I guess it depends upon what you get for $30K. A 'respray" should not cost $30K for example. Whatever respray means. It seems to mean different things to different people.
There is a certain level of body prep required with every coupe which is predicated in part by what you find under the existing paint and then to what level the shop "brings it back", i.e. are corners cut with bondo or is the rust properly cut out with new metal properly welded back in with the operative word being "properly". This is based in part on the expertise of the shop doing the work (do they know what they are doing, do they know how to weld, etc.) along with the client's checkbook and willingness to do it right and not cut corners due to time or budget because once the new paint is back on, its more difficult to see how the work was done unless there are photos taken along the way. In short, proper body work costs can add up fast and it can take much longer than anticipated if done correctly.
Cost and type of paint, etc. also play into it but its really all in the prep. I'm convinced painting is more art than science.
I've had the opportunity to see how to do the prep right along with those that were shortcutted because once you pull the old paint off, there is no hiding the butchery. Some of the shortcuts were just plain scary.
