I don’t know what sort of 'car painting franchises' you might have in your area, but we have mainly Maaco, Earl Scheib and Miracle. Had our ‘89 wagon painted at Miracle AFTER I got written estimates at Maaco and another Miracle.

I presented the written estimates to another Miracle and they beat the estimate prices considerably, even offering me their 'top' paint job at a great price. He also threw in a coat of clear, but I then asked about a second clear coat and for $150 he would do the 2 clear coats. I picked out a gray metallic I saw and liked on a new Toyota, got the ‘formula code’ which was ‘T9’ and he looked it up and mixed it to match 'T9'.. (I was told that Toyota calls that particular color 'Montery Grey'.) All for $1100 plus tax.

One of the big 'secrets' is to take the time to get written estimates and present them at another paint place and most likely that place will meet or beat the written estimates. It was worth it to me . The paint job is 2 years old and still looks great.

Another thing I did was to order a great paint sealer off the 'net: Wolfgangs Deep Gloss Paint Sealant for $39.99 plus shipping. http://www.wolfgangcarcare.com/wg5500.html, It's not a wax. A bit pricey but it goes a long ways, and to me is worth every penny.

(Wolfgangs’ has other products you might find interesting.) It’s a silicone base and has kept our paint job looking really good. Easy to use. .

Good luck. By the way, our brick did not need any body work, no dents or dings or rust, so that helped in keeping the price 'down'.