Corolla BZ Touring Wagon : My Little Run-Around In Japan

[iRage]

So....20 years of age and being parked outside over the last 3 years finally took a toll on her paint. The front bumper was faded...and there was a slight flaking of the paint on the bonnet. So had to get it painted as I could not stand looking at it like that....

Went to Toyota and got a few quotes and finally took it to this 70 something old dude with a garage up in the mountains with a team of old school mechanics. No paint booth other than a well curtained off ..a clean room....a lamp....and his old school spray gun. Amazing how thin, smooth and even the paint job is....so basically primer...4 thin coats and a clear coat. Took 5 days and cost as much as the Toyota dealer (the guy apparently does paint jobs for quite a few of the dealers around town). So...now she has 95% of original paint (paint from the factory).

 

[MrCat]

That`s a nice job.!!  I hate parking cars under the elements, but sometimes you just cant help it...

Just curious, what the hourly rate for a job like that over there? say in USD? 

 

[iRage]

Yeah...simply cannot put a shelter over there...

The bumper and the bonnet cost 45,000yen and two and a half days.

[speed8]

Looks lovely! Can't believe all these cars are 20 years old nowadays. Guess I am still stuck in 2005

[john cooper]

Unsure if it's age or paint clear coat used at the time or maybe the weather in NZ but all the cars around pre-2000 suffered from clear coat peeling issue here in NZ.

Nice BZ-G with Blacktop (i may have said that 6 years back too) here I am again.

[Davy]

She hasn't aged at all mate. Still looking mint. And that paint job... damn.

I want to paint the roof, bonnet and front bumper of the Mazda as they are showing signs of age. This inspired me to do it. ? Labour here is so expensive though. I reckon it will cost me quarter of the price of the car to give it a full paint job. 

[Muditha420]

3 hours ago, Davy said:

She hasn't aged at all mate. Still looking mint. And that paint job... damn.

I want to paint the roof, bonnet and front bumper of the Mazda as they are showing signs of age. This inspired me to do it. ? Labour here is so expensive though. I reckon it will cost me quarter of the price of the car to give it a full paint job. 

I would say the same as well, prices are a whopper here ?

Planning on getting a small paint can to cover the small stone chips

[iRage]

Thanks guys.....

Yes...labor is expensive over in Japan as well....its either that or labor in Sri Lanka is cheap  Considering the trade-in value of the car is only about 200,000yen...45,000yen just to remove and spray the bonnet and bumper is quite pricey. But my wife wants to keep her for a long time (says its cheaper than marriage counselling. Interestingly...the parts on her cost more than the entire car in assembled running form. A good blacktop alone goes for 200,000yen++.

The old car designs really pop out and shine when the paint looks fresh and the body is straight. Its almost like the designers thought about how the light hits off different parts of the body at different angles and where and how the lines end up shining. Sadly...we lost that at some point in time with Japanese cars and got monster grills and plastic cladding (well...seems like a lot of Euros lost it too except for a few like Alfa). Seems like some manufacturers are going back to beautiful design (but then Toyota calls its new Camry he Beautiful Monster...so go figure).

Edited February 21, 2020 by iRage

[iRage]

50 million units in 55 years....1 sold every 34 seconds...
Not the most exciting of cars..but it gets the job done with no fuss....
You love it or hate it....either way it grows on you...
Japan's peoples' car to the world ......
Toyota Corolla ❤ ❤ ❤

[kush]

On 8/13/2021 at 3:52 PM, iRage said:

50 million units in 55 years....1 sold every 34 seconds...
Not the most exciting of cars..but it gets the job done with no fuss....
You love it or hate it....either way it grows on you...
Japan's peoples' car to the world ......
Toyota Corolla ❤ ❤ ❤

Totally agree Had a CE100 and now a NRE-210H.

Brilliant everyday car