Has anyone ever had their car painted by Maaco? If so, how does it last? I've heard the paint starts to wear off after a little while. And at that, how is it fresh? Pricing?

 

We had our 89 celica painted there with their most expensive plan. It ended up being around 800-900 bucks.

The problem with Maaco is their 1 stage paint job. Factory painted cars are 2 stage job where they apply a base coat then a clear coat on top.

If you pay extra at Maaco, they actually mix both clearcoat and basecoat into one and apply it. We got their Gunmetal Pearl color which was really good actually. Only problem is the paint starts to chip off after a while. Our paintjob came with a 5 year warranty plan so we just take it in and get it touched up if there's any problems. We had that paint chipping problem only a couple of times and it wasn't that noticable.

You need to realize that you have to pay extra if you decide to get places like your door jambs painted as well.

Good luck.

 

Right on the money, except that the combined base and clear is actually still a single stage acrylic enamel or urethane enamel with an integrated clear mixed 50/50 with the paint on the last coat. It still gives the gloss of a true base/clear job for less money, but must still be treated as a single stage. If you want a solid color it'll be fine, if it's metallic that's fine as well except that you cannot wetsand and polish the finish because you'll disturb the metallics. Whereas you can with proper clearcoat because the clear is just that, with no color mixed with it.

 

Shop around.

I paid $800 to have all the dents in my car repaired and the whole vehicle repainted (same color, so no door jambs or engine bay work). He used custom mixed, two stage paint. Actually there were about 5 coats of color and 6 coats of clear applied. Then the car was hand sanded and polished.

Skip the chains and find a local reputable business to deal with.

 

good lord, what a deal.

 

That is a good deal. Did you get that at just a local body shop?

 

Its in Alabama. They don't have any laws or regulations so it's much cheaper. HEHEHE

 

Yes.

It's Alabama, we hardly have any laws, or indoor plumbing, to complicate things

 

I had Maaco paint my bumper. Then I had to return when I realized there was overspray all over the car. It was bloody everywhere! When I couldn't get the shop owner to confess (he said things like "it was already there"), I went to the head office and had a rep roll up his sleeves and clay bar every last drop.
I will never go to Maaco again. Then again, it's probably unfair to spank the whole chain. I'm guessing there a few good ones out there.

 

A couple of my friends have had bad experiences with Maaco with the paint chipping early and overspray, etc... You are better off finding a reputable local shop and getting it done right

 

Find a good local paint shop. Remember, you will get what you pay for.

 

Most of the time...anyway.

 

My cousin works for Macco and said he wouldn't go there. He does all my painting needs in his garage. He is very **** about his work (which I like of course) and said they suck.