Welcome to the forum and Happy Birthday from an ex Co. Durham resident.
Some good paint shops can blend in colours so well nowadays that it is perfectly possible to repair and respray small areas. It can be a mite colour sensitive , e.g. red tends to oxidise more quickly than other colours and therefore getting a good match can be more tricky as the red on the car probably no longer matches the original colour.
There are paint experts on this forum , so await one of those coming along to advise you better than I can.
