Depends on the work involved...I've never paid for body work, just for paint, preferring to take responsibility for the body myself.
Here in CA, with all the regs body shops have to follow, it's no wonder they're expensive...
We recently had a minor dent removed from the front femder corner of my wife's Acura, along with replacement of the upper front bumper (it had a little crack around a headlight). Cost for parts and paint blending? 1300.00...paid for by the Suburban driver who backed into her..
IMO, unless it's covered by insurance, body and paint are one investment which can never be recouped (on resale). Personally, I'm quite satisfied with the 200.00 paint job the PO had Mastercraft put on the D-coder...the car looks great from 10ft and the paint has lasted well over the last 9 years of my ownership..
I don't know your situation, but, if I had a driver, I'd just do the body work (to make sure it met my expectations) and take it to a shop which does decent quality, low cost paint jobs..
BTW, I have done an entire job myself....see the
race car for details...much more complex job than a street car, including stripping the paint to bare metal and doing lead and fiberglass work...time consuming but rewarding *G*
Good luck!