did anyone here go to maaco? there adds say its pretty cheap, but doesnt mention bodywork prep or anything else...any input would be great thanks...
SargeantMajor had his 63 Cat painted at Maaco, it wasnt the $299 special though. They did a good job, fixed some rust spots etc. and he took off all the chrome. The cheap job is just a scuff and shoot. car lot special. I worked for dealers and used them alot. Also if your car is straight, no dents and you sand it yourself and have it ready to go Gary:beer
some maaco's are better than others ..... I did a 84 eldo ...came out nice ...and their body work is cheap just like the cheap work they do :grin: looked good 3 years for me then I sold it and saw it 3 years later and it still looked good make sure to see what they have finished to get an idea and again ...some do better work than others ....
If you do most of the prep work, the paint comes out rather well. I worked at one for a while and the painters and boothe are greate but, prep was lacking.
Like Gary Ive seen this car but he paid a lot of money for the job so you get what you pay for and I think its a good Maaco that he deals with
so if i taped up the windows, trim, etc. and scuffed would that help in price? would that void the warrenty?
Pay the franchiser a few buck extra for a better mask job etc.. Tip the prep guys and use the higher quality paint. Strip the car of all door handle,locks and chrome etc. You can get a good job if you insist on your needs.. I've used them a few times with great results!..
He also knew the guy that ran it and they did extensive work besides the paint. Came out great. I also had a buddy that ran a Maaco shop years ago (20 plus?) and we had a car that got hit so he told me how great his shop did, on and on since I wasn't inclined to use maaco, but he convinced me. Paint job was second rate. We had it pinstriped, then it started to bubble. I complained and he said that it was something to do with the car before they got it. I pointed out that it had nice black paint before (he knew the car well), and that anything on the paint was the job of them to fix, besides since it had a very nice paint job and the car was very nice before it had to be his shop. Went back and forth, then they figured out that they had a bunch of cars with the same problem. Took it back and had it re painted. They painted right over the pinstripes on the paint!! Worst place I could imagine going. Traded the car for a Trans Am shortly after so I don't know what happened with the paint after the second paint job.
I think paint jobs are one of those things where you kind of have to expect to get what you pay for most all of the time. IMO I know :dollar: is an issue in these times for alot of people also so good luck with whatever you decide.
Is all of the body work finished? Easy to get a nice daily driver paint job from a production type paint shop.
For the most part paint jobs are like employees, you get exactly what you pay for. I have seen some very nice jobs come out of Maaco, Spray-N-Glo, etc, but I've also seen some really bad work come from them. If I were considering them I would ask around your community and find out who has used them, and how recently. Get their opinions. They are the only people who will give you a straight answer.
I consider maaco to be for "average" cars and not "special" cars. For my "average" cars, I have gotten my money's worth (but nothing fantastic). -Bob C.
Maaco has a poor reputation because people go for the $299 special and get burned. They painted my 65 Sky for $4000 and it turned out very nice.... see my V8 Garage link below:
They painted my 71 Skylark for around 2k and it came out nice as well. Keep in mind as others have said that not all shops are run the same. In my case a sprayer was brought in to do my car after prep. Owner didn't trust the regular guys doing the $100 dollar jobs to do the right thing. Preped most of the car myself and removed as much as I could prior.
I considered Maaco for a repaint of my Regal (no dents/rust/etc) until they explained the "90 day Northeast guarantee" to me. Too much money for too little warranty. They didn't get my money.
With ANY painter, if you plan to do some (or all) prep work yourself, you must coordinate this with the shop in advance. Not all top coats are compatible with all primers and fillers. And there are small time windows that must be satisfied as well. You can't just show up on their doorstep with a car you've been filling, priming, and sanding for the past 3 months and expect them to put a quality top coat on it. Most decent shops would refuse to do this, unless you've used materials approved in advance by them. Even then, if there's ever a problem with the paint later, guess who's going to get blamed .....
I think it depends on the shop that you go to for one thing. When I had my car painted it took some talking to get me to go there, I was going to use a regular paint shop at normal rates but I got talked into using them. Bad paint the first time they sprayed it, although it didn't look bad until it started bubbling shortly after. When they re painted it, they did pretty close to no prep work. The pin stripes were fairly new and would have cleaned off but they chose to paint over them. You've seen ghost flames, well I had ghost pin stripes.
I agree it depends upon the shop. If you have no knowledge of the shop, ask for references and check them out. I have had a couple of cars painted by my local MAACO shop and was very happy with the results. They can price as they do as they can cut corners on the prep work and body repair prior to paint. If you do that yourself or have it done by someone you know will do good work, you can save money. Their painters are generally pretty good shooters. Think about the sheer number of cars they do. Repitition creates experience which makes for a nice job. I talk with the shop manager prior to leaving the car to make sure we all all in agreement as to my expectations. It does cost a little more than their low price special but I always upgrade the paint which in my case they were very willing to do. I strip the car of trim and emlems. They have allowed me to remove bumpers, headlights, etc in their lot so I could drive the car there. Always ask for permission first. Finally, have a discussion to make sure the material you are using for your prep work is compatible with the brand of paint they will be using. I hope to get my 4 door there soon for a respray. Rufus
