In my youth, I used to sell automotive paint to body shops. The OEM German paints are very good, but so are Du Pont, R&M, and Ditzler (PPG). Sherwin Williams wasn't very good paint for a car. That was 20+ years ago though so things might be different now.

As mentioned, if you are planning on keeping the car and a quality finish is important to you, spend the money to get a quality job. If you decide to opt for the quality job, spend the extra money and have the whole car painted.

On the other hand, if you just want it to look good from 20 feet away and at 20 MPH, I wouldn't spend over a grand. Preparation is the key to how well the paint looks years down the road.

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Mr. BILL

91 300E 120K
90 300SE 275K (sold)
92 BMW 525iM 120K
90 BMW 525iA 175K
85 300D 175K (sold)
84 300SD 245K (sold)