I should explain why I feel it's a result of going to cheap body shops. Yeah they've seen the cars, they have a general idea how things should be, but they don't take the time to research nor do they care enough to spend extra time on the car doing it correctly. Honestly alot of owners on the cheap just don't care either as long as it's close.
To be frank about it, it really starts with the owner of the car unwilling to spend the money to go to a top notch shop and PAY for time involved in these cars to do one correctly. Stripes aren't quite right, finishes are wrong, emblems are wrong etc. etc.... Most people go where ever they get the best quote to do the work and/or it's most convenient. It doesn't mean the car will get done correctly and likely things will be missed. That was the gist of the whole "lack of funds" comment. You get one quote for $5,000 and another for $25,000 where do you think 90% of the population will go? I'd bet my money that a nagging wife, kids in college, will make the obvious choice for most people
I can't tell you how many supposed 69 Z28's I've seen with rear spoilers that have the stripes extend below the spoiler onto the decklid. Very common rookie mistake that alot of body shops do. Most owners have no clue either because the car never started life as a Z28 to begin with. Must be 40,000 of those cars running around now, lol. Saw one at a cruise this past weekend that had an AC box on the firewall, a 10 bolt, and an automatic, LOL.
Paint jobs aren't cheap anymore. The cost of materials is ridiculous compared to just 10 years ago. Money doesn't go as far as it used to. People just don't want to pay $10,000-$20,000 just to shoot a car these days (those prices don't include labor to get the car ready to shoot in most shops).
I usually spend about $1500 minimum just on primers, paint, reducers, hardeners, clear, etc....that can reach $3,000 pretty quick depending on colors and brands. So yeah people are going to go where it's most reasonable and yet still try to get quality for their money, who can blame them. Unfortunately you sometimes wind up with examples shown. Like I said earlier, I have a customer right now that's too cheap to buy a $40 stencil kit on a Mach 1 I'm doing. He's lucky that I happen to own an original paint SCJ Mach 1 I can take measurements from. And that's the key. When you have to lay stuff out by hand, you can't always use another cars that's been painted. What if that's not exactly right?? You need an original paint car in my opinion if you want to take notes and are too cheap to buy inexpensive stencils. How many shops are going to take the time to do that? If it wasn't figured into the original quote, and the owner gripes about more money, my guess is, not many shops
You take the car to Tieman and it will come back correct, but the average person won't spend 6 figures on a restoration either. That's really what I was getting at earlier. I see this all the time in the business.
