y sleep

My car was keyed on three sides so badly that the insurance estimate was over $2,000. I was given a check minus deductible to cover the repair. So this misfortune meant that I was given enough money to consider having the whole car repainted. This was fortunate since I had several small scratches accumulted over the years (2000 SE, super black). I had been actually thinking about getting the whole car painted anyway before it got keyed. I took in to a neighborhood Maaco (Mountain view, CA) and they agreed to paint the car with their top line "signature service" and a door dent (not a ding) for the original insurance estimate. They said that their clear coat was better quality than the original Nissan stuff. So I am thinking this is preaty good since the car paint easily chips. I used this shop in the past to fix some small stuff on other cars in the past. They showed me some of the other cars they painted and difference between their "signature" jobs and the other cheaper jobs they do. Good enough I thought and I dropped off my car.
Now I am reading horror stories on this forum about Maaco and on the web. They are franchised owned so quality varies between sites. All the complaints I read about on the forum were for their cheaper urethane only or ambassador services. Anybody have experience with the signature service or is this all marketing crap? I am supposed to get the car back this Tuesday. I stopped by today to speak to the manager about all this bad press and he said that it did not apply to their particular shop. I also saw them removing the old paint from my car (kinda of like watching surgery on a relative).
Any thoughts?
y

Zero Deuce SE

Why do you think that Nssan's clearcoat is inferior? Do you actually believe that Maaco's clearcoat will not chip under the same conditions as the OEM clearcoat? I personally think that Nissan's paint is high quality. I had my 92 Se for nearly 10 years and the clearcoat still looked as good as the day I bought it. My 02 SE clearcoat is 2 years old and still looks new. A good quality paint job will cost anywhere from $1800 and up. If you are not sure of Maaco's work, check out some collision repair shops in your area. They usually do good paint work.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

not saying Maaco is good or bad - no idea...but are you kidding me that you think Nissan's paint is "high quality?"!!!!! Don't know about other Nissans, but the paint on my 2k black Max has twice as many chips after 35,000 miles than my 92 black Accord had after 180,000 miles! There are a million threads on here about inferior Nissan paint, at least on what seems like alot of Maximas....I could spray paint my car and the paint would look better than it does now...

y sleep

The forum has had many complaints about the paint on the 00 model year. I understand that 92 may have been much better. I am glad to see you feel Nissan paint is high quality. That was not my impression from other posts on this forum. I hope things have improved in the 2002 and newer models. I have no reason to believe anything I was told at Maaco was true or not. This is why I posted the question. Thank you for your reply.

gsumax

iTrader: (2)

maaco's economy paint really sucks, but since u got their top of the line it should look just fine. The final outcome though really depends on whos painting your car, and how skilled he is. It really does matter from place to place, one Maaco's could be terrible whereas another one has good painters. Just hope you got a guy who puts the paint on exactly even, cause on a black car you can see if there is more coats on one part of the car opposed to the other.

Zero Deuce SE

I can only speak for the Nissan paint that I have on the ones that I have owned. I do think it's high quality paint. I have seen other cars like Accords with faded paint with way less that 180,000 miles. Regardless of how many threads are on here about paint, if every single owner of a Nissan vehicle complained about it, that would mean a lot more than a few dissatisfied owners. I saw what happened to your paint on your ski trip. It could have happened to other makes as well.

Y2KMaxGXE-R

iTrader: (4)

I would not trust my car to some MAACO. There is a way for you to protect yourself though: have the insurance company pay directly the bodyshop. That way, if you are not satisifed, you just don't sign anything and let them redo the job until its doen right, and also, the job will be under wtty as long as you stay w/same insurance co.

Zero Deuce SE

You're welcome. I have seen threads regarding the quality of Nissan paint. I believe that some people have bad paint on their cars. The main point that I was making was that all cured basecoat/clearcoat paint will chip when a hard object impacts it. I don't say that Nissan's paint is perfect. I just believe that the ones I have or previously owned, had good clearcoat on them. You can see a pic of my 92 on my webpage.

y sleep

Thanks, that is how we are doing it. The check requires both shop's and my signature to be good.

DrVolkl

Maaco?! Whoa...two wrongs don't make a right..

Maaco is known for basically taping off everything and just shooting the car...not really getting into the nooks and crannies, not take out the windows, lights, etc etc. When it comes to paint jobs, you tend to get what you pay for. As long as you're not changing colors, you'll probably be ok with it...just be prepared for some orange peel, etc etc.

As for nissan quality paint....well, it's not so much that it's bad quality, just really THIN. You can't compare the older cars because they were probably using a different process back then.

soundmike

iTrader: (24)

Bingo!

y sleep

I never have had to deal with re-painting an entire car before. So this week was the first time I ever heard about "orange peel" in this context. The shop manager spoke of and showed me orange peel on some of the cars they painted cheaply but said it would not happen with their top of the line paint job. We will see what happens. I started the week looking forward to seeing my newly painted car but now I am getting anxious. What the hell, maybe I just found an excuse to buy a new car! I actually planned on keeping this car a couple more years. It's been a great ride.

Nyc2kMax

I know about the urethane only and ambassador services my friend got the ambassador service. He repainted his 93 325i bmw from black to silver and it was a horrilbe how the paint was cracking after a couple of months so watch out.... anyway black is a base color and hope you have better luck with them......

Triple8Sol

iTrader: (29)

Nissan paint sucks on 5th and 6th gens...


I will NEVER take my car to Maaco...

2k2kev

You already dropped the car off and you already watched them take some paint off, so why ask now??

Kinda late, isn't it??

itdood

Like ya said, you get what you pay for. A "partial" disassembly, with windows, trim, and lights removed will run $8,000+, that's assuming no body work at all. Go to the next level, bare metal respray, and you hit 12K - 15k +. That's not macco's gig, they cater to lower budget folks and make repainting cars attainable for most budgets, but again, you get what you pay for.

If you're not too picky, a 2k job w/tape will look good. If you're picky, it's going to be jiffig = "GFF FFG" (good from far, far from good). Kinda similar to "butter face". It's all relative.

asu174

iTrader: (11)

Maaco actually did a good job on one of my old cars with their high quality paint. Actually, it was the best paint job on a post-accident car I have ever seen.....

y sleep

Wow over 12 responses in less than 6 hours. Thanks. This forum is great. Maybe I screwed up with Maaco but in the end having a warrantied paint might be better than my current non-warrantied paint. The car had been getting small paint chips since day one so it eventually needed painting. I suspect I will not be last person with a 5th gen getting the car re-painted.

FanaticMadMax

I SECOND THAT!!!!

hotrod37

YOu got that right, the going rate for a good quality paint job with partial disassembly here in the northeast is about 6,000 to 8,000. The cost of the paint is really not an issue when painting a car. All of the money is in the prep work of the car before the painting and the color sanding and buffing of the paint after painting. Most high quality shops will spend no less than 40 hours of work on the paint After it is been painted. A good quality paint job is an art and not one that Macco is skilled at.

PearlWhtMaX2000

iTrader: (5)

im actually getting my car repaionted because of the body kit, its running me $4800!!!

y sleep

Thanks for the education.It really is all relative. 12-15K to paint a car is more than the car's street value at this time. Even $8,000 is not worth since if it looks too good some jealous jerk might key it again at the local mall. I'll keep my money in the bank. From my point of view it will have to be GFI BTB (good from inside, better than before).

KLOOGY

iTrader: (12)

I dont how much better to say this but, MAACO SUCKS MONKEY ***** ! .... I took a car to them 10 years ago, and they used that " top of the line " crap on me. It lasted 1 year , and then the car looked like a.s.s. ! Thats funny they say THEIR clearcoat is better ...........they are a bring them in, crank them out paint facility. Thats a place to take an 89 Tercel to , not a Maxima.....PLEASE dont take it there. You will regret it.

Weasel

iTrader: (2)

Run away and never look back. I'm sure someone in your regional forum knows a real body shop.

wild willy

iTrader: (10)

Nissan's paint sucks..Bottom line

Zero Deuce SE

Does it peel from the bumper or roof?
http://consumeraffairs.com/automotive/honda_paint.html

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

charliekilo, you got mad love for your paint!

Anyhow...I almost feel like it's a major problem on the 2k's more than others....I parked next to a 2k2 black max today and his paint was in very good condition while mine looks like a s s....maybe after 2k they got smart and put on a thicker coat...who knows. All I can speak for is my own car...Also, for those of us with black cars, the chips are FAR more noticeable than those of you with lighter-colored (Tungsten blue, for instance) cars....On mine, you can see chips from several feet away...on yours you would probably have to look pretty close, since the undercoating is a light gray that would blend with your light paint color from farther away...

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

also...looks like you have a bra, so that would help out with all the many hood and front bumper chips, obviously.....and you don't have to deal with salt and sand all over the roads in the winter, being in Florida as you are....

Zero Deuce SE

Yes, I do irish. I agree with your assesment of the paint on the 2k. I agree with your other post about the sand and salt as well. I just put a ding in my left rear door this evening. I was fumbling with my keys and a glass bowl and the bowl fell from my hands. I pinned it between my hands and the door as it was falling. I was thinking that I scraped the paint off. When I got home and looked at it in the light, there was no damage to the paint and there is a little ding like the ones you get in parking lots. It could have been much worse though. I've had the car for two years now and that's my first ding. At least I know who did it.

irish44j

iTrader: (38)

I wonder if I could just get a rust-colored car...then all the chips would just blend in and I woudln't have to worry about it....

Or even better, I rent a sandblasting machine and stand 5 feet away and blast the whole car so it has chips all over the place.....then I throw a clearcoat on top of it and tell everyone either:

1. It's modern art
2. it's the "new thing" in car paint styles
3. My maxima just got back from Iraq, where it was involved inthe taking of Baghdad
4. it's really a 4wd maxima and I go off-roading alot
5. you must need your eyes checked....there are no scratches or chips in my paint?!?!?!?!

can you hear my bitterness coming through my crude attempt at humor?

wild willy

iTrader: (10)

That is some bad shiat....I have an 04 Odyssey and the paint quality blows my altima away. The alti chips if you look at it wrong..Honda paint is much more durable now a days. I actually have dirt and runds in my nissan factory paint,


I dad to actually break off a drip from the wheel well when i got the car...WTF is that??

2k3TitaniumSe

iTrader: (3)

Maaco does a bad job...On my friend's car, it was cracking like in 3 months...I wouldn't go for Maaco on a maxima.

Driven EF9

a lot of responses, few from people with first hand experience.

Maaco, best thing to do is, prep the car yourself. the problem with a lot of 1 day type paint places is, all they do is sand blast the car then paint it.

If you actually spend some time sanding the old paint down, primering the car, then take it to Maaco for a $300 paintjob, it'll look good and it should last for awhile. You could always go to another paintshop and ask them to spray a few coats of clearcoat on the paint.

Another thing to do is, take whatever you can off the car. Side markers, headlamps, antenna, etc. This will reduce the bad taping/overspray issue that is notorious.

I used maaco twice now. One time, i had some runs on the paint. I called them to have them fix it...but, i crashed my car prior to getting it fixed.

The second time, I still have it and the only problems I saw was overspray and bad taping.


here are some pictures:

This was maybe 2-3 months after. Ignore the front bumper, as it was involved in an on track incident. Painted in 2001.


A year after the paint.


Taking August of 2003

There is a handful of paint chips on the doors and front bumper/hood, but, I do race the car and it endures a bit more abuse than a normal car.



I'm happy with it, if anything is wrong with the paintjob, talk to them about it.

JdoubleOe703

iTrader: (6)

find out what brand paint they are using as well as the clear coat, ppg, house of colors, and dupont are good....

HSVMaxima

iTrader: (1)

Have you gotten your car back yet?

looslip

iTrader: (3)

All I know is that modern paint is shizer. My front bumper has more pock marks than a 16 year old's face working at McDonalds. I plan to redo the whole front myself in the future. Thank god I put a clear bra on before the hood got really bad. Hopefully I can afford the Maxxtunning lip and just paint it all myself. I'd drop some duckets to get a quality clearcoat. How much is Maaco charging you?

2k1seae

iTrader: (1)

If you have a warranty with your Maaco paint job and you are not satisified with it, make 'em fix it. The repair on mine is not Maaco, but it does have a warranty for as long as I own the car. Good luck. FYI, I talked with a friend that runs a body shop and he said that today's paints aren't as good because they have taken the lead out of the paint. The lead was a hardener and the hardeners they use today are not as effective. Just passing on what I was told - FWIW.

Skier

iTrader: (1)

DO NOT GO TO MAACO! I had my Altima done a few years back. Mega overspray! Clearcoat is so delicate that the front end might look good for a mont. DO NOT DO IT!

y sleep

They painted the car but when they finsihed they found a paint run and decided to redo the car before I even saw it. I am supposed to pick it up this afternoon. From most folks opinion I will live to regret taking it to Maaco. I am gald they took it upon themselves to redo the job so somebody is paying some attention. Today I will ask what brand paint they used. If the paint only last 3 or 4 years I guess I will be lucky. It is under warranty so if it looks bad after a few months I wil deal with it. I will try to show it some local board member or a local meet. I an anxious to get my car back. It can't be worse than when I dropped it off. It had lots of small scratches.
y lose

y sleep

Thanks to all of you that replied. Let the "I told you so"s begin. The car was delayed in being finished by a few days. I rushed over to pick it up at the end of the day and needed my car to go pick up my kids right away. The car was ready but it had orange peel texture on it. The guy at the shop says that always happens unless I requested it to be "cut and buffed". WTF? So I speak to the mangager and told him that he had said the car would not have the orange peel and would look like another black car he had shown me when I first spoke to him. He said that car he had shown me was "cut and buffed" and that I had not told them to do it to my car. Doing this extra step would cost $495 and take 1.5 to 2 days. He said then the car would then look like a "show car". He said he had talked to me about this when I first spoke to him about painting my car. Clearly this was not my impression. He said they could do the cut and buff later on if I wanted it done. I left with my car more than annoyed, I don't remember ever being told anything about a cut and buff job. They did paint it with a hard base and a second layer of clear coat. They said the paint brand was Sherman Williams 2 step (sp?), and they fixed the small dents in the body. As I drove home annoyed I kept debating with myself if I should just pay the $495 and get the job done right. When I went to pick up my 8 yo daughter she spontaneously said when she saw the car and ran her hand over it, "It's smooth and shiny". I told her gruffily "It's not perfect". and she replied, "It's smooth and shiny and it looks better than before. That is all that counts." I smiled and thought that kid has more common sense than I do. I should put $495 in an account for her and give it to her when she is older and tell her she made me smile when I was angry.
So have any of you heard of "cutting and buffing" a clear coat paint job and does it cost that much? Is this all BS and I should never go back. Tomorrow I will take a closer look at the car in daylight. BTW somebody there programed a different radio station into my radio memory which is a minor detail but also annoying.