Having wasted countless hours figuring out how to paint my prior, beloved W123, I came to the conclusion that the prep work is the most important part -- just like Skippy said. For me, time is my enemy. If you want a super primo job and save as much time and money as humanly possible, I would strip the car myself, e.g., moldings, lights, emblems, et cet. Use a bunch of bags to organize the parts and take a zillion pictures. You could probably do this in a weekend. Then, pay someone to soda blast it. That will cost around $650'ish. The paint job will cost at least the costs of the products and material used, so you're looking at another $300-$400. The soda blast will not warp the metal or panels, and it will remove all paint, but not rust. It will clean it down to the metal. I suggest you have all the logistics lined up, e.g., stripping of car, then soda blaster lined up, and then the paint shop. If this was a MB, then you will need some odds and ends to put the moldings back on. This assumes also your car does not need any body work, et cet. The only variable is the costs for someone's time and labor to final prep and paint the car. My new MB W123 had a $4K paint job ten years ago which would be valued at $6K in today's dollars which is why I got it. The real deal paint jobs from the few quotes I got run in the $6-$7K figure. But, as said above, you pay for what you get. I got my daughter a $600 paint job on her 1993 Acura and it is worth $600.