task that can bring a whole lot of satisfaction undoubtedly. Yes, it will bring a new look to your minivan and it will also help with improving the durability of the exterior of your vehicle too. 

As you know, choosing to repaint your vehicle requires time and money to be invested as well. 

Before you take your vehicle to a body painting shop or a mechanic to get it repainted, you should know some factors. Yes knowing how much it will cost is important but that is far from the only thing that you will have to consider. 

Once you know some facts about vehicle repainting, you can arrive at a more informed decision so we will cover some important things in the rest of this article. 

If you are interested in painting your minivan yourself there is a great video below that explains some of the ins and outs of doing it. 

Minivan painting takes time

Of course, some vehicle painting shops assure a turn-around time of three days or even less, however, generally, it will take at least a week to get your vehicle painted or even longer. 

Now a few days or a week to get your minivan painted might not seem like that big of a deal but if you use that vehicle as your daily driver that means you now have to rent another car or minivan. 

Assuming you are able to get the vehicle painted for you in 5 days total that’s an additional $200-$300 in car rental fees that increases the cost of the paint job even more. You also have to take into consideration whether you have to take some time off work to drop it off or pick it up as well which again increases the total expenses of the paint job. 

Why does it take longer to repaint an automobile?

Painting any car whether it’s a minivan, sedan, or truck will take quite a bit longer to paint than the walls of your house or virtually anything else. That surprises a lot of people and they will often wonder why painting a car takes so much longer than painting virtually anything else. 

One of the reasons that painting a minivan takes so long is that you can’t apply the new paint over the old and existing paint. The reason you can’t do this is that it will not be possible to achieve a smooth application of the paint as the irregular surface oxidation and fading of the existing paint will hinder the smooth application. 

So, before a vehicle repainting service can apply the new paint, the service provider will have to remove the existing layer of clear coat and paint. Even other prep work also has to be carried out as well. If your vehicle needs extensive prep work to remove rust, dents, etc. it will also add to the overall painting cost of your vehicle.

New paint on your minivan will not fix everything

Be it repainting or painting repair on your minivan, it is best to ensure that you have realistic expectations. Also, you should remember one thing here. At times, new paint can have the opposite effect that you want as well. 

For instance, if you want painting work to be done over damage without correcting the damage properly, a new coat of paint can actually highlight the problematic area instead of correcting it and making it look better. 

For the best results, you should ensure that the painting shop will remove the old paint and should fix damages if any before starting the repainting work. The damages to be addressed before applying new paint are holes, rust spots, pits, dents, gouges and scratches. So, you will have to bear the cost to correct these issues.

The cost of vehicle painting may vary

If you have decided to paint your minivan after hearing that it was affordable from one of your friends, you might want to rethink it. The reason is that you might not get the same price as your friend or even anywhere close to it. 

The reason is that the cost of painting a minivan is decided based on different factors. Some of these factors include the quality of the paint used, the number of panels and parts to be painted and the prep work that is involved. These factors differ from one minivan to another and so the cost as well differs. 

If you plan to get an estimate from a car painting service, you can request the service provider to give an estimate with the cost of surface prep measures to be taken in writing. This will give an assurance to you that the damage will be repaired or reduced before the painting work is done on your minivan. 

Also, you will need to know exactly which parts will be painted. Some parts that you should make sure are included in the bid are the inside edge of the van door, fenders or even under the hood. 

It is also better to check whether the estimate has been provided for a final clear coat to ensure that the paint will last longer.

Painting generally adds value

Of course, you will have to spend a good amount of money to get your minivan painted again. But, as an expense, this spending is also an investment. 

In addition to providing you a new finish, it will also increase the resale value of your vehicle should you ever choose to sell it in the future. You can get a higher trade-in value for an old minivan when you spend money on getting it repainted. You can also increase your asking price when you sell this minivan to a buyer in the future. 

However, if your vehicle is more than 10 years old, you should carefully think about the repainting work as it will likely not increase the value of your minivan even close to the amount that you will spend doing it. 

If your vehicle is in good condition, you can consider the painting work. Otherwise, it will be an added expense for you with very little return. 

Are you thinking about repainting just because your vehicle was damaged by an accident? If this is the case, your vehicle insurance should cover the cost of repainting so you might as well get it done. You can check with your insurance company to know whether this repainting money can be reimbursed.

Painting a minivan will require the interior of your vehicle to be removed

During the minivan painting process, the painting company will likely have to remove everything from the interior of your vehicle. Many vehicle owners do not know about this but it is often true. 

Of course, you know that second and third-row seats in your minivan are already removable, but they will also often remove the console, dash and the first-row seats as well. 

As they will have to do this for complete painting, there is a chance of damage to these interior parts of your vehicle. If you do not want them to remove these components from your minivan’s interiors, some steps in the painting process might be affected. So, think over whether you are ready for this before you handover your minivan to any painting company. 

It’s also a good idea to double check everything once you get the minivan back to make sure that no damage was done before you ever leave or pay for the service. 

Also, as you know before you leave the vehicle for repainting work, it is better to remove all of your belongings from the vehicle. This way you can prevent the loss of any crucial items that you usually place in your van.

Conclusion

In short, the repainting cost of your minivan will be decided by the painting service and is based on many different factors. So, the best thing you can do if you have decided to go for repainting is to get a few estimates from different services before choosing one. 

Of course, your final decision should be made based on the estimates you get and which place has a good reputation for doing a good job overall.