$249 Paint job @ The Local Shop...Worth Doing?

Basecoat / Clearcoat paint is the way to go if it's within your budget. BC/CC paints give a deeper shine & have better UV & chemical protection. Clear coats can also be sanded if there are any runs or excess orange peel, single stages can't be color sanded if there are metalics in it. Most fleet paint jobs are done in single stage paint because they only really care if it's the same color as the rest of the vehicles or equipment(what's that tell ya?). So evaluate what you want the job to turn out like. What is your intended purpose for the project? Show car or driver or 20 footer? I would agree the better it's prepped the better the end result. Many cars have been painted in sigle stage paint & look fine. Preparation & skill have a lot to do with it regardless what paint is used.

As for being lazy, I'd have to think taking the additional steps to do a good BC/CC job is worth the effort in the end & doing a quicky job with less steps is probably the lazier way to go. JMHO!