Youre exactly right. We're not detailing Bugatti Veyrons. Get it as good as you can and to what degree youre happy with it. 99% of the people that see it will think its flawless anyways. You will be the only one that knows.
A paint isnt thousands of dollars. Granted a DeFelsko is 700.00. The only problem I have with one is they measure total paint not clearcoat. So we work with clearcoat unless we're working on single stage paint. And for cpa5oh, I will only do my vehicle twice...if its bad...and that second time...
Just that part shouldnt cost an awful lot to just get repainted. Myself and A-Train have new four door GM trucks (mine is a Chevy, his is a GMC) and had the rubber trim pieces on the doors repainted for right at 100 bucks. Well worth it to start with a clean slate.