[cmyk]

(Very) long story short, my car will need to be completely repainted this month as part of an insurance claim.

Car is currently Jet Black, but my body shop said they would be able to paint it any color I want, so I have been strongly considering having the car painted Frozen Black.

I realize this will affect resale value, but honestly any car that has been completely repainted will take a hit, regardless of color. Not to mention the reason for the repaint is extensive hail damage resulting in almost every body panel being replaced, which will affect resale value by itself.

So, my dilemma is: Should I paint the car Frozen Black, or just keep the original color and maybe wrap it matte black (which I know won't look the same as Frozen Black, but would be reversible whenever I decide to sell the car).

Just asking here in case there were any pros or cons of going either way that I may have overlooked.

[E90Company]

Frozen Black for sure.

[ChasVS]

Since you keep mentioning resale value it must be important to you. So if that is a concern, repaint it Jet Black. Damage if repaired correctly will only minimally impact resale value. A respray to a very individualize color will have a much greater impact.

[Alex.Devol]

Wrap it and washing it becomes more of a hassle.. No jetwash / carwash etc.. Be nice to take it off and have no stone chips a year later once you get bored of it though!

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by ChasVS

Since you keep mentioning resale value it must be important to you. So if that is a concern, repaint it Jet Black. Damage if repaired correctly will only minimally impact resale value. A respray to a very individualize color will have a much greater impact.

Actually, resale value doesn't mean anything to me at this point. I mentioned it simply because I knew others probably would. Before my car was damaged I wasn't planning any major exterior mods, and yeah resale value was one of several reasons for that. Now that that train has left the station, though, I might as well consider doing something unique.

[cmyk]

This seems to be the best of both worlds, however it costs more than I'd be comfortable spending for a wrap (from my research it would be over $5,000 all in), and I don't know of an installer in my area.

[Hooy]

Do not paint it any form of matte. Those paints are extremely high maintenance, extremely hard to touch up, materials are rare, and your car is not aggressive enough. Unless you are planning on spending 10-15k on new bumpers/skirts/maybe fenders, wide forged wheels, coilovers, etc etc, your car just isn't aggressive enough for matte black. It'll just look ghetto.

Repaint it any other finish, enjoy your free color change.

[Slow_335i]

I vote flat white! Classy and will probably help resale!

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Hooy

Do not paint it any form of matte. Those paints are extremely high maintenance, extremely hard to touch up, materials are rare, and your car is not aggressive enough. Unless you are planning on spending 10-15k on new bumpers/skirts/maybe fenders, wide forged wheels, coilovers, etc etc, your car just isn't aggressive enough for matte black. It'll just look ghetto.

Repaint it any other finish, enjoy your free color change.

Hmm, good point. I am planning some additional body changes (have an M3 rep hood and CSL trunk on the car now, and am getting different/wider wheels) but I'm not into the whole slammed look, so I guess you're right. As hard as black is to take care of, I wouldn't want any other color. Most of my money has been (and will continue to be) spent on performance mods rather than appearance.

Thanks everyone for the opinions so far

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Slow_335i

I vote flat white! Classy and will probably help resale!

Lol

When I thought my car would be totaled, I had already picked out a white E92 and was going to wrap it "stormtrooper white." Alas, I'm keeping the E90 and I guess he'll be Darth Vader.

[yxjackxh]

I have a jet black too and i think you should just get it repainted at jet black and wrap it if you want later. Frozen black may seem really good now because you are offerred any color change but JUST IN CASE for later purposes i think you should just safely go jet black. And you will have no regrets with black! I cant imagine going any other color than black

[Game]

If you're fine with jet black, then stick with it.

Personally, I'd just look for another (non-matte) color.

[DoctorS]

Originally Posted by yxjackxh

I have a jet black too and i think you should just get it repainted at jet black and wrap it if you want later. Frozen black may seem really good now because you are offerred any color change but JUST IN CASE for later purposes i think you should just safely go jet black. And you will have no regrets with black! I cant imagine going any other color than black

Y u no like white?

[yxjackxh]

Originally Posted by Condition

Y u no like white?

haha i like white too, only if there are many accents of black like black roof, wheels, window trim, etc. otherwise it just looks like a girl's car in my opinion.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by yxjackxh

haha i like white too, only if there are many accents of black like black roof, wheels, window trim, etc. otherwise it just looks like a girl's car in my opinion.

Oh, so you suggested white because I'm a girl - I see how it is. Lol!

I also like white a lot. I've only ever owned black cars though, with one exception (and it was white actually). I think white looks great on E92s, but black always wins hands down for E90 in my opinion.

Is there such a thing as a "semi matte" wrap? I've seen some places advertise "satin black" but is this just matte with a different name? I like the way frozen black still reflects a bit of light without being glossy. If I could get that general look with a wrap I think that's what I'd like to do.

[M3inMG]

No matte or frozen. Leave that for wraps. Paint it a stock color then wrap it one day. Whatever you do just make sure it is what you want.

[N54_Fan]

Originally Posted by Florida Boy

No matte or frozen. Leave that for wraps. Paint it a stock color then wrap it one day. Whatever you do just make sure it is what you want.

+1.

I agree. Unless your car has aggressive stance and cosmetic mods like vented hood I would not go any matte color (wrap or paint). I have seen the most beautiful looking Nissan 370Z whose main body panels were wrapped matte grey and the hood and roof and vent openings were all wrapped in CF. It was jaw dropping gorgeous. But that car had big black wheels and and aggresive stance. It does not sound like you are there.

[Shahdog]

Originally Posted by E90Company

Frozen Black for sure.

Are Frozen colors hard to maintain?

I believe BMW body local to me said it can't be polished


... Idk

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Shahdog

Are Frozen colors hard to maintain?

I believe BMW body local to me said it can't be polished


... Idk

According to BMW they are, but really they don't seem much different, care-wise, than wraps. No buffers or brushes, hand-wash only, remove bird crap and dirt immediately, and there is a special wax for matte clear coats. I think it's by Swissvax.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by N54_Fan

+1.

I agree. Unless your car has aggressive stance and cosmetic mods like vented hood I would not go any matte color (wrap or paint). I have seen the most beautiful looking Nissan 370Z whose main body panels were wrapped matte grey and the hood and roof and vent openings were all wrapped in CF. It was jaw dropping gorgeous. But that car had big black wheels and and aggresive stance. It does not sound like you are there.

Hmm. I guess I see your point. "Aggressive stance" is sort of subjective, though. I do have a vented hood and CSL trunk, and "big black wheels" (haha). Like I said, I have focused all of my efforts so far on performance mods, so the exterior has been 90% stock until this incident forced me to make some decisions about cosmetic mods (I only had wheels, shadowline, grill and AE).

After this I am ditching the M6 wheels and getting black 359Ms. Going wider in the back, too. But I don't know what's considered "aggressive" honestly. I'm more concerned with performance than looks, and I have always considered wheels a performance mod rather than a cosmetic upgrade. That's just me, though. This is all new territory for me, which is why I asked for input

[N54_Fan]

Post a pic of your car and maybe someone can do a PS for you. I assumed you did not have vented hood and CSL trunk based on what others said about your mods above. but in my opinion those would be minimum for pulling off a matte black look. Might look quite good. Like I said post up a pic.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by N54_Fan

Post a pic of your car and maybe someone can do a PS for you. I assumed you did not have vented hood and CSL trunk based on what others said about your mods above. but in my opinion those would be minimum for pulling off a matte black look. Might look quite good. Like I said post up a pic.

That's not a bad idea. I just installed the hood and trunk last week, so I don't have any photos with them on the car yet. I'm a photographer and photo retoucher so I might go take some photos later today and do some PS work on them. Good idea