toolapcfan: yes you are correct in that if you want the whole car painted, every panel, then it will cost around $1500 - $2000. of course that is with no body damage. i was thinking of my buddies car when i was typing that, and he only needed the clearcoat on the hood, roof, and a quaterpanel. my mistake. some places can do paintless dent removal (PDR) too.
also, you are counting primer as a "stage". im not used to that, because usually everything being painted has to be primered, unless the piece being painted is already painted and just getting a touch - up, so to speak. also, the shop i worked at also has two new things. a new "primer" (its not really a primer, but i wont bore you with what it does...) that requires no scratching (i.e. sanding...) for it to stick. and the paint used has a catylist in it, but no thinner. usually its a 50/50 mix of paint and catylist. its pretty neat stuff, and makes the job a whole lot easier. i should note that i worked in a top notch place. most places have stuff that is a little older, cuz its not nearly as expensive as the new stuff. but the older stuff works just as good, just takes more time to complete the job.
ScarCrow28: well, that depends on things like, do you what the jams painted too? jams are like when you open the hood, and the underside is still, say, white, when you just had the car sprayed black. have the jams painted requires the removal of the piece in most, if not all, cases. this is more money, more labor, etc... for just a base and clearcoat job, i would say around $1000-$1500. since its not the same color, a lot of places will cahrge more, giving you crap about how the paints wont mix, or the previous color will show through. all that is BS. apply enough coats, and white will cover up black paint. i would factor in another $300-$500 for the pearl.
