Has anybody ever got a base-coat clear-coat job done from Maaco? If so, what was the quality of it? I have an 84-Z that is getting fresh paint this week.

most people say they do very bad work and the paint only lasts about a year before peeling off. thats probably why the price is so cheap.

Most of what you hear about them is not totally true. If you get the cheapest paint job and dont pay to have it prepped you have to expect poor results. Maaco is not bad and one of the only places who does general painting. Most body shops dont want anything to do with painting cars.

I think you're on to something. I prepped it myself and then I paid them a good amount of money to get the body and primer PERFECT and to tack before they paint it. Generally, most people go for a cheaper job, but when you go base/clear, it's hard to imagine that a Maaco base/clear job would vary THAT MUCH from another typical base/clear job.

just make sure you specify to have them mask the car off.
a HS friend of mine had his civic painted black at maaco (originally telletubby purple)
they painted the car fine, but also painted the headlights, wheels, tires, windshield, and emblems black too

Yea, they sound like a bunch of idiots. I definitely will.

its just a matter of paying for it. they are perfectly competent for all i know, just wont give you anything for free

It really depends on what kind of maaco you have close to you. The one right down the road from my house takes alot of pride in their work. I did the striping on my car and took it to them to do all the body work i could afford and then they primed the car. I saved up enough money to get the base / clear combo and i think they did a GREAT job on it. Most of the time they will have cars on the lot they have finished painting, take a look at them and see what you think. Here is my car after they finished with it, see what you think.

I don't know what package he payed for, but he had them paint an 80 Trans Am Indy pace car white. He told me that he took off the nascar decal on the back for some reason the paint came up with it. this was a long time ago but I wouldn't get my car done there.

if the car just needs a scuff and spray,go for it.but dont drop off a rat of a car and expect a show car when you get back.its all in the prep work,and thats what gets expensive.they go over that with you when they give an estimate and do a walk around.there paint comes out pretty good,its about whats under it.

Macco = 50 foot+ pint job. Any closre & they look like crap because...Well, THEY ARE CRAP!

I paid (kinda) over $2000 for a complete color change, including the door jambs, a set of full length stripes, the stock door handles cut out & C/K door handles welded in.

The entire bottom has a paint run, like either al the color coat ran, or the clear ran EVERYWHERE. I never rushed them 1 single bit. "Take your time, whatever time you need. I'm in NO rush. Rather it take 2 months & be right, than get in back in a week and be junk."

Well....I got junk anyways, despite the waiting.

Fortunately, I never finished paying them. They let me have it for partial payment, with the rest to be pain later. I never finished paying, due to the back quality of work & "Pay us the rest, drop it back off, then we'll fix it." Had I given it back, I never woulda seen it again, without a lawyer getting involved.

Macco BLOWS!!!!!!!!

that has to do with who works there........... there paint is no worse than any other body shop.

DONT GET ME WRONG ,IM NOT DEFENDING THEM.


ive run the paint on on my own car........... i hate runs..............

Well...The do use a lower quality paint that other shops, but a even a good painter could use it.

It is their lack of good work, that makes them a bad choice. Good paint jobs are 90% prep. Which I can assure they, they didn't do well. The paint run was just what stood out FIRST. After a little time, it just got worse from there.

I did my first paint job, came out good. maaco is crap. Good lighting and patience will help. http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/bo...nts-first.html (Martin Senour Paints/First Paint Job !!!!)
Since everyone has that stripe im doing it over in a week or so. Ill post, just practice on a fender

Going to Maaco is like going to any fast food joint. Some of them make the food good others dont really care what there work looks like. The maaco in my town gets alot of referrals from a body shop that does TONS of work. They probably get 80% of there business from him so if they screw up they know he wont send any more work there way. I have met a few people that got stuff painted by them and they were satisfied for what they paid for. For me if i go there then im gonna do all the prep work myself and just leave the window taping up to them.

SOme are good some aren't go to one that you have heard good things and prep it all yourself. I have and so far so good, but they also fisheyed my paint dripped my quarter panel and improperly sprayed my passenger side door causing it to appear dry. Looks good unless your like me and study the car till no end.

If you have the equipment do it yourself.

they are a franchise , just like burgerking , waffle house , radio shack , on & on . it all depends on your local shop . if you go super cheap , you will get super cheap . talk to them , tell them what you want , what prep you will do . remove headlites , park lites , tail lites can only be a plus . GFX would also be good as would grill . good luck .

Why do you pick it up if it has runs and you are not satisfied? I have had 2 cars painted at MAACO. One I picked up day one, the other I went back 3 times. I refused to take it off the lot till it was done right or I would not pay for it. When I finally took it home it looked great. 3 years later when I waxed it (daughters car) it still looked great. Dont accept half assed, they dont know unless you say something.

I agree. Depends on the location. The paint is good except mine faded a couple shades after being in the sun a couple of months. Don't like that there's no clearcoat because gravel chips it easier. But investigate your paint job thoroughly. every inch of the car and just send it back if you have problems. wish i had. just drove it off and found a lot of flaws later on that ticked me off.

Dont do it...Save your money get it done right by a shop that has a reputation for doing quality work...I wish I wouldn't have cheap-ed out...look for a shop that dose classic restorations

well after kknowing a paint and body shop family(family run buisness from father to son) it is who they hire. they hire unqualified people and then slightly train them. that is why the paint jobs are not usually top notch

I think it all depends on the shop. There is one in the city that specializes in bullet holes. 5 miles up one street is a little better location, 5 miles the other way is a really top notch location. They matched my paint for my rear bumper and painted flawlessly.

When i bought my 47K mi 88 ta a couple of yrs ago it was meant to be a daily driver summer and winter. Original paint was alittle rough but didn't want to spend more than a few hundred $ or take time to do it myself. I knew going in that maaco wasn't going to be a show paint job but it is way better than what was on it. I pulled all the black trim i could as i knew there would be alot of overspray and it would eliminate alot of tape line. I think for the price i payed($300-400) it was worth it. If it's meant to be a clean DD nothing wrong with them for sure.

I had the base $250 paint job from maaco done on my Integra.

I did all the prep work.


Before (when I got the car)






After (also wetsand and buff the car myself )





you can get them to do a good paint job but you have to be willing to do the good prep work.

Mate it's simple "Ya Get What Ya Pay For"!!!!!!!!!!! you pay sweet FA ya get it!!!!!!!

NO DO NOT HAVE MAACO DO YOUR PAINT JOB!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'm a fair-minded guy. I always see both sides of the story. But in my dealings with Maaco, and how they royally screwed up the base-clear job they did on my Camaro, I would NEVER suggest them again. The story is too long to explain, but take my word for it.

I've had 3 jobs done at Maaco and all 3 have been **** jobs.

My most recent was an $1800 base-clear job, and they tried to let me take it home with a streak in the clear that ran from my right fender ALL the way around the car to the left fender.

This is indicative of class, and they have none of it.

They are not competent. They are the epitome a business seeking to maximize their profits and cut their costs, while not taking into consideration, one bit, the ramifications of their actions on customers' willingness to come back and do business with them AGAIN.

I'll never go to Maaco again. Maybe it's a good deal for a cheapo paint job just to put on something, but if you want a good base-clear job done, never go there.

Find a reputable shop in your town. Ask around, try to find someone who had a car painted by them. DO NOT go to Maaco. You might as well call them crapco, because that is all you will get. I dont even think I would let them paint a demo derby car.

A friend of mine just happens to be a professional auto body man and painter that was working at a high end shop. Even with getting what I felt was a really good price(and me helping were I could) for a base/clear using only the best PPG brand had to offer it ran a little over 3,000.00. Trust me you don't want to skimp on prep.and paint.This is what I ended up with. = http://www.thirdgen.org/techboard/bo...nt-photos.html (Prep. to paint photos)

"It really depends on what kind of maaco you have close to you."

I have to agree with that and what others have posted in the same vein. Not all Maaco shops are created equal. Some are quite good but you will have to pay for the "extra" work. If you want their "slam bam thank you ma'am" paint job you can get that to.

So the answer is "it depends".

I whole-heartedly agree with this. I had Maaco paint my car two years ago. I got the presidential service; which is the single stage urethane. I paid $950 to have it done. My overall experience was good. My recommendations are to talk with the owner, be very specific what you want, mark the areas that need special attention. And most importantly, SHOP AROUND first. For another $300 I could've went to a very reputable shop and received twice the quality paint job.

It's only a few more dollars to fly in first class. Remember that!

mine has been painted now for 5 years by MAACO


but i did have mine completely gutted...less taping less screw-ups

paint is still holding great....a few scratches now...so looking at doing it again

My car was repainted the original blue colour by maaco... It has some rust coming through after 2 years but I cant judge that because the P.O did the prep work, and he really did'nt seem to know exactly what he was doing Ill be sanding it down sometime and touch-up painting it because its only two tiny bubbles on the rear quarter and a tiny bit under the door.

Theres some orange peel (who cares?) and a lot of overspray on chrome window trim and engine bay, but if it was the right price I would consider getting it redone sometime in the future by them, but I would definatilly trailor it in and do ALL the taping. Its still not horrible though.

What i have seen and heard is that if you pay for the time to be spent on the car they can do quality prep and paint work! The problem comes in the paint they use. Its where they cut the cost courner. Its not good quality. And the cheap jobs they advertise are a simple scuff and shoot with basic tape offs. So yes you will get overspray all over and get body color door handles and they wont bend over to get smooth paint on the lower half of the car. But pay or tip them to take their time and they can do it. Prep the car yourself and tape it up or remove all headlights, taillights, door handles, good rims and tires. It can LOOK good, but still the paint wont last unless you keep the car in a garage!

I had my local MAACO do mine for 1500 but that included mounting a replacement fender. It turned out ok but I did strip off everything including emblems and all the lights. I think for a driver you cant beat it but you better check their work first, I've seen some horror paint jobs from them.

You get what you pay... these cheap paint jobs are suppose to last you 2-5 years depending on how you maintain the paint job... when I get my bird ready for paint, I think I will jump in and do the prep work myself, sand the entire car down, not sure how far though... I don't have any rust as it is garaged... but I will inquire about a 5-10 year guaranteed paint job, backed by a warranty... I will shop around and see what 1K can get me..

Here is my 85 Z that I had painted at Maaco a few months ago. I paid $ 320 for the paint job, that included tax and everything. I did all thep prep work, so all thay had to do was paint it. I think it looks great. There are no runs, so it came out good. They matched the factory medium gray color perfect.


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I had a pick up painted in Ft-Worth about 18 years ago by them it costed me $279.00 + tax. I did the prep work (wax remover, wet sanding, removal of chrome, grill, taillights, etc) so I though when I got it back the side windows were scratched from an orbital sander and the taping was the sux, and saw sanding swirl marks from a heavy grit sand paper. My vote is to avoid them but if you don't know anyone ask around. They may be OK in your neighborhood, I just personally don't like them cause they basically told me to screw off, and took my pride and joy of a first vehicle and made it look like a pile-o-poo.

I've had two Camaros (not my current one) painted by Maaco and both turned out looking great. Each shop is different. Check out their work before you bring your car to them.

I use to work for them i wouldn't let them paint my lawn mower.There idea of sanding was a red 3m scrub pad and the paint used was 8 bucks a gallon at napa.The paint only came in 8 colors we mixed it for anything else.

Hence the phrase you get what you pay for... I you just can't paint and want a budget paint job... do your own prep work and take your own paint. Change to junk wheels... take off everything you don't want painted and if you can do it, be there and tape the car up. Tip the guy to bend over and be sure the paint gets done right on the lower panels. If they use suits and paint in a booth and keep the trash out, its beeter then you can do in your garage... heck they paint enough cars they should be able to knock out a decent job with the right materials.

There painter test was could you fill the gun and spray with it no real training to it.I got asked my first day what odd tools are these,It was my body dollies and spoons.If you do the prep and let them shoot it should be ok for a daily driver.But for a show car finish look else where.

seriously though, that story about them painting the windsheild and the lights is just plain stupid. anyone in their right mind and had any kind of respect for any of their work and the property of others would realise, that you do not paint lights, wheels, tires, and especially not a windsheild. how the hell do these people sleep at night knowing they are ripping guys off like that.