Here's why I think that's important.

New paint hides a multitude of sins. If the paint is original, it's easy to see how much of a rust problem it has. You still need to look underneath, in the wheel wells, etc., but if the paint is clean all over it can't have too much of a problem.

New paint also suggests the car has been in a serious wreck. If say one fender has been repainted, then you know the extent of the damage. But if it's a total repaint, how badly hit was it? I suppose you could argue on the other side that if it were worth enough to fix completely and repaint, then the wreck must have been a long time ago--if it were recent, the car would have been totaled by the insurance company and sold for parts. And if the wreck was a long time ago, then maybe it was fixed properly.

All the same, I'd rather have a car that was never wrecked. It can't have the same crumple-zone protection as it did originally. Suppose you're in another wreck? And is the air bag actually functional? Whoever reworked the car might have disabled it and unplugged the warning light.

I suppose a car could be hail damaged and fixed without having structural or safety problems later. And some colors (reds mainly) weather out fast and a PO might have had it repainted just for looks. But I still say look for original paint or get a body shop to look it over real closely.

Good luck.

Doug Harvey