Kinda the same here. Only the shop owner had already painted my truck in the recent past under insurance claim. His quote was high for the quality I think I would get, so I will do my damdest and see if I have $$ left over to pay my self.
MAACO is a gamble. If you don't mind the cheap job and you are usually lucky when gambling then go for it. If you want a nice job you have to pay money or time. It is your choice. You can always ask for references from any shop. They are usually happy to provide them if they do decent work.
I talked to my local maaco shop I was quoted $800.00 to paint my car. I have to do the prep work my self. I also got a quote from a good local shop $2000.00 if I do the prep work, $3000.00 if they do it. Then I went to a local classic car shop the only shop I know someone at and he said $6000.00 min. Ray, about the price of paint and materials you are right the maaco shop said they use DuPont paint. I asked how can you paint so cheep, they said they get a better price on DuPont products because they are the largest buyer of there products. Has any one looked in to duplicolor paintshop system? I wish they had more color choices. Ken
well like PaulS said i think it really is a gamble one honestly im not willing to make sure preppin is gonna be a pain but who cares then i can say i totally did it. only thing that sucks is its my daily driver and college is starting soon blah
I do believe the cost of materials, i just dont believe you get what you pay for. I think alot of guys think there work is worth that much because someone else"s work is. Just saying if i was paying id get a cheapo and deal with the outcome. I'v saw plenty of $6-800 dollar jobs looks as good as my $2500 job. I did try to contact a lawyer and finally decided between the crook painter and crook lawyer i'd just deal with it and forget it (so to speak).
I had a car painted a Maaco and the paint peeled off the bumper covers within a month. I wouldn't trust another Maaco to paint a tricycle for me. You do get what you pay for. There is good Maaco painters out there, but it is not a gamble I want to take. For those who want a good paint job, you need to research and find a good painter with a good reputation. Good paint shops are not easy to find, there are a lot of crooks out there. I plan on hauling my Maverick 400+ miles to my cousins shop to get my Maverick painted next spring. I know I could find someone closer, but I know I am going to get a top notch paint job so it is worth the trouble.
heres a thread i started on the same topic. theres some good info as far as where to get started on the body work as well as some disscusion on maaco. http://mmb.maverick.to/showthread.php?t=46139&highlight=maaco
Right on, Ray! When I used to work for MAACO we HAD to paint 55 cars a week. No if's, and's, or but's about it. Fifty five cars a week was the quota no matter what. If a car had bad bodywork or the paint was screwed up it got repainted before the first coat of paint was dry. I don't know if all MAACO's opperated tht way, but the one I worked for clearly fit into the ' You get what you pay for ' catagory. One of the reasons MAACO can do a paint job so cheaply is because of the materials they use. When I worked there ( 12 years ago ) they did not buy top of the line stuff. All the paints and thinners were bought in bulk; paint in boxes of four 1 gallon cans and thinners and reducers came in 55 gallon drums. All the cans and drums carried a label on them with the name 'Western' on them. I believe 'Western' was a low end, off-brand of Sherwin Williams Paints. The 55 gallon drums of thinners carried the same label, but they also indicated that the thinners were recycled products. The thing that sticks out in my mind the most was the clear-coat they used. When you open a can of clear, it should look cyrstal clear. The Western clear had a yucky, yellow tinge to it. It actually changed the color of the basecoat when it dried. We could never clear-coat a white car because as the clear dried it would turn the whole job into a crappy, burnt yellow color. Try matching that paint if you have a fender bender. A lot of years have passed since I worked for MAACO, and hopefully they are using better products now. Much depends on the shop it'self. I always tell people who want to take thier car to MAACO to do thier homework and check out the quailty of the paint jobs first. It could save you a bundle down the road.
BTW, we just bought PPG paint and materials for a MUstang ragtop that we are painting today. The material cost was over $800.
I have 2 experiences from maaco. My mother has a white 2006 saturn Vue which I kinda nudged into a pole in the front. So took it to Maaco and they charged close to $1000 just to put the bumper parts on and paint (I supplied the parts). The white looks great from 5 feet, really good! But up close it's obvious, run your hand over it and you feel sharp points. There is paint between seems and overspray in random areas. And I admit, I was looking for those flaws but I don't think they were hard to spot. Second experience, took my ford bronco in a few years ago and the guy quoted me 2K if I removed all the exterior stuff. I went back several times and he showed me several of their works. I finally saw a red and black car and it was great from 3 feet but nasty up close. The bumps are too obvious and there was overspray on several of the taped up parts. In my opinion, if you think that you'll never afford a 5-6K paint job then a 2K paint job will be very good as long as you do as much of the prep work, including taping, yourself. either way, good luck
I work at th Maaco in philadelphia and I would have to say that - Maaco is worth it if you take your car to a good one. Meaning that dont just look at the name, judge them by their quality of craftsmanship; or ask to see some of their "Before and Afters".
Since your in my neck of the woods, any suggestions on a "good" Maaco shop? I've got a beeter F150 that needs paint and the local Maaco here sucks.....
My dad's '95 Mustang was painted by our local Maaco in April of 2007. Pictures of it a year later are here: http://mmb.maverick.to/showpost.php?p=451964&postcount=1 It still looks great. I will likely take my Maverick there.
I can second that. The Trinity paint is what I used to paint our Church van with last year. I used the single stage enamel and it turned out real good. If I were to go back and color sand and buff it, it would be as nice as any other paint job out there, but it looks just fine as is for the van. I plan on using their paint on my Maverick when the time finally comes for paint. The color choice is somewhat limited, but varies enough that you should find something that you like.
