Celica Forums Install Guides and Technical Articles Exterior Guides [EXTERIOR] Body Kits, Paint & Install, How Much Does It Cost?

How Much Will I Be Charged To Paint & Install My Body Kit?
By Isaac DeCoursey @ EverythingCelica.com

Prices range from $400 to $600 for paint and simple install of a standard four piece body kit.

As for paint, some shops charge different for different sizes. The standard rates most shops charge are usually about $35 to $45 per square foot of painting surface. And a flat rate of about $65 to $85 if what you want painted is small and doesn't require much prep-work such as dash, console, engine plastics...etc (Polyurethane pieces may be slightly more expensive to paint, since they require special paint additives for the flexibility factors).

For installation, there are some shops that will charge outrageous prices because they really just don't want to do the job - I've seen as much as $2200 for a simple "bolt-on" install of a standard 4 piece body kit. This is why we recommend that you get a quote from 3 different locations.

Several body shops are not familiar with aftermarket parts because they usually work on cars that have been in collisions rather then show/modified import cars. The difference between aftermarket body kit pieces and OEM (Original Equipment Manufacturer parts) is that genuine OEM parts come directly from the vehicle manufacturer already painted and fitment is perfect.

The body shops that work on mostly collision repair jobs have little to no experience with aftermarket (aka speed parts), thus they might feel that just installing parts has nothing to do with installing an making everything fit correctly. Those shops might just say, "well, its installed and that's what you wanted, right?"

Very useful,
Can you help with links or contacts that have fair prices and equipment?

Search around your city for a body shop that is local to you, unless you dont care about shipping your car to a shop.

A few places to help with your search is entering "autobody shop" in to Google Maps, or "autobody paint YOUR-CITY, STATE" in to Google Search. Another good place to check with, is to call your auto insurance company and ask if they have any recommended body shops in your area. AAA is also a good place to ask for local body shops. Your car ins and AAA probably wont be able to help you with anything as specific as a paint shop, but they surely can direct you to an "approved" body shop/collision shop-- one that probably has a preferred location for getting their parts painted at.

When you contact the body shop, especially ask if they can refer you to a place for getting your aftermarket fiberglass and urethane parts painted, not just fenders and bumpers.

These few tips will probably set you down the correct path for answering further questions you have, especially for getting the job done locally to you.