To Repaint? or Not to Repaint??

[97ParkAve]

As most of you know I have a 1997 Buick Park Ave, I purchased the car about a year ago and did a ton of work mechanically to the car (not me personally, but the GM dealer) but the paint it very badly cracking and it has a couple of dings and dents from being in the NY-NJ area. In order to repair the paint it would need to be sanded down to metal and repainted because of the cracking. A couple of the body panels would need to be replaced due to small dents (i'd rather not have them filled with bondo, and if I replace the panels its one less that needs to be sanded down.
So far I have done....

Front seat belt recall
New front brakes-rotors and pads (GM OE)
New rear brakes-rotors and pads (GM OE)
Brake fluid flush, replaced with DOT 5
New windshield
New actuators (GM)
Refurbished Climate Control Unit
Refurbished Stereo (AM/FM, CD, Cassette)
Transmission Mount
Spark Plugs (Bosch Iridium)
Spark Plug Wires (AC Delco)
HD Sway Bar Links (AC Delco)
Tie Rod Ends (Moog Problem Solvers)
Engine Cradle Bushings (All 6)+ All Hardware (GM OE)
Transmission Filter (GM OE)
Transmission Oil Pan Gasket (GM OE)
A/C Compressor and Dryer (DELPHI)
Cabin Air Filter (Bosch)
Two New Front Headlights
Oil Pan Gasket (GM OE)
Valve Cover Gaskets (Fel-Pro)
Dorman Intake (Updated Design)
Lower Intake Manifold (Updated Metal Design)
Repainted Rear Bumper (was hit in corner when I purchased)
Both Front wheel bearings (Timken)
Four Brand New Good-Year Eagle LS's
Four Brand New Chrome Buick Wheels
Four Wheel Alignment
Front Motor Mount (OE GM)
Headlight Switch
Replaced All Dash Bulbs
Radiator (OE GM)
All belts and hoses (NAPA)
New Floor Mats (OE GM)
Wood Dash Kit-Aftermarket stick on type
Front Seats Leather- Refurbished to get rid of wear and fix tear in drivers seat
2005 Park Avenue Cluster with updated gauges
Fuel Gauge fix with the Tahoe/Suburban Recall Parts (Thanks haro...)
Rear Air Shocks (Monroe)
New Rear Air Compressor (OE GM)
New Front Struts (Monroe Sensi-Trac)
2005 Park Avenue Ultra Grille
New Water Pump (OE GM)
New Belt Tensioner (OE GM)
Metal Coolant Elbows (Dorman)
Oil Pressure Switch (OE GM)
New Keyless Entry remotes (OE GM)
Buick Logo Splash Guards (GM)

It now runs excellent and drives beautifully... but it has almost 200k on it. Should I repaint it or just leave it, I love the car but they are not that expensive to buy another one that doesn't need paint. But on the flip side another one will probably need most of the parts Ive replaced on this one. What to do??

[94SilverSSEi]

If it was mine I'd just drive it as is. No sense spending thousands on something that u will never see the money again.

But if you plan to keep it for say another 10 years and keeping fixing everything that goes wrong, the new paint might be warranted.

[sandrock]

I'm in the same boat you're in with my SSEi. I've done all this work to my car and I can't justify nor can I really afford a nice paint job. But that doesn't mean it can't still be nice.

For the small dents and dings some heat, a dolly, and a hammer will go a long way. I was able to save about half of my panels with a little bit of time and effort. Yes, I had to use bondo afterwards, but it was only at the most 1/16th of an inch thick after sanding and blending. Bondo is meant to be a skim fill, not a cure for huge dents, which is where many DIYs use it as and gets poor results. Used as it's supposed to, it's invaluable and won't fail.

As for paint, well, you get what you pay for. The more expensive the paint and equipment, the less time it takes to detail afterwards (generally speaking). I'm basically stuck painting with single-stage enamel on my project. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but as far as longevity is concerned I might get 4 years out of it if I'm lucky. On the plus side, touchups will be a snap. Plus where I live, hail can be a major concern, so I don't want to spend a lot on a paint job when two months later the car gets totaled by big ass ice balls.

[redzmonte]

I would find a pointless dent repair guy and smooth what you can and touch up what you can. I'm considering getting the front bumper painted and maybe the hood. My car is kinda like yours where it's mechanically in great shape but has some minor cosmetic issues

[97ParkAve]

I would find a pointless dent repair guy and smooth what you can and touch up what you can. I'm considering getting the front bumper painted and maybe the hood. My car is kinda like yours where it's mechanically in great shape but has some minor cosmetic issues

I tried that route but because the paints cracking they wont touch it and said the paint will fall off if he tries to repair it :(