Firebird Nation banner

Is Maaco any good for having a car painted?

9K views 20 replies 17 participants last post by  sea dog 
#1 ·
I know that Maaco was terrible years ago....have they improved their painting techniques? Has anyone used them and what did you pay? Thanks
 
#5 ·
man i ad my car painted last year here in TN and payed 550$ for a back paint job and they were suppsoe to fix chip paint on my wing.
they painted for liek 4days and i came and pickd it up. It look real nice and shiny and sparlkles.
after 1 week the paint looked dull and the spots started to come back on my wing.
They told em to wax and it will keep the paint in good shape, i did all of this and the paint still looks the same as t when i brought it in too have it painted.
DONT GO THERE< THEY ARE A RIP OFF AND SUCK!!!!!!
 
#15 ·
im getting my car resprayed, she's Black w/ gold flake. whats the best paint and clear for her?
 
#7 ·
Maaco shops are franchised own. Some shops are good. Some are not. Most of all you get what you pay for. Some do have quality paint work, but you will pay as much for it as you would anywhere else. If you want to use their services, check them out first. Talk to others who have had paint work done by them.

Years ago I had a Mustang painted by a local Maaco. I think that was nearly 10 years ago now. Today that paint still looks pretty good. I don't own the car, but I know the person who does. So, again, it all depends on the shop, and what you are willing to shell out.

This advice applies to all shops by the way.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I think you need to visit a Maaco, because they have those Newspaper specials which really suck IMO. But If you go in they generally offer a more upscale Painting Process, but now your talking a little bit less than what a "REAL" paint shop would want. And when the price starts to climb, I wouldnt be so comfortable spending big bucks with Maaco. I have a buddy with a 71 Monte Carlo which was painted at Maaco. I am going to get pics and show you what it looks like (pretty good last I recall)
 
#9 · (Edited by Moderator)
I checked in to Macco to have my 91 Camaro painted the price was good, but then they took me back into their shop to show me their work. I wasn't impressed. I saw on one car where they primered over pin stripes. When we came back into the office they started the high pressure sales tactics and tried nickel and diming me. If I wanted any dirt specs removed that got into the paint that cost more. If i wanted the car sanded and buffed after painting that cost more. When i didn't come back their regional manager wouldn't leave me alone and kept calling trying to drop the price. I figured if your doing crap work at the higher price then the lower price would be even crappier. Spend a little extra and find a body shop willing to do it for a fair price, you'll be much happier. Also a friend of mine had a camaro painted there years ago and it looked like they painted it with playdo.
 
#11 ·
ya the Macco in my town is not bad, ive seen lost of cars come outta that shop and some of the higher end cars turned out prity good.. but some insurance jobs you could tell it was a quick job..just ask to see some pics of cars they have painted or see some cars in the flesh the work should speak for them selves ..
 
#12 ·
I have heard may things from maaco and trying to think where to start lol. I haven't had any experience from maaco but I can tell ya the cheap paint sucks
! One of my friend's sister had her car painted at maaco and within a few months, paint was chiping off the car and it needed a new paint job. However I heard if you do the body work yourself, prep everything and send it to them a $200 paint job will look fantastic (don't know how true this is). I also heard not only does the paint suck but they use cheap compressors that let off a lot of condensation which is bad for the paint.

Overall, I really think it depends on which maaco you go to and how much you want to spend. I have seen some decent quality paint jobs from there but seen more aweful ones than successful paint jobs
 
#16 ·
Not being funny but with a little learning and I mean little you can do a better job at home in the garage than they will do for you. We get cars that went there and found they didnt even scuff the car good and thats why sheets of paint were coming off once the weather changed. and as stated before yes the dull spots are common too.
 
#18 ·
I had my 76 Chevy G20 400/350turbo shorty van painted by them back in the 90's ... the original paint was the lime green. I asked them if they could color match the original paint.. can't remember if they said yes they can or what but it looked like an olive when they were done. I remember the surprise in the guys voice that worked there when I said it looks good. It looked a lot better to me even though it didn't match the original. I miss that van when I think about it.. but just didn't have time or money to fix her up. She was an awesome machine though. Sold to good hands so that made me feel better.

Not ready to paint my Firebird yet. But don't think it will be Maaco when I do.
 
#19 · (Edited by Moderator)
I had a '72 red Firebird painted by Maaco over 20 years ago. They did a very good job, very shiney, and after a few years or so I sold the car. It's just a guy painting cars for a living, like anything, some are better than others. Fortunately, the Maaco I took my car too had a painter that knew what he was doing. The Maaco part was just the name on the sign on the outside of the building, it was the guy who painted cars inside the building made it a good paint job.
 
#20 · (Edited by Moderator)
I think what matters here is getting what you pay for. The typical lowest tier paint job is scuffing existing paint with steel wool and slaping a coat of 1 stage paint down. Those do NOT last. In Florida, if the vehicle is not garaged or under a car port, they are sun bleached after a year or two, and at year 3 the paint starts flaking off.

The biggest part of any paint job is the prep BEFORE the color coat is laid down. I think that if a vehicle was properly prepared and primed before delivering to Macco, and a 2 stage paint was laid down, cost would be minimal and results would be very nice.

Bottom tier paint jobs are only good for a quick flip. Not something you're going to live with, but certainly something that temporarily increases resale value.
 
#21 ·
When someone offers you a cheap paint job, run away. As Tony pointed out above, the prep is over 90% of a paint job. Cheap paint jobs minimize prep Then there's materials. Just the paint, reducer, primer, etc from a good paint company like DuPont, RM, PPG, etc, for a single stage urethane paint job, will cost you $400 or more. For base coat clear coat add $200 more to paint cost.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top