How Much Does a Car Respray Cost in the UK? (2026 Guide)

“How much is it going to cost to respray my car?” It’s the first question almost everyone asks when they call the workshop, and it’s a fair one. The honest answer is: it depends. But that’s not much use to you when you’re trying to work out whether to bother, so here’s a proper breakdown of what a respray actually costs in the UK in 2026 — and, more importantly, what makes the price go up or down.

I run a bodyshop near Milton Keynes and I quote on resprays every week, everything from a single scuffed bumper to a full bare-metal classic. So rather than throw a vague number at you, let me walk you through it the way I would if you rang me up.

Quick Answer: UK Respray Costs in 2026

• Single panel (door, wing, bonnet) — £150 to £500 depending on size and colour
• Bumper respray — £150 to £350
• Half respray (one side, or all the panels you can see from one angle) — £800 to £1,500
• Full respray, solid colour, standard car — £2,000 to £4,000
• Full respray, metallic or pearl — £3,000 to £6,000
• Bare-metal classic car restoration respray — £6,000 to £15,000+

Those are real-world UK figures for proper work, not a quick blow-over in someone’s garage. If you’ve been quoted £700 for a “full respray,” alarm bells should be ringing — I’ll explain why further down.

Why the Range Is So Wide

The paint itself is one of the cheaper parts of a respray. What you’re really paying for is prep — and prep is where the time goes. A respray is only ever as good as the surface underneath it, which is why I spend far more hours sanding, filling and masking than I do actually spraying.

Here’s what pushes the number up or down.

1. How much prep the car needs

A clean, straight car with sound paint is cheap to prep. A car with dents, old filler, flaking lacquer or rust is not. If there’s rust that’s eaten through a panel, that’s welding and fabrication work before any paint goes near it — and that’s a job in its own right. The same goes for dents and deep scratches that need pulling and filling first.

2. The colour and finish

A solid colour is the cheapest. Metallics cost more because they need a clear coat over the top and they’re less forgiving to blend. Pearls, candies and anything with a flip or a special effect are more again — more material, more skill, more time. If you’re not sure what your car originally wore, it’s worth finding your paint code first so you can decide whether to stay factory or change it.

3. How much of the car gets painted

Painting one panel and blending it into the next is very different from stripping a whole shell. People often ask whether they can just do the bit that’s damaged — and a lot of the time, you can. I’ve written a separate guide on whether you can respray just one panel that’s worth a read if you’ve got localised damage.

4. Whether parts come off

A proper job means removing trim, handles, lights and often bumpers so paint goes on cleanly with no masking lines. On a classic, you might take the whole car back to a bare shell. That’s labour, and labour is the bulk of the bill — but it’s the difference between a respray that looks factory and one that looks like a respray.

The £700 “Full Respray” Trap

Every so often someone tells me they’ve seen a full respray advertised for £700 and asks why I can’t match it. Here’s the truth: at that price, the car isn’t being prepped properly. The trim isn’t coming off. They’re scuffing the existing paint and spraying straight over the top — masking lines, overspray on the rubbers, and a finish that’ll be peeling or flaking inside a couple of years.

A cheap respray is the most expensive way to paint a car, because you end up paying twice — once for the bad job, and again to have it stripped and done properly.

If the paint is fundamentally sound and you just want it looking sharp again, you might not need a respray at all — a machine polish could do it. I’ve broken that decision down in full respray vs paint correction, which is worth reading before you spend anything.

What a Classic Car Respray Costs

Classics are a different world. By the time you’ve stripped the shell, dealt with the rust that’s always lurking somewhere, fabricated or sourced replacement panels, and got everything dead straight, you’re looking at weeks of work before a drop of colour goes on. That’s why a proper full classic restoration respray runs from around £6,000 well into five figures.

To see where that money goes, have a look at the 1951 Chevrolet 3100 case study — that went from a stripped shell to show-quality direct gloss black. Or the Ford Capri restoration guide, which covers what a marque-specific job actually involves.

How to Get an Accurate Quote

No honest bodyshop can give you a final price down the phone, because we can’t see what’s hiding under the paint. What we can do is give you a realistic ballpark from a few good photos, then a firm quote once we’ve had the car in front of us. The things that change the number most are rust, previous bad repairs, and how original you want the finish to be.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does it cost to respray a whole car in the UK?

For a standard car in a solid colour, expect £2,000 to £4,000 for proper work with the trim removed and the surface correctly prepped. Metallic and pearl finishes push that to £3,000–£6,000, and a bare-metal classic restoration can run from £6,000 to well over £15,000.

Why are some resprays so cheap?

Cheap resprays skip the prep — no trim removal, minimal sanding, paint sprayed over the existing finish. It looks acceptable for a few months, then peels, flakes or fades. You almost always end up paying again to have it redone properly.

Is it cheaper to respray one panel or the whole car?

A single panel is far cheaper up front (£150–£500), and for localised damage it’s often the sensible choice. The catch is colour match — old paint fades, so a fresh panel can stand out. A good painter blends into the surrounding panels to hide it.

Does a respray add value to a classic car?

A quality respray on a sound car can add real value and make it far easier to sell — but only if the bodywork underneath is right. A shiny respray hiding rust fools nobody who knows what they’re looking at. There’s more on this in my guide to selling a classic car.

Thinking about a respray? Send me a few photos on WhatsApp and I’ll give you an honest ballpark. The workshop is just outside Milton Keynes in Wicken — easy to reach from Buckingham, Towcester and Northampton — and you’re welcome to bring the car in for a proper look. If it’s a classic Ford, you’ll also want my page on classic Ford restoration in Milton Keynes.