There's more to the exterior than just turning heads

While having nothing to do with performance, the type of paint job on a car may influence its value based on the type of paint and the perception of the buyer. As much as a standard paint job can be practical, we want a car with a personality of its own – and that’s exactly what a good paint job does.

• Metallic paint:
  This is usually offered to you as an upgrade when you buy a new car and may come as an added expense. Question is, is the high-quality, shinier finish worth the extra cost? Well, when selling your car, the metallic finish will definitely be more appealing than the standard paint job. However, if you do need to fix up damaged areas, the cost of metallic paint is higher than that of standard paint.
• Pearlescent paint:
  Imagine a car that not only shines but actually changes colour at certain angles - producing a magical effect in the sunlight and drawing people’s attention to your pride and joy. Pearlescent options are offered as a standard on certain premium car ranges, making the vehicles somewhat more expensive, yet fantastically more appealing. However, as with metallic paint, you can expect much higher repair costs with the risk that the repaired paint won’t match the undamaged paint 100% - urg!
• Matte finish:
  No ladies, not the lipstick or nail polish… for your car. This is the darker and more daring cousin of metallic and pearlescent paint that conveys the edgy vibe of a far more customised paint job. Since matte paint is very niche, it does carry a higher price tag than the other colour options. We’ve also hear that it’s easier to keep clean as long as the right products are used. The downside is that matte paint is expensive to repair because of the need to match not only colour, but texture too.

So now you understand a little more why your insurer is so interested in your car’s exterior – it’s important to work out the cost of repairing the car should you encounter a little accident while enjoying how it rides Your insurance premium may be influenced by the cost of repairs to your car, just as the type of paint job you opt for may have an influence on the value of your car at resale stage.

MiSmart Cover now offers you the comfort of knowing you don’t have to drive around with small dents, scratches and a chipped windscreen caused by everyday motoring. Add it to your Miway car insurance policy today!