I have been looking at a lot of used cars lately and I have seen some that look clean but don't have any carfax history. It's kinda weird but of course it always comes down to the service providers to report data. I have been looking at getting a paint meter to help me double check the cars. Based on the ones I have looked at there is a huge price discrepancy between the different brands and models.
So long story short does anyone have recommendations for a quality paint meter? I was hoping to spend less than $100 but I'd spend more if needed.
Never used or trusted them myself. Learn to know what overspray, fish eyes, and dust in paint look like. Pay attention to how much orange peel cars have from the factory. Keep a bone tool with you to pry up moldings and seals to see mask lines. Look in wheel wells, around headlights, etc. for overspray. Pay attention to alignment of shut lines and lights.
If you can't figure it out without a paint meter you shouldn't be buying used cars. If it's been repaired and you can't tell, it's a quality job and should be fine anyway.
I have never seen a cheap paint meter that is not magnetic. The digital stuff is not cheap but it can save you its cost 10,000x over over the life of the tool.
jonnyd330 wrote:
I have been looking at a lot of used cars lately and I have seen some that look clean but don't have any carfax history. It's kinda weird but of course it always comes down to the service providers to report data. I have been looking at getting a paint meter to help me double check the cars. Based on the ones I have looked at there is a huge price discrepancy between the different brands and models.
So long story short does anyone have recommendations for a quality paint meter? I was hoping to spend less than $100 but I'd spend more if needed.
I can tell when there is a bad job done. Bad paint and uneven body lines are easy but for those cars that are pretty good but im suspicious I would like to verify I am right in knowing there has been some body work. It's easy to spot bad jobs vs clean cars, I'm just wanting to verify work has been done to a car. It would be nice to have a good paint meter because im always looking at cars for fun.
