Cliff92Z

I just had someone back into my car, leaving a dent on the driver side door and now it needs to get the damage fixed. Their insurance is covering the costs and I was thinking of taking it to Macco cuz they would actually paint the whole car. Macco said the whole job would cost ~$640 (whole car painted). What do yall think? My paint is already faded and could use a new paint job (since its gonna be free). Anyone have their cars taken to Macco? Do they do good work?

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

There is a very good reason that Maaco quoted you $640 and not $2,000. Materials alone should cost $650+ if they are using quality products. Have a real body shop do an estimate for the body damage and put that toward a good paint job.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

IROC-ZTWENTYGR8

They look good from far away, but when u get up close, there is imperfections and stuff.

92RSCAMARO

My friend had his neon painted and it looked REALLY good.I could not find one mistake.this was at maaco.just my .02$

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

But did you look at it 6 months later? Even cheap paint shines at first. Plus, I'm not trying to criticize your impression of what is good and what isn't because I obviously have no way of knowing, but I know that 90% of my father's customers wouldn't know the difference between his work and a Maaco hack, but the other 10% can see it a mile away. A quick look will usually uncover wheel wells full of overspray, an exhaust full of overspray, and masking lines on all of the moldings. Look down the doors and they look like wash boards. In a few months, the paint starts to flake off around the door handles and the hood vents. A few months later the filler starts to bubble around the rear wheel well openings. Then it starts fading F-A-S-T.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

89IROCZ

Maaco, hmmm.... where should I start???

OK, I bought my car in June of 1999 and the guy I bought it from had the whole car repained at Maaco. It came out near perfect. That had me pretty impressed with their work, considering that it only costed $800 for the whole car to be painted.

A few months ago, I got into a fender bender and I figured I'd take it to Maaco. I brought it there becuase they are cheap, they did a good job the first time, and who better to match a Maaco paint job then another Maaco. I got a new hood, had my new fender driver's side fender put on, new front bumper and grill, and the whole front needed to be repainted. The result: my hood doesn't come even close to lining up, the front bumper is on wrong, the gril doesn't sit in there like it is supposed to, the front of my car is a completely different shade of white then the back, my louvers are fastened down properly, and they painted my once black headlight pockets and grill white instead of black. Other than that, they did a good job. The paint quality was ok, but other than that, they completely and totally ruined my car.

In conclusion, I say if you are getting an entire car repainted and you are on a TIGHT budget then Maaco is the place to go. If you need ANY body work done, or if anything needs to be installed, or you only need a certain area of the car painted, then DO NOT go to Maaco.

And... be sure that if, for example, your headlight pockets are black and your car is white... and you want it to stay that way... you better tell them to repaint the headlight pockets black. They just blatantly ignored that on my car, maybe because I didn't specify that.

So just becareful about what you are having them do... like I said, they are only good for an entire paint job. Asking anything more of them is too much.

------------------
1989 IROC-Z
350c.i. TPI
rebuilt 700R4 with shift kit
3'' Monza Pacesetter cat back exhaust (minus the muffler)[SOUNDS OF THIS ON MY WEBPAGE]
new dual cats
3.23 Posi rear
hypertech chip
under drive pulleys
adjustable fuel pressure regulator
K&N Air Filters
Excalibur alarm, keyless entry and remote start
new:
struts, shocks, bearings, distributor, cap, rotor, alternator, battery, regulator
245 ZR16 50 Tires, Rotors and brake pads all the way around

Go to my webpage to find out more about it.
You can also see pictures, and hear sounds as well.
http://go.to/iroc-z

AOL IMer: JRShotliff

Jason86Z28

If you bring it to Maaco, just do all the prep work yourself. The priming, any body work, etc. A friend of mine just bought a 5.slow stang in replacement of his T/A and thats what he's doing w/ the rustang

------------------
1986 Z28 LG4 M5
Alpine 6x9's 2 10" MTX Thunder 4000's MTX Thunder 102 Amp Hooker Aero-Chamber Cat-Back

[This message has been edited by Jason86Z28 (edited September 26, 2000).]

1320

Well if you already prepped the car and you wanted painted the same color.....run with it!!...if not i would try to get an estimate from a dealer. Just throwing my 2 pennies at you!!!

------------------
86 Iroc-Z28,
T.P.I. 350
Level 10 700-R4
ProTorque 2400rpm convrter
Hypertech Coil
Accel 300+
Bosch Plat 4
Gutted MAF
Banks Y-Pipe
Borla 3" Pipes
Dynomax Free-Flo CAT
Stock Rear for now
Fully prepped 9" rear
w/3.70's going in soon
Clarion 7575
Clarion EQ
RF 4x6s in dash
RF 6x9' in Rear
Powered by RF 200a4
RF 2 12" DVC HE2 subs
Powered by RF 800a2
Crossed over by a RF Punch X

theformula

It really all depends on the MAACO YOU GO TO.
Don't get me wrong, I have heard a lot of horror stories about Maaco. But the one here where i live does top notch work. My family has had 4 cars painted by them and they still look like they were painted yesterday. Jim85IROC, they have a 4 year gloss warranty if the shine goes away. They repaint it for free.

Of course you will get a more detailed and professional job for triple the cost..but for a lot of people it is perfect. My dads '86 vette was wrecked in May. Half of the car had to be replaced, the frame was cracked in 3 places, and the floorboard was ripped out. We got it back in July and you couldnt even tell it was in a wreck. It drives like pre-accident status too.

Cliff92Z

I went to the local Macco here and looked at their work. From what I've seen, they do a pretty good job. I also talked to some of the people getting there cars back and they like what they see. Basically, I've heard good and bad things about them. Like theformula said, it depends on the Macco you go to. I'm gonna give em a try cuz I'm on a budget. I'll post before and after shots for yall to judge.

GarageToys

iTrader: (6)

One of my brother's best friends owns a Maaco. They are a franchise organization like McDonalds or 7-11. I've been to both really nice & really nasty Mickey D's and Maaco is the same way. One thing I was told (by the owner himself) is that Maaco uses CHEAP materials. That's how come they can do it so cheap. Obviously, they know how to paint cars... they paint probably 100 or more a month. If you do your own prep work and supply the materials, you'll probably get a good job.

Metallica383

I have done body work for several years and have painted many cars in bad shape. The shop always used PPG and not the crappy Dupont that GM uses if Dupont was such a good paint why wouldnt they use it on there more expensive cars like the Corvette they use PPG on it along with the dodge viper they also use PPG I can tell you now that maaco does have alot of points against them but paying more than 1500 for a custom paint job is just plain dumb and I have painted many cars and trucks and suv's and the material cost never exceeded 300.00 for paint and materials alone and that is not cutting any corners maybe stuff is just cheaper here.

Cliff92Z

does macco use PPG?

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

GM probably used PPG for those colors because it was $.02 cheaper a barrel. PPG, Dupont and Sherwin Williams are all almost identical. GM and any other major manufacturer gets their paint from a ton of different sources, and any color is likely to come from any company at any given time. It's all about who puts in the lowest bids for the contracts.

$300? I can't get it done with house paint and a brush for that price out here. My cost on my paint materials for my car was $600. This was from a national chain (Big A). It's not like we only have Cuzin Joe's House o' Repair out here. Just the paint alone set me back $65 a quart (or pint. Can't remember which). Then the clearcoat, reducer, hardner, sealer, thinner, primer, flexible bumper primer, prep sol, etc.



------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

Engineboy

One thing to remember about paint work.

You get what you pay for.

I work next door to a Maaco, they CAN do good work, it just depends on the painter and how good the car was prepped.

------------------
ASE Mechanic/Machinist/Smog Tech

1999 NBM Trans Am
1986 Chevy 3/4 ton pick up
1981 corvette
1995 Kawi ZX6R

GO #3

[This message has been edited by Engineboy (edited October 02, 2000).]

Reznor

Places like Macco dont do an awful job & their paint isnt always the cheapest kind known to man. I have a local place that does paintjobs really cheap too. My parents got their car done there and the reason it was so cheap is because the place manufactures their own paint. But they give a 6 yr warrenty against fading & a 2 year insurance warrenty...and kind of work on your car for half price.touch up or even repainting it.

PopaPork

Hey I got my car painted at Maccon in umm the beggin of 99. Yeah I do alot of driving in it, I go from Trenton to Rochester a few times a year, so I have the road damage, but the rest of the car is pretty good. It ain't the best paint job in the world but from whut I had it was good, alot better. yeah I am startin to see some imperfections. But I am a college student....so it was in my budget, I paied 900 for it. I am happy with it for now...it looks good, people check my car out all the time....and Macco is good for service they mess up, they fix it. Hope it helps

chevystud

prep work keeps the paint on. the way thepaint looks dependes on what is done after the car is painted. If the fixin' is going to be done for free, get ti done somewhere where it will be done right.

------------------
91RS, 305, 5-speed, black with pearl white racing stripes.

spitfire350

my freind got his 89 camaro painted at macco and the retards painted over the camaro insig. on the front end and it had runs all over the car. but they paid for him to get a good shop to shoot the paint again. but i would stay away from macco.

------------------
keep the stang's far behind u and the cops even farther

wa90formula350

I painted my Rx7 at Macco about 8 mo. ago. I preped the car, used a spray on wax remover did this several times, pulled as much trim off as possible, window moldings, badging, anything that would come off fairly easy. I then went over it with a fine sand paper I dont remember what grade anymore other than fine. I especially worked the crackes edges etc. All the rock chips across the hood were ground into till bare shinny metal. This was 2 days off work and I ran out of time, I had to tak it to macco to have it finished. I was worried as I was not able to blend in the areas where I ground out the rust not real well at least. Macco charged a small amount to treat the arear with rust mort and fill them in (the pits). A few other dings were filled, total for paint with a sealer primer, paint and integrated clear (lost of clear in the final stage but still with paint cannot bet wet sanded) was $600. The car was smooth no runs, dings were filed perfect, the car still looks great. Would I do it again depands, there are small particles of dust that could have been removed between sprayings with only a little more time but it looks good from a few feet. The worst part is having your car banged up in parking lots after spending so much time. I had a miss matched fender so it needed to be painted, but my Firbird will remain as is with its dings and slightly faded paint as a daily driver its just not worth it. As long as its one color and presentable dont worry about it. As for macco they all differ, you get what you pay for and what you put into it. I think my paint job was good for the money.
Rob
1990 Formula 350

TomP

I agree with Jason86Z, and others that have mentioned it: Bring them a fully prepped car. I did all my own bodywork, aligned all my own panels, primered where I had to, and scuffed old paint where I had to. I removed emblems and taped up the rub-strips in my bumpers. (They usually paint over those on Firebirds.) When I dropped the car off, I took with me the front marker lights, the front blinkers, the front headlight shrouds (Firebird, when they flip up), and the entire rear taillight assemblies.

I also agree with TheFormula- it matters which Maaco you go to. Scout out the cars in his lot that have been freshly painted. Ask around town for horror stories. There's a Maaco near me that I would never take my car to- nobody's been happy. I drove an extra few miles to get to one that I heard great things about.

$400 later, I'm a happy man. I'm not that "into" paint, because no matter where I go, people swing their doors into my car, or scratch the paint with bookbags, or I'll see shopping carts in the fender, etc. If I spent $1000 on a paint job and saw a chip in the side of my door after a careless minivan driver, I'd cry.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

Z28Maniac

Just make sure they use a flexable primer on all plastic (ie front and rear fascia) parts, otherwise the paint on these areas are sure to crack and peel off. Maaco is famous for 'forgetting' to do this!

------------------
'85 Z28

TomP

Eh, I dunno about that, I've seen cars (both new from factory, and professionally painted) that have -had- the flex additive used on the front/rear bumper. As soon as that bumper feels an impact, the paint still cracks.


------------------
-Tom P (Hot rodded 1986 Firebird 2.8l) from http://www.f-body.net/mailbag/3rd/3rd_mailbag.html message boards

oldblueZ

I am going with bad on this one. My car was fully preped by the guy that i bought it from. Right before I was going to get my $500 paint job from MAACO, I got into an accident. The front end needed to be replaced(pretty much). The paint is decent but faded now on the parts that my buddy did. The hood was not prepped AT ALL, I know this because it is "orange peeled" to hell. The front wasn't done very well either because the paint actually flakes off!! The pics are from the day I got back from the shop. I don't think that I have any recent pics of it because is not very good to look at anymore. It is now the blue color of 4th gens, it used to be almost black!!!(yes it is blue) I am going to get off of my soapbox now. Oh yeah the repair work sucks, they didn't put anything on right and I could probably count at least 50, yes 50 bolts that they left out.

------------------
85 Z28, 305 TPI A4
pretty stock
15.2@91mph
http://photos.yahoo.com/j_hougnon

killrog22

If you go to macco be sure to take out the head,tail, front marker and turn-signal lights. Sand all paint cracks till they are smooth, and do all the bondo and sanding yourself. then the paint will come out nice. If you want, shell out the extra $130 bucks and have them throw on a full clear-coat. Don't let them talk you into an intergated clear-coat. With the full clear, your gaurenteed a mirror shine for at least 3 years. By that time you will have enough shopping carts dings to get a new paint job.

TomP

Agreed, killrog! I volunteered myself to get that integrated clear coat.. I figured "Eh, why not? Give me that too." I shoulda gotten the full clear- my hood has many chips in it from driving all over the damn place. If I had the full clearcoat, maybe they would've just chipped the clear, and not the paint itself. Oh well.

Jay87Z

iTrader: (2)

Heres my Z with a 3 year old Maaco paint job..


Looks ok at first.. but look at the trunk lid.. roof.. and top of the bumper. Unless your car lives in a garage, anything the sun is always hitting will look like **** in about 1.5 years.

I know about their 3 year warrenty.. but I'd rather pay more for a better looking paint job that lasts a long time.

Also, maaco doesnt add the additive to the paint for plastic. So don't touch the nose or ground effects to hard, or that crap will flake off.

Like everyone else said.. pull all your badges and lights off. They painted over the badge on the nose of my car(presvious owner had it painted there.. if it as my car I woulda been ripping someones *** for painting an emblem). Also.. pull off your gront license plate brakets(if its a camaro).. I guess the painters were too lazy to do it... when they painted the silver ground effects blue.. they didn't boterh to paint behind the license plate.. so its still silver back there.. REAL quality work

I'm paying ~$1500 to get mine painted, I forget what kind of paint, but I remember its 2 coats of clear.. 7 year warranty. I saw an 85 vette they did up like a grand sport.. it was perfect.



[This message has been edited by Jay87Z (edited November 03, 2000).]

Maacodale

Hey Guys, just a few words form someone who owns both a MAACO and several F- BODIES. First and foremost, Maaco's, like everything else has good and bad examples. Not all of us do excellent work. My shop is consistantly in the top 10 in the chain. We do ALOT of collision work, as opposed to some Maaco's that don't (or shouldn't). We use quality refinishing materials as well as top of the line body repair materials (fillers, primers, etc). Before I would let ANYONE refinish my F body I'd check their work. Look at the shop, the finished cars and the cars being repaired. Bang for the buck, Maaco is darn hard to beat. Of course some of y'all could pick the **** outta 2 grand paint job.

Someone had posted about things not lining up, that could be a factor of the insurance company. If they use aftermarket (copy cat) parts it's often difficult to get proper alignment. BUT, the shop should have called the ins co about it nad not just let it go. Shops like that give all of us a bad rap. I'd be glad to shop my paint to anyone. If they like the way it looks, great. If not, there are other shops that they could check out. Face it, no one person/shop/company can make 100% of the people happy 100% of the time.

------------------
See Ya
Dale Blankenship
Poquoson, Va
77 Z28
88 GTA
99 Z28

JimBow

You Get what you pay for is Right!!
Listen guy's I've had 1 car painted by them and my buddy had his painted by them. My car looked pretty good when they finished it but I had a car wreck 2 weeks latter, The car was a total. I thought they did good work Untill my buddy's 79 TA went from dark blue metal flake to light blue chauk in 1 year Real bad!!! The worst case of paint deterioration I've ever seen!!!
He went back to Macco and the jerks down there said " you should have waxed it"
Bullsh**! If not waxing caused good paint to go bad 3/4 of the cars on the road would look like that.
He argued with them they Told him if he doesn't like it take them to court.
Each maco is independtly owned and operated , we have 2 of them near me . I have worse stories about the second one. If your lucky yours will be better ran, otherwise it's a roll of the dice. Good luck Jim

Maacodale

Correct, as with anything, you DO get what you pay for (usually). There are times that you'll pay for good stuff and still get boned. It's happened to all of us. If you spend peanuts you'll usually get peanuts. I try to make the $200 paint job look as good as a $500 paint job. Granted it won't last as long, but there's no reason for one to look worse than another.

As with anything, most paint jobs will have "some" imperfections. Runs, drips, fisheyes, etc shouldn't be there. Minor surface imperfections (trash) is usually acceptable (to an extent). All paint jobs "should" be waxed. Factory paint jobs are very nuch more durable and don't require waxing as much. ANY repaint will be weaker than an OEM finish. If anyone tell you different, call them a liar! Since I've been with Maaco for about 20 years, I now most maaco owners, so if y'all have any questions, e mail me and I'll give you my opinion of that shop, at least what I know

------------------
See Ya
Dale Blankenship
Poquoson, Va
77 Z28
88 GTA
99 Z28

amagin86

I say there's no point in doing something half *** . If a car can't get a quality paintjob for $600 or $700, nobody should be offering the service. As for picking the stuff out of a 2 grand paint job. your damn right, they should. I've seen bodyshops, mechanic shops, etc. do shoddy work and give the customers attitude. Another reason NOBODY touches my car but me or a dear friend. You can't trust anyone when it comes to your car.
if i was going to MACCO, i'd be there every second the car was.

JimBow

Maccodale I hope I didn't offened you as a Maaco owner, You sound like you have a pretty good shop. One thing I should add is between the time I had my car painted and my buddy had his painted they changed painters and managers. I have no Idea what happened, but those were diffrent guys than did mine. My car came out pretty good, His didn't.
I had a coworker take her 79 TA to a expensive body shop. They called her 4 times with new estimates. One time they charged her an extra $500. because they said her sheet metal was too thin. Too thin? yea maybe after some one went too far with a grinder. Her total cost was $5000.00!!! no joke!!! and her paint was not that great. It took them 3 weeks to finish it also.
This was clearly a case of theft in my opinion. They even put her decals on wrong. On one sail panel the bird was high on the other it was way low and her hood bird was crooked! Be sure and do some research and ask around. There are some body shops that more only means more money not more better!!
I have one question for Maacodale and that's "will maaco use paint supplied by a customer?" Just wondering JIM

[This message has been edited by JimBow (edited November 06, 2000).]

Jim85IROC

iTrader: (2)

I basically agree with that, but not in all cases. The factory paint is baked on, which does make it very strong. However, the manufacturers have developed paint processes that use electrical charges to attract paint to the bodies. This allows them to precisely and evenly control the paint over the car. As a result, it is VERY thin. Much thinner than an aftermarket paint job. An aftermarket paint job with Urethane paints can be very strong and extremely durable. I had a Subaru that shined like new after 2 years. It never once received wax and hardly got washed. When I got hit, the paint was still very well adhered in the crumbled section of the car. Only the very bent sections had any paint come off.

My father did some work on a truck that he painted 5 years ago. The guy never takes care of it, but the truck still has a good deep shine. The thin OEM clear coats do not seem to maintain their glossy finish over time unless they are looked after (as they should be, but we all know how often it's not). A few years with no wax will cause the thin clear coats to begin breaking down. Nothing that a good hand-glaze can't bring back, but none the less, something that the aftermarket Urethanes are more resistant to.

But anything below the quality of Urethane, and I agree 100% that the stock finish is better.

------------------
The IROC Homepage
<A HREF="http://www.rit.edu/~jli4307/camaro" TARGET=_blank>
View the restoration of an 85 IROC</A>
"I didn't know a bored out Ford could go so slow" -Shenandoah

turbo497

stopped off at macco for estimate for repaint a few months ago. After explianing to them what i want done to my car I was sent off. I think if you give good details for the work to be done on your car the shop manager would then know if they want to take on your business. In my case I was looking for custom work involveing removing all trim, checking and aligning body all body panels, remove mirrors and door hardware, two step paint and removing and flexcoating all bumpers and plastic painted surfaces. Macco does not do this type of work atleast thats what the shop in pleasantville NJ told me

turbo497

stopped off at macco for estimate for repaint a few months ago. After explianing to them what i want done to my car I was sent off. I think if you give good details for the work to be done on your car the shop manager would then know if they want to take on your business. In my case I was looking for custom work involveing removing all trim, checking and aligning body all body panels, remove mirrors and door hardware, two step paint and removing and flexcoating all bumpers and plastic painted surfaces. Macco does not do this type of work atleast thats what the shop in pleasantville NJ told me

TA

iTrader: (1)

I just got my 88 TA back from Maaco in my area. I went to 6 different Maaco's until I found one that I was comfortable with, and farmed out the bodywork to a "jobber" shop. Maaco is a "production" shop, get 'em in and get 'em out.

I paid for their best paint, and it looks great. The only problems I have is from the supposedly "jobber" shop that did the bodywork, missed some spots. My car is white, so the fade won't be a problem, and I was told that you do need to wax it. It had a few runs, but they fixed them and resprayed the panels. Overall, it looks great, but I think you should look at a lot of cars and visit lots of shops, and choose a single shop to do everything, Maaco or not. And yes, if you choose only based on price, you will get what you pay for.

FAST RS

Make your life easy sue the guy that hit you and spot the cash for a full paint job sayin the shop said it wouldnt match go to a good shop and it will run 2k let the pther ppeople pick up the tab. Thats what i did to the guy who hit my car im gettin around 6k for it plus i had my insurance pay for the body work hehe=)

fourthqtr2

I had my TA painted about one year ago. In my case I don't know much about auto painting so I spoke with the manager for quite a bit having him explain the paint preparation and painting process. I settled on Maaco's 'supreme' package which at the time it was $399 plus another $99 for a full clear coat. Over all I'm happy with the paint job and service. My car was painted once by them and it did not come out very well they said, so they kept it a few more days, rebuffed and re-shot the paint...it then came out very well. I thought it looked great. I could find imperfections but I was keeping in mind you get what you pay for. I have to admit that the ground effects on my '88 TA didn't get the attention they needed, but I wasn't getting the new paint to show the car. This month I just got around to rubbing out my paint job with a cleaner, polish and wax. The cleaner made a little difference and I felt it didn't need the polish after trying it. Maaco recommended a wet sand and buff job for about $350 but I said I would do it myself and considering the car looked that good coming straight out of the shop...it wasn't screaming for one. My package did come with a two year warranty (supposedly for anything)...I did return a couple of times to show the imperfections and the manager was cool and said he would take care of it, no charge. I actually never returned to get it done, but it was good to know that the service at that shop was good. I can see the paint crack on the edge of the hoods and panels, but it looks like it's adhereing pretty well...hopefully it will hold...we'll see. So for $500, it looks good...next paint job time I will spend more. I would go to the Maaco I went to again, but I'm not looking for perfection right now. My suggestion is to go in and speak with the manager about all your concerns so they know up front your expectations and be prepared to leave your car there longer in case you are not happy with it when you check it out before driving it home. Good luck.

daniel91rs

A friend of mine got his truck painted at Macco and it looked like they didn't tape it up or any thing. They kindof just started spraying and hoped that they didn't paint any thing important. iIn the end, everything that should not have been painted was, it looked like crap. But just could have been a bad macco. but you never know.

------------------
91RS 305-k&n,flowmaster, ASCD Supersport hood