my Venture is UGLY !! paint/wrap?

[almostblue]

My 1999 Venture is actually a color called "silver mist" .. but that is just a fancy name for ugly metallic gold..

combine that with the dog dropping dash color and the tan seats, and the sandy dirty carpets - and it is a car that nobody wants to be seen near (
wife, kids, in-laws, etc.)

It may actually be worth the cost of painting. Anyone have a good estimate of what a hack job should cost ? It just has to stay on for a few years.

perhaps I should just flat black the underside for that Honda Element look..
even the vinyl wrap (with or without the advertising) would look much better.
I have seen that they sell the 3M™ ControlTac Comply™ Performance Vinyl at various locations.. even in a carbon fiber look for hoods/ etc.
or how about the fake dirt splash they sell so people can avoid traffic light cameras :-)

[85lolo]

why did you buy it???

[AJT1961]

My 99 was exactly the same as yours. It was ugly (I particularly hated the front grill), but it ran so well and it was just so perfect for my usage that I loved it almost as much as I did my 68 Charger. I always looked at the brightside about the ugliness of the vehicle -- I called the color "freeway camiflague" since it appears to be invisible to police. It's not nearly as much fun writing a ticket for an ugly earth-tone minivan when he can just as easily nail the prick in the shiny BMW behind you. I actually drove through speedtraps at 80 plus miles per hour (in 55 mph zones) certain that I was nailed and every time it was like I was invisible. Another bright spot -- even if you don't wash it for a year it still looks the same.

[almostblue]

nice point - take the Monty Python view .. never thought of the speed trap.. and it does actually look better dirty -
and um, to answer the question of why did I buy it.. I am embarrassed to say I bought it on ebay (it was still a great purchase, just got tired of the color, which, of course looked slightly better in the photos)

[AJT1961]

Yeah, it was pretty funny about the speedtraps. For awhile, I was beginning to wonder if I was in fact invisible. One time, they actually waved over the car in front of me AND behind me. It's either the actual color, or perhaps the cops just took one look at me in that van and said to themselves with pity in their hearts, "Look at that poor guy... but for the grace of God that could be me." If they still made them, I'd probably buy a new one just like it.

[almostblue]

almost better than a 11-99 police bribery plate frame!!
perhaps it is pity
maybe it is seeing the "old guy" if 1961 is indicator, as it is my birth year

[pokerman11]

I just had mine full body repaint from MAACO. They do a 1/2 off deal in Jan/Feb so you just missed that.

Had a ton of rust on the roof, hood,rocker panels also to get fixed. Total out the door was ~$750. I think the paint only was $250.

It is not OEM looking, but it actualy looks better than I thought. Only a few bad spots in the new paint, but you have to look close. I went with the dark green.

Mine is a 1998.

[cdru]

You could probably get a quick and dirty, but still decent paint job for under a grand. Remember that you get what you pay for.