I want to get a paint job on my car to either a bright blue or maybe red.. haven't decided yet but I don't want to spend 3 grand on a paint job. Has anyone had it done from Maaco before because people tell me that the paint chips really easily after a yr or two.

Mike

 

no

 

DO NOT GO TO MACCO. THEY DO A TERRIBLE JOB. TE PAINT STARTED TO CHIP ON MY CAR AFTER 2 MONTHS, AND NOW I HAVE MANY MANY CHIPS.

 

Paint on your car is much like anything else....the more you spend the better quality you're going to get. I know that's not always true, but there is a reason places charge less for a paint job... just my 2 cents.

 

MAACO = CHOP SHOP

Go to a good body shop to have your car repainted. 3 Grand sounds about right.

 

You definately get what you pay for with automotive paint jobs. If you are passionate about your car, you will probably not be happy with Maaco. However, it's hard to get a recommendation from this group about Maaco as most are independently owned. A color change at Maaco will probably run about $1000-$1500 to do it well. I have a family member who owns one, so I know. As with any painting it's mostly about the prep work. A custom shop should do extensive prep work and use top quality paint, therefore a better product, but $3000 is about right for a really good color change job.

 

I recently got my Max painted at Maaco. Overall, I am happy with the job they did. I went with the Signature Service with an Ultra urethane clear coat. This service runs about 700, not including the clear coat. At the time the Signature servie was on sale for $539.
The paint is Jaguar Pacific Metallic. I noticed a bit of overspray on the door pillars but they were more than happy to clean it up.
It came with a 4 year National Gloss Warranty which cover fading. This warranty consist of 3 period of coverage, meaning that they will repaint the car for free within the first 24 months, a 25% charge for 25-36 months and 50% for the remainder of the warranty.
I paid a little under $900.
This Maaco is located on Easton Ave in Bethlehem, PA, if you live in the area.

greg

 

got any pics?

 

I'm gearing up to do my own paint job. Frigging one site, wanted $300 for a gallon of paint (OEM Nissan Green). Sigh. I might just change the whole color. If you have all the equipment and right setup, it's not impossible. I've done paint jobs before, so I remember how to do it (including all prep work), but well I'll tell you how it goes (out of practice). The idea is to get everything looking like glass. Requires many coats and sanding. Lots of patience.

 

Well, it's pitch black and raining like hell outside, but I will see what I can do tomorrow.

greg

 

Sorry, I can't post pics so just click the link below to see the painjob. The last pic is a closeup of the Urethane finish, that's my dad's silverado in the backround.

http://www.cardomain.com/id/max97

greg

 

I went shopping around today and ran across this one guy and he told how he charges 5 grand and how that's a great price because as he says Maxima's take some more work to paint that others..... I was like ummmm let me move on to the next place anywayz nice paint job Greg... I'm probably going to get it in from Maaco.

Mike

 

Thanks! I definetly recommend the Signature Series with the Ultra Urethane finish. Great warranty, too.

greg

 

maaco will just do the exterior, you gotta pay the money to have the engine bay and door jams painted too, 4000 bucks for a custom color probably

 

Yah. I paid extra to have all that done. Their rate is $70 an opening. What do you mean by custom color? Something that they don't carry? Because they let you choose any color you want, they have a bunch of thick binders with every color you could imagine, and the paint all costs the same. You must be talking about paint with pearl in it, that costs a pretty penny.

greg

 

your car looks good! and the warranty is good.

I've been thinkin about gettin a paint job, a friends brother ownes a shop and it would be cheap! But if they mess up im kinda screwed. Your safe w/ that warranty. Is that warranty good at all Macco locations or just that one (i kinda move around alot)

 

Yes, the warranty is good anywhere in the States (I'm assuming Alaska and HI, too) Take it to the nearest Maaco and "if that center's inspection of your vehicles reveals warranteed conditions, these will be repaired under the terms of your warranty"
The only problem would be if you moved to Canada or Mexico because of "significant cost differentials."

Hope this helps,
greg

 

what pics are you talkin about next to a silverado. i didnt see sheeeit. i saw two pics of your car and thats it. i thought you said a silver jag paint and im not seeing any car? did you take the pics down or?

 

for 3k you should be able to get a good paint job done. dont go for the maaco thing unless your willing to take chances. I got cheap paint work done about a year ago with processes similar to maaco's and while the work wasnt extremely horrible, my car got keyed a few weeks ago and i was thinking of getting the whole car painted, but the place that is doing it didnt even want to touch the parts that had paint work without stripping everything because the prep and paint process was that bad. so what i saved going cheap didnt save much in the long run

 

macco uses 55 gallon drums of cheep *** enamal with out the proper reducers or care in body work, doesnt adhear correctly and flakes off , chips clearcoat can flake off in spots my 2 cents.

 

THere are 2 pics of the car and one closeup of the finish. In the finish, you can see a Silverado in the reflection.
No, the paint is Jag Pacific Blue Metallic, should'vd been more specific in my first post.

greg

 

I think prep work is the hardest part for Maaco to get right. If you can sand it and mask it yourself, they should be able to spray it and do a decent job at least. People have paint chip because the surface underneath wasn't ready, thats probably most of the reason i think. Of course it still isn't going to look as good as a 3-5k paint job but it should be pretty good still.

 

Grrr so many problems with this, I really want a yellow or blue Max but don't wanna spend 3 grand as that money is going into the turbo I'm buying but I'm bored with my dark green color. Looks so dull so I dunno. If I get a paint job it will probably be from Maaco so what color do you guys think I should go with, yellow or blue?

Mike

 

Blue. I think the 350Z blue sapphire is pretty nice. Yellow on a sedan like the max makes it look like a taxi.

 

They should have 3 or 4 large binders filled with every carmakers stock paint colors they use on their cars. Maaco will definetly not use the exact same paint, but they'll at least match it. Head down there and ask to see them, you can get a lot of ideas that way.

greg

 

If you like potato chips then go to macco cause my car has more chips in it than a bag of Lays. If you do all the prep work your self it might look good. When I got my car painted there I didn't realize that $800 included them painting my exhaust, parts of my headlights and devaluing my car due to the over spray.