Dilemma Over New Acquisition....thoughts?

[Mjtray 0]

Hi There

 

I'm new to this site and I'm just looking for some thoughts on the dilemma I face over a 205 that has just come into my hands.

 

I've just acquired a 3 door 1988 205 1.4XS with a fully documented mileage of just 44,000 miles from new. It was in the hands of its last lady owner since 1990 and comes with stacks of service history, original sales brochures etc.

 

The car is stunningly original and has never been modified and has completely rust free bodywork, great exterior trim, and a mint interior.

 

The dilemma is that the red paintwork, whilst still shinny has faded slightly to a more orange colour than the original red.

 

The question I have is, do I retain the originality of the paintwork and leave as is, or do I contemplate a re-spray, which will mean that the car is no longer original, but on the plus side will look factory fresh.

 

The other question I have is.....what's a low mileage 205 1.4XS worth as this could have an impact on the decision making process.

 

Many thanks

[Anthony 1,003]

Unless the paint is badly faded I would say that you'd be best keeping the original paint in terms of originality and value.

 

A proper good quality respray rarely makes financial sense in terms of the cost vs added value.

 

The question of how much a very tidy and low mileage XS is worth is an interesting one though. From what I've seen, it's only really GTi's and Rallye's that have shot up in value in this country and most other 205's haven't really moved much, but you simply don't see many XS's up for sale and almost never tidy low mileage ones so it's hard to say. It is (IMO) a better car than the UK Rallye, but historically values haven't reflected that.

[ALEX 98 1 Cars]

T-Cut it.

[Gman 29]

As above, have you tried mopping it to see if the paintwork can be improved?

[Gaz205 50]

Purely based on nothing other than my own wallet and how deep I would dig into it to pay for an xs, I would pay around the 1k - 1.5k tops for something like that. A paint job would cost minimum the same for an average to good job I think

[GLPoomobile 958]

I dunno how they painted them in 88 but my 90/91 red GTI had a clearcoat. If it's clear coated no amount of mopping or Tcutting is going to restore the colour until you've worn through the clear coat and get to the actual paint.

[Mjtray 0]

Mopping has no effect, it just makes the paint shinier...as above, its got a clear coat on it.

[steve@cornwall 100]

Could come with or without clear coat, if original it should have the paint code stencilled on the front panel. Non lacquered tend to fade toward pink I find and lacquered to orange. If it's faded equally all over I think I would tend towards leaving it as is. It takes more than a coat of paint to make it look fresh, I personally like the look of an older car that looks tidy and looked after

 

As for value, I reckon if someone was looking to restore they'd likely pay more for original, it's not hiding anything

Edited February 8, 2017 by steve@cornwall

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

T-Cut it.

T-cut is far too severe.

 

Take the car to a detailer and ask what can be done. Machine polish etc.

[dobboy 231 2 Cars]

I dunno how they painted them in 88 but my 90/91 red GTI had a clearcoat. If it's clear coated no amount of mopping or Tcutting is going to restore the colour until you've worn through the clear coat and get to the actual paint.

Mines is an 88 and was 2-pack

[GLPoomobile 958]

T-cut is far too severe.

 

Take the car to a detailer and ask what can be done. Machine polish etc.

 

I disagree. Modern Tcut is crap and you'd have to be an animal to do damage with it. However, if you want to restore paint to a decent standard and don't have the tools, materials and experience yourself then it's definitely worth taking to a proper detailer. Not cheap, but then neither is the outlay on the right kit (i.e. NOT T-cut!).

 

But, for basic cutting back to restore some colour, if you don't mind the elbow grease and not bothered about swirls etc, then any cheap cutting polish and some rag will do the job, to varyng levels of success anyway. As with any method, you just have to be careful not to go too far cut back down to the primer.

[GLPoomobile 958]

Oh, I guess I should also add that I'm in the "keep it original camp". Financially there would no sense in respraying it. And a car wearing it's original paint is wearing it's honesty on it's sleeve. I don't think I've ever been to see a car for sale that's been resprayed but I've always felt like I would be dubious - why was it resprayed? What's it hiding? How well was it done? How long will it last? A cheap half arsed respray will not last anywhere near as long as the original but faded factory paint, and in the space of a few years could potentially look a lot worse than something that's simply faded to pink or orange.

[Andya 2]

I would agree with the majority as well in keeping the paint original, an unmolested car in completely original condition is more desirable (IMHO) and as said isn't hiding anything.

 

It sounds a great purchase, be good to see some photos....