[woodz428]

Ther was a short lived one here years ago, too, when they were $29.95. I saw one of the jobs and it was as previous posts had described....crappy. They shot over any and everything, including trim,exhaust tips...etc. The $199 price doesn't even come close to the costs of materials when I shoot one, as was stated ...you get what you pay for and if you want a good job that will last, that's not it. Besides the pissy quality of the work theyalso mfg. their own paint from cotton seds I believe. I did see one job that the guy did all the prep work, fill,taping and such and it wasn't too bad, but after all that work shooting it is the fun part

[ April 01, 2003: Message edited by: woodz428 ]</p>

 

[roys63]

If you are looking for a cheape paint job at any of the Lcheapos you must check out their work! to see if they have good spray guy and body man. Check the finished cars on their lot, A Friend of mine has been using Maco for 2+ years with little or no problems!They paint his Cabs cheaper than we can buy the paint for and all are very slick and he asks for the same painter to do his work. So do your home work!

[ April 01, 2003: Message edited by: roys63 ]</p>

 

[Dragon J]

A student of mine went to body school after high school, then applied at Maaco. A station wagon came in for repair in rear quarter. He asked where the body tools and metal were. Shop foreman says- "in the corner" and points to a stack of cardboard boxes. Kid says-"Whatta ya mean?" Foreman says they just cut a section of cardboard box to fit rust hole and bondo over it. I know not all shops would be like this, but he quit the first day. You have to have PRIDE in your work... That's why I do mine myself.

 

[Jackyl]

The old Macco shop around here actually converted into a regular body shop. I had the oppotunity to go to him when he was Macco and the work he did,although it was all bondo was quite good. I have since brought 3 cars back to him for fixing dents or rust and all have held up well. The only comment that he made for getting out of Macco was that the name was killing his business. He was redoing a early 60s Jag the last time I was in there and it looked great.
On the other hand I have a guy who was considered to be one of the best in the area do some body work and the 80 grit sandpaper lines were still there. Paint matched but the job was shoddy at best. They also plugged one of the drain holes on the door now I have rust on the bottom of the door. So it all depends. This time I am not sure who I will have do the painting, if I do not do it myself.

 

[adtkart]

It seems you people are not looking at the large picture. These shops don't pay the same prices for the supplies that you, as individuals do. Earl buys the paints in "off" colors, in that they are not the same shades, or brands for that matter, that you would get. And he buys them in large qunatities. As far as the quality of the work, it depends on where you go. Sure, the cheepo paint jobs at Earls, are not show quality. If you go to one of the local "quality" shops and ask for a "cheepo" job, it won't be show quality either. As far as the MAACO shops are concerned, I have seen quality bodywork from the ones in this area. They are independantly owned and it depends on the owner and his management team what goes out of his shop. The same for independant shops. As an insurance adjuster, I have seen some real garbage that has come out of the shops that the local people thought were "quality" shops. Like has been said a thousand times. YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR. Don't ask for quality work at a cheepo price. It doesn't work that way.

 

[suedespade]

As far as Maaco's go it all depends on who owns it. The one I know of has a very picky owner and he won't let anything go out of the shop that isn't just how it should be. I've heard many horror stories but I've also know that they do good work. The main reason they can get away with such cheap paint jobs is cus they don't run like other shops. Other shops have the bodymen which do only the bodywork and then they have the painters that do all the prepping, masking, painting, unmasking, polishing, etc. Maaco's have the bodymen and then there's the preppers, then there's the masker, then the painter and then the detailer. The bodymen do the body work, the preppers prep, the masker masks, the painter paints and the detailer does the rest. More people all doinig one specific job, makes things ALOT faster and therefore cheaper! But once again, you get what you pay for!! Not many other bodyshops will paint a car where you did your own bodywork. Maaco paints cars and does bodywork to meet customers financial situations. The one I know of does extremely good work and I've trusted my car to them and I was thoroughly satisfied. But if everybody just wants to believe the horror stories then each to his own.

 

[bullheimer]

i think it depends on the dealer but by and large they suck. but this car lot i know used to take them to the canadian maaco all the time and i thought they looked pretty good for a $500 canadian money paint job. he quit going there because they started doing not-so-good jobs every once in a while. if you have a crappy car you want to look better it sure doesnt pay to have a $1000+ paint job put on it, you'ld never get your money back. i took my truck to a place that i saw their work and it was **** . they said they'd paint my truck for $1200 (10 years ago). they had to redo major runs, then i found more after i paid them. a month later i blew sheets off at a car wash. there was no primer under it and when i went back to kill the guy they had closed up and moved out. maaco wooda been ten times better. a spray can wooda bin

 

[Coodeville]

Sheets of paint flying off? I've actually witnessed that myself.

Now I'm no expert......but I can honestly say that the paint I put on my fender in May of 2002 is still sticking. Yes, it was loaded with orange peel. But It has survived 10 months of MYC weather and abuse without coming off. From 20 feet away, you can't see the orangge peel. It's a daily driver that sits on the street and is not a show car. I guess since my paint is sticking, I at least know half of waht I'm doing.

 

[starquest]

I had Maaco spray three of my cars. Two of them were horrible jobs, but the other one was real nice. THey sure know how to ruin all the time you put into good bodywork!

The first was the $199 job and I would say that I got what I paid for. It wasn't bad, never flaked off over 6 years, etc. But it had runs in it, did fade slightly (it was black), and every little piece of cinder that hit the front end put a chip in the paint. So you could imagine how that black paint looked on the front clip after a few winters.

The other two where higher price jobs at Maaco, one was $399 (non-clear) and the other was $460 (w/clear coat). The $399 job was great! They did an excellent job masking the car, cleaning, and prepping. The paint looked real good, never flaked but still did stone chip. I think the reason for this is their body guy had some family problems and didn't show up for work for 2 weeks. I called everyday wondering when my car would be done, so when they finally did get to it, I think they put the extra time in to give me a good paintjob.

The most expensive maaco job was crap. They didn't even clean the car good. I had paint flaking off in only a month around the doors, etc. THe body was prepped good but I just don't think they cleaned the car well before they sprayed it. Plus they got overspray everywhere and i mean everywhere! Again the cidars killed the front end in the winter too.

I would advise to stay away from them, of course. If you find a good managed Maaco shop, then yes it is a good cheap paint job but they generally work very quickly and carelessly and their paint is not of good quality (I don't even know what they use).

kev

 

[badA31]

Got a car painted by the earl of shieb many years ago when I was a kid. The car was white at noon. Had to be green for my date at 7pm. The color I picked cost the earl about 75cents a drum. I think the job involved a pair of roller skates, a sprinkling can and a high speed fan. The chick loved it so much she dropped me for a dude with a barf blue rambler. DAMN I miss those days!!!