Foretravel Owners' Forum For owners and Fans of Foretravel Motorcoaches September 11, 2025 ...

Full Body Paint

September 05, 2013, 07:53:34 am

Good Morning All;

Can anyone out there give me an idea of how much value (if possible) would be added to an older coach with a full body paint job.

I know that it will make maintenance easier and look more up to date, however it is quit an investment for a coach that is 15 years old. I also fully understand that FT hold their value better than most SOB.

Thanks

Norm

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Re: Full Body Paint

Reply #1 – September 05, 2013, 12:42:54 pm

Do not think you will get your money out but you will sell faster when the time comes.  It is because you want it not that it will add much to the value and it will not bring what you put in.  Then again the maintenance will be easier and the coach will look new.

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Reply #2 – September 05, 2013, 12:59:40 pm

Maybe it's just me, but I would not look first at paint if I were in the market for another coach. I would be more interested in upgrades (well designed and modern solar systems, LED lighting, better headlights, modern electronics, etc.) and good maintenance before new paint.

Appearance does count, though, but since I don't spend a lot of time looking at the motor home and a lot of time inside it, the interior would count more, too; at least for me. Good upholstery, comfortable seating, appropriate flooring, etc.

Storage options (Joey beds) would also be on my list before spending $20k on a full paint job.

However, I would consider something more reasonable in the way of exterior appearance. Partial paint, new decals, etc.

Just my opinion on this matter and I realize that others who I respect highly for their technical ability do it differently.

Craig

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Reply #3 – September 05, 2013, 05:39:58 pm

We have a very similar coach and did full paint. No regrets we have what we want and did it for us. I am sure we would not get our money back out of it but it is much easier to keep clean and it really feels like ours especially with the solid color we chose. But the good feeling I get when I see it verses the feeling I had before is satisfying. Here is before and after.

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Reply #4 – September 05, 2013, 10:31:41 pm

@philtravel....  I have often wondered what one color would look like.  It looks great to me.  Nice color choice too.

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Reply #5 – September 06, 2013, 01:33:28 am

Very nice (philtravel) one color paint. If I keep mine for couple of years and not upgrade, I hope to paint it with one color also. I am sure i will have a difficulty getting approval form DW. For me also mechanical and all working in top notch shape with upgrades is more important before a paint. I believe within last 3 mounts since I got it it is coming around, just few more things to do & we are already enjoying it so much without any issues, but i sure hope can find some $ under the couch or somewhere to paint it one day. 10-15K is so much $ for paint, i wish we could find a place to get it done for 7-8K ... but you always get watch you pay for. Maybe we can get a group discount

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Reply #6 – September 06, 2013, 01:58:01 am

I have run into a number of folks that had their coaches painted in Mexico.  They seemed to be happy with the work and a lot less expensive.  It may be like many folks that go to Mexican Dentists in border towns.  Good work - less cost.  I don't know..........

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Reply #7 – September 06, 2013, 02:17:59 am

@Norm No you won't get your money back but you will get people knocking on your door in the Walmart parking lot just to tell you how beautiful your coach is! That almost makes it worth it...

If I didn't have a close encounter with a pole in a Motel 7 parking lot late one hot August night on the bad side of Little Rock, AR I probably would not have the paint job I have. Insurance paid for about 30% of the cost of our repaint. Even so I'll never get what we've put into the coach back out but...we still love our coach and have accepted that the money is gone and won't be coming back.

Will it be worth it to you? That's for you to decide. It depends on your value system.

And just to wet your whistle here's a before and after of Big Agnes. Not bad for a 21 year old.

see ya
ken

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Reply #8 – September 06, 2013, 10:24:57 am

Just to add a bit more fuel to the fire on Mexican Paint jobs. I have personally seen a few being done down there at variuos shops and can attest to the quality of some. One place in particular was done as the result of a pretty good accident on a friends big 5th wheel. He rammed into the back of a parked truck at a toll booth and his new Dodge truck was in bad shape and the 5 er had all the front end (bedroom overhang) totally smashed. The Toll road fee covers insurance so with his Mex ins policy and the toll one both vehicles were covered. The shop started work on the  5 er where he was parked for 4 months (it was towed there) so they could live in it. The Mexican's did a great job and the paint was flawless. His truck took a while as many body parts were sent from US but in the end  Ray said it felt better and was built better than when he bought it new in Washington St. That was 8 yrs ago and it was still looking good last year. I have also seen many cars repainted down in PV and my Tracker was priced at $800 for a full body fix up and paint, but time was not on our side. Many good ones but like anywere also some bad ones I guess.
John h

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Reply #9 – September 06, 2013, 02:00:54 pm

In my early days of the gray market car business, many of the Euro cars had fabric in the middle of the seats with MB-Tex on the edges. I would take the cars to Tijuana and have the fabric replaced with the perforated MB-Tex that I would supply. After shopping around, I found a couple of shops that did really excellent work. Later on, we started taking sofas and chairs down there with fabric we had purchased here. Mexicali became a favorite as a small neighborhood shop did even better sewing than the original North Carolina manufacturer did and for a really reasonable prices.

Our faux leather front seats are in need of work so will head down and get the work done in Puerto Penasco if we can find a good shop there. Like to be able to have the rig on a beach site and take the seats out without a deadline.

The last time we had work done in Mexico, they could not supply perforated leather or vinyl so best to take supply with you.

With paint, over 90 percent of the job is prep work.  Removing the small silicone beads at each body joint plus removing awnings, mirrors, good masking is a super time consuming job. As the hours accumulate, so does the expense. The cost of living is so much less across the border so they are able to do a good job without cleaning out your wallet.

Rather work with our close neighbor than far away outsourced products from our retailers.

Pierce

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Reply #10 – September 06, 2013, 04:10:14 pm

Well question is how safe Mexico is right now. We have few friends still have family in Mexico and they all advice us to not even cross the border. Anyway even if ... we can not take that kind off time right now. You all be safe.

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Reply #11 – September 06, 2013, 05:00:58 pm

Considering that Mexico City murder rate is just over a third of Chicago's and New Orleans has a murder rate 7 times higher, how safe are our cities? Tijuana, Los Angeles and Philadelphia are all about the same. The day my daughter was in Chicago last year, there were 19 murders.

Basically, if you don't want to get hurt in any big city, don't deal drugs!

Pierce

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Reply #12 – September 06, 2013, 08:23:12 pm

Let's stay on topic and not turn this thread into another "how safe is travel in XYZ".  Tnx.

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Reply #13 – September 07, 2013, 02:03:15 am

Mexico

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