[tud]

We have a Hyundai Xcent AT SX (O), 2015 model. We bought it used in 2020 with 27k on the odometer. In the next three years, the car was used for 13k kms (due to the lockdown) and the odometer now stands at 40000 clicks.

We are very satisfied with this car and if I were to pick a bone with it, it would be the colour black. While it looks fabulous after a wash and wax, it's really hard to maintain it that way and not to mention how hot it becomes when seated inside a black colour car during the day in Chennai.

Now the car also has some nicks and dents that it picked up during these years which needs fixing. Along with fixing these dents, we were thinking of changing the car colour to a non-metallic grey which is the only colour we could come to a consensus at home The flashy ones like red doesn't seem to sit well on the sub 4m sedan. This is purely a decision by the heart and not sure if it makes sense to do this repaint and RTO endorsement with an eight year old car. We plan to retain the car for another 3-4 years at least as its a fuss free, easy to use car within the city.

Any advice or inputs to go for the new shade or ditch it and only fix the dents will be much appreciated.

Here is the car in its current avatar.

[Mustang_Boss]

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Thanks for the support & understanding

[condor]

If you are going to keep the car for another 5 years or so, and willing to take the hit with the cost of repaint at a good place, then go for it. You need to ensure that the painting is done at a well equipped shop. RC will need to be updated.

Remember to keep the bill for the repaint so that it can help you at time of resale, to show that you have got it done at a good place.

However, one point is that the Xcent is a regular commuter car. Will you be happy to continue driving it after say 3 years, or will want to upgrade ?

Another option is a lateral upgrade, to move to the next segment, and get a better car in a colour you like. If dont mind about 3 lakhs, you can do that.

Check the cost of a good repaint - it can be in the 30-40k range. Here again, you will have to decide if the entire car will be stripped and re-painted inside-out. You could do only an exterior repaint, but this will come out like a half-job and hence a hit on the resale value).

[The Rationalist]

Why bother with it if you are only going to keep it for 4 years? You will spend close to ₹50,000 for repainting it. You ain't gonna get any better resale also. Besides running after RTO for endorsement and all isn't worth the headache. I would have agreed if you were gonna keep it for another 7-10 years. Get a touch up and good polish and live with it for another 4 years. My sub 4 meter compact sedan has many bruises and all, it's not some one off sports car that is being kept in a showcase! If you drive on our roads, some kind of damage is given. No point sinking money into a endless pit unless you have some OCD or you are really well off.

If you getting bored of the car, try to get some beautiful alloys and some audio upgrades etc. That's what I usually does with cars when they cross 7-8 years.

[GTO]

- The factory paint job easily lasts 10 years, if maintained well (body cover, periodic detailing etc).

- I usually recommend an overcoat (same colour) when a paintjob is needed.

- Changing the colour means you lose that factory build quality. Compared to a simple overcoat, changing the colour means stripping the car down.

- Another easy option, if you absolutely must change the colour, will be a body wrap. It's stuck onto your existing car and if done from a professional, looks really good.

[Rajeevraj]

Black is a nice color on the car. It looks in fairly good shape for a 8 year old car. All you need is a good detailing to be done now or in the next year and you should be set for another 3-4 years. Don't think it is worth doing a repaint of the whole car.

Else as GTO mentioned get a wrap done. Much simpler and reversible too.

[tud]

Originally Posted by Mustang_Boss

The resale takes a Hit. People will be hesitant to touch it, irrespective how good it is (Mechanically/Looks).

This is true, no matter how good the car is people tend to go by 'it's repainted' term. Since we bought the car 'used', it came for a price lower than half of the car's original cost. So we saved quite a bit on depreciation when buying this one.

Originally Posted by condor

However, one point is that the Xcent is a regular commuter car. Will you be happy to continue driving it after say 3 years, or will want to upgrade ?

Check the cost of a good repaint - it can be in the 30-40k range. Here again, you will have to decide if the entire car will be stripped and re-painted inside-out. You could do only an exterior repaint, but this will come out like a half-job and hence a hit on the resale value).

We have a 2022 Safari which will take a share of the drives. The Xcent is mainly for city runabouts where the Safari cannot navigate.

We were looking at a complete paint job where doors, bonnet and boot door will be painted separately.

Originally Posted by The Rationalist

Why bother with it if you are only going to keep it for 4 years? You will spend close to ₹50,000 for repainting it. You ain't gonna get any better resale also.

If you getting bored of the car, try to get some beautiful alloys and some audio upgrades etc. That's what I usually does with cars when they cross 7-8 years.

That's true, resale could be a miss. The car came fully loaded with all bells and whistles so an Apple Car Play enabled head unit could be a possible upgrade.

Originally Posted by GTO

- The factory paint job easily lasts 10 years, if maintained well (body cover, periodic detailing etc).

- Another easy option, if you absolutely must change the colour, will be a body wrap. It's stuck onto your existing car and if done from a professional, looks really good.

I must give it to Hyundai for the paint quality. No complaints there. With regular wash, wax and once in a while detailing, the car still looks new from the outside.

The wrap was an option we considered but we anyway have to take the car to the body shop to address the nicks and dents which will need to be filled, and painted. So we thought why not go with a full paint and if we are doing it why not go for a new shade (black was not our choice but the car came with a cracker of a deal when we pick it pre-owned)?

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Black is a nice color on the car. It looks in fairly good shape for a 8 year old car. All you need is a good detailing to be done now or in the next year and you should be set for another 3-4 years. Don't think it is worth doing a repaint of the whole car.

Else as GTO mentioned get a wrap done. Much simpler and reversible too.

Thanks Rajeev for the compliments on the car, being in black the car definitely stands out (and now only the luxury cars are available in black, is a plus).

[condor]

Originally Posted by tud

The Xcent is mainly for city runabouts where the Safari cannot navigate..

Then it's a good case for getting an automatic instead. Better features, newer car feeling, and easier to drive in city.
Like GTO said, a factory finish paint job cannot be matched by an outside job.

[tud]

Originally Posted by condor

Then it's a good case for getting an automatic instead. Better features, newer car feeling, and easier to drive in city.
Like GTO said, a factory finish paint job cannot be matched by an outside job.

Thanks Condor. To add to the dilemma, the Xcent is running on an automatic tranny too (just like the Safari) We are very happy with the car (touchwood) to think of replacing it ASAP. It is only the unbearable heat when the car is parked in the open (primary concern) and the maintenance of the shade (secondary concern). The secondary concern is something we can live with but since the car's going to go through a full dent repair job which involves painting panels in whole, we were contemplating a color change.

[HighRevving]

A full repaint of your car, even with the same colour is not a desirable proposition.

Your car is not very old and it looks to be in good shape, why bother spending so much money knowing you will run into a few scratches and dents again, in a while? Generally people will do a full repaint if there has been a major accident or if the paint has faded beyond repair - the buyer of your car will only think from this perspective.

Let the factory paint serve you some more years, just repaint the panels that need addressing and detail the car. It's a Hyundai, so the air-conditioning will be quite good even for black colour and if you park it under the sun, the colour of the car will not matter much. At least, it is not worth repainting the car for the small difference the colour makes.

[lamborghini]

I would avoid repainting the car unless the body requires a repaint - which you car does not seem like it does.

Factory finish is factory finish, and a color change would require a lot more dismantling - which could result in rattles, and niggles.
Just recently we got our S-Cross repainted as it had picked up nicks and dents all over the body due to a high amount of city driving and roadside parking and despite paying top dollar there were a few niggles that had to be resolved.

Instead would look at investing in a reflective windshield shade to keep the heat out, and a good ceramic / long lasting coating to maintain the glossy coating.

[KDS]

You will not be able to get the finish of the factory paint. Instead you can try to look for a pre-worshiped xcent of color you like and later sell this black color car. This way, even if you get a hit of 30-40k, you will still be getting a original car.

[Vasanth]

These extensive full body paint job is usually done for cars older than 20 years, classic cars etc. I would recommend you not to go for the hassle of full body paint job, RTO chakkar etc. for a car which is just 7-8 years old. And you’re not planning to keep the car for another 10 years. Neither it is a classic car.
Instead fix all the dents and scratches
Get it professionally detailed.
Ceramic coating. Also put a layer of PPF Paint protection film (only for the front@ rear bumper and fenders) as full body PPF will empty your wallet.
Tint your car with the 70% UV protection film.
Upgrade audio system and give him a nice pair of alloys and your car will look younger than before.
Drive Safe.

[gjnnbagal]

Originally Posted by tud

We are very satisfied with this car and if I were to pick a bone with it, it would be the colour black. While it looks fabulous after a wash and wax, it's really hard to maintain it that way and not to mention how hot it becomes when seated inside a black colour car during the day in Chennai.

Don’t go for colour change, you will lose factory finish and a bit of resale value.

I agree it’s hard to maintain a black car. Also, a black car gets hotter than any other colour. On the flip side, the black car looks amazing if maintained well.
Rather, you should add removable window sun blinds, jute material seat covers (preferably beige colour) and pay attention to the AC service routine.

[yashg]

It's an 8 year old car and that too a mid-range sub 4 meter sedan. In my opinion it's not worth spending on a repaint of a car that you will use at most for another 2-3 years before the itch will start to upgrade. You'll also lose the factory finish as several others have commented and will be taking a hit on the resale value as any buyer would be suspicious that you got a repaint done to hide a major defect.

My suggestion would be to continue as it is, use it for another couple of years and then upgrade to a better car in your favourite colour.