Okay, So I know you all have gone to great lengths to take care of and detail your cars, but my 91 LS400, after having lived a priveleged life for its first 9 years garaged in a suburb, has become a NYC car. Anyone who has lived in, or worse yet, parked in a Manhattan parking garage for any length of time knows it's death to the exterior. No way around it but maybe paying an extra few hundred dollars in tips PER MONTH, to keep it isolated. And there's no guarantee.
So now, I've been dinged, scratched, nicked, and scraped to the point that I'm embarrassed to drive it outside of the city and want to get it completely repainted. The interior is in supurb shape and just needs a real thorough leather cleaning and rug shampoo.
Estimate from a reputable body shop with whom I've dealt with before is $3125 PLUS MATERIALS ! Last time I looked the blue book was less than that. I don't think I can justify spending more on the paint job than the car is worth. (PS: it has 85,000 miles after 13 years.)
What should I do? The shop owner said go to Maaco and see how their highest quality jobs come out looking, and decide. (Doing that tomorrow). Although I'm quite certain none of you have EVER taken your babies to Maaco, you might have with another car. Is it even worth checking out? Any alternatives?
PPS: His other suggestion was move out of Manhattan and buy a new car.