Here is my car a few days after it got painted... i had it done at a maaco around here in Baltimore.... only paid $211 for the single stage paint (i did all the prep myself and had the bodywork already done by a frined of mine).... damn good job if you ask me especially for black....

also if you are interested this car is for SALE: $3650 obo MD inspected pm me if youre interested

 

here's another

 

here is the before picture

 

I think most (all?) of them are individually owned. The quality of the product probably depends on the manager/supervisor. I guess you got lucky. I will never put Macco paint on my car, but it's for sure better than some who are driving thirdgens around in primer.

 

Wait a few years...

 

My twin brother had his 84 camaro painted by Maaco too. We did all the prep work and such. Paint looked good out of the booth. Its been near 4 years now and it isn't holding up too well.

I had my firebird painted by a buddy of mine with PPG paint. It still holding on strong.

Here's my bro's camaro:

 

i used to spray PPG paint at the body shop i worked at.... i am selling the car obviously so, i didnt care about quality just price... PPG is great stuff... at least the dual stage stuff, the reason maaco paint doesnt hold up is because its single stage. single stage is cheap to spray but fades very quickly

 

Yeah give it a yr or two. I suspect mine was done at Maaco prolly, paint chips along the edges like the doors for instance. Still , your car looks great though.

 

I have seen Macco job and some came out good once it was cut and polished but the paint does not hold up at all. One thing I have learned over the years with cars is "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I paid $1200 for just the paint and stripes and that was only for the front and back bumper and the hood!

 

I just gotta ssay again, bad azz car you got there.

 

just like everyone else says......typically they don't hold up. i don't like them because they give people a false illusion and i especially don't like people that paint their car there and try to resell it for more than it's worth quoting it has a nice new paint job.

not saying that isn't you because i'm sure your telling everyone it was painted at macco for $211 dollars.

car does look nice in the picture, but pictures don't say anything for paint.......if it does look good in person, and manages to last that way 2-3 years then i'd say its worth it definately.

although at that rate i could have painted my car once a month for the next 6 years..........

:lala:

 

Maaco Analogy of the month:

"Maaco is like playing russian roulette the wrong way.......filling the gun with bullets except for one empty spot.......then firing the gun......"


I guess you made it out alright, they are MANY MANY others who didn't have the same fortune as you.....

 

i went and got an estimate from maaco..all the body work and such...they even charged extra for painting the door jambs...thats about the time i walked away...then about 2 months later they called me and told me i won a raffle....i won a "superior" job...thats dual stage paint and clear coat with rust inhibutor and some other stuff...he said it was about a $1,800 dollar paint job...but since i won it id only have to pay $900

but i still didnt go for it...i should have considering it was there "in and out the door in 2 hours" job....but im have my buddy do all the body work and paint for about 500 bucks..

it doesnt hold up because they dont put clear on the paint

 

I'm about to get the Bonneville painted at the local Maaco.. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

 

I say you get what you pay for.
sure it might look good now, but how will it look in 5 yrs?
biker

 

You got that right. I've seen Maaco painted cars from two different shops and they were completly different. From what I'v seen, you get the best results if you prep the car yourself. Then slip them extra $$ to clearcoat it nice. I've seen $600 Maaco jobs that looked like $2000 professional jobs. And I've seen $800 Maaco jobs that look like cracked out $15 spray paint can jobs. Dont let them prep because they are lazy!! Also, I dont know how long it will last.

 

i was just gettin the car painted to sell, because i bought the 90 IROC and you'd better believe it isnt going to maaco... i just needed the car to be ONE color and i was just saying that i was impressed with their work.... not bragging about the paint at all... single stage paint sucks and its hard to do, its just cheaper and takes less time for shops to do it

 

Well, you did your own prep, so thats a good start. But each Maaco will put out different results. And as Kandied said, pics don't show paint quality at all. Look at pics of my car. Looks great right? But I bet you can't see the dents (1 in each door and one of the roof), the scraped nose, or chips on the rear quarter can you?

But your car looks good for now.

 

[QUOTE]Originally posted by FLYNLOW92rs
Maaco Analogy of the month:

"Maaco is like playing russian roulette the wrong way.......filling the gun with bullets except for one empty spot.......then firing the gun......"


I guess you made it out alright, they are MANY MANY others who didn't have the same fortune as you..... [/QUOTE

Damn I'm one of those people that MAACO SCREWED OVER. They oversprayed almost every single part of my car and if that's not bad enough OTHER PEOPLE KEEP HITTING THE FRONT DRIVER FENDER AND NOT ANY OTHER PART OF THE CAR!!!

 

The reason why Maaco get a bad rep is because most people get a $500 expecting it to look like glass or something and then they get upset that it doesn't look like what they expected.



There are a few Maaco shops that do awesome paint jobs for around 700. Each shop is independently operated. Just because a Maaco in NY does great paint jobs, it doesn't mean the one in LA will produce the same results.

 

yeah you get what you pay for!

 

Maco doesnt use the best paint or the best people. I mean you only payed 210. I'm not saying thats no money, but you get what you pay for. Second I dont imagine that the paint they use if House of kolors or anything like that. And there people are not as skilled as, say a hot rod body shops painters. I have worked on a few cars that had maaco type paint jobs, my experience is that they get the orange peel textue, and dont last very long. But hey if your happy than cool.

 

why ask why...try bud dry

 

My friend did all the work on his 69 and then got it painted at Macco. The paint job was crappy but it looked really good even with it's slight imperfections. He drove it as a daily driver (yellow with black stripes) and for what he paid it was worth it.
Sold the car this summer so within 3 years the paint was still holding up. Yes a few chips but that's to be expected with just about every paint job. He never waxed it, just washed it religiously. Drove it in the rain etc.
My car was painted by macco I'm sure. The paint is coming off the front lip in big pieces from one little crack. They didn't do a good prep job and the primer lifted right off the plastic. Oh well. I'll paint it after this winter but I'll do the prep work and I'll shop around for the best product wiht clear coat.
**** it, I'm just going to strip my car down to the metal and have the damn thing powder coated and baked . I wonder how much that'll cost hehe.

 

I'm not a big fan of the 3 hour prep. If you saw them working on your car you might step up to them and say HEY MAN what R you doing. He would reply me no speaka english.

 

Lets put it this way.. I paid more money just to paint the front end of my RS and the stripes , myself than what Macco charges todo a whole car. On top of that, it took me a week just todo that and I could of spent another week on it easily. The funny thing is, I didnt go over board on paint either (about 50 bucks a quart)

To me right there, went and showed me that if you want a decent paint job you really get what you paid for.

Since I love posting this pic here it is again..



Kat

 

this isn't a macco job i couldent imagine what it cost. the worst part is the passenger side is smashed all to he!! i coulden't get any pics of the wrecked side though

 

bling bling

 

Even if I were just trying to sell a car....I think i'd go to a local shop and get the car painted. My car was painted at Earl Schieb and it was horrible. The wrong shade of silver, no shine, oxidization spots all over the roof, peeling everywhere.

And they painted my car JUST to sell. It pissed me off to say the least.

I think my new paint was about 1,600, and they did a wonderful job. Too bad someone ruined it two months later....the f*cker(pardon me)

 

why does every post on this forum turn into people posting pictures..... especially the guys who say that pictures dont show the quality of a paint job?
i was just sayin my car turned out good for maaco

 

I posted my car for a few reasons,
1. I just got it back a few days ago from getting painted and striped.
2. To show you get what you pay for
3. There is no imperfections on it where it was painted. (Just take my word for it)

I have seen many kids in highschool take there car to macco and I have yet to see one that looks good. I would rather pay the extra money and have it done right and look good. Any person can tell if it is done at macco unless there blind!!!!!!!

 

I don't have the option of taking my car to Macco or Earl Shieb. I don't live any where near one so the local paint shops is where I would have to go.



Of course you always get what you payfor, but sometimes you can get more than what you pay for as well. I think 2k should go you something that looks good.

 

you may not win any high car awards..........but so what, 2k should get you a great street job.

 

I would be satisfied with that. I would have way too much work to do on my car to take it to shows. I like driving my thirdgen in all four seasons. If I'm going to have a car to take to shows, I would like to do it with a vette or something of that caliber.

 

WOW, so you're saying your paint job cost $15,912?
Came out looking great though!

 

See I'd almost rather get a Maaco job every few years instead of get it painted once for $9287938901800 and deal with scratches, dings, and whatever else could happen to it. But I'm not making a trophy-winning show car either.... I just want a decent, solid color, paint job.

Of course I woudn't do their ambassador, I'd get a "higher-end" (whatever that is) job and slip them some extra for extra clearcoats. That's what we did for A.J.'s Protégé... It wasn't perfect but it wasn't thousands of dollars either... I think it ran him 5 hundred or so.

 

And, of course, we did our own prep.

 

I've got a Maaco paint job on my Oldsmoblie. It is far from perfect. When you consider that it only cost $200+some odd dollars (prep included), it was well worth it. It looks alot better than huge chunks of paint peeling back and flying off .

 

I heard from a few people at least in Fresno that there is no difference from the ambassor paint service compared to there supposedly high dollar work!!! I could be wrong but that is what I heard.
I would agree though that you could get a good paint job for $2000. I lucked out. To take my car into hallowell chevrolet which is one of the best dealerships in the state of cali wanted 7000 to repaint my car. I was willing to pay that until my dad said the same guy would do it on the side. I got the hood, front bumper, 2 front side panels, rear bumper and the back of hatch painted and striped for 1200. The rest of the paint is still in good shape and shines like no other exspesially when the guy cut and polished it. In a couple years I will have the rest done and the same guy said he would do it for a couple grand. I saved like 3500 to 4000 dolars!!!!!!!!
I have a friend that had a 69 camaro painted with flames for around 8 to 10 thousand. I will post a pic once he emails me a pic!!! The car has won all kinds of awards!!!!!!!

 

I have a guy around here who has his own paint booth, and man he did my brothers car .. took out ALL of the dents in the car, painted jams and everything for $1300. The lock was broken into on the passenger side too.. I would rather just find an independant person who wants to make some extra cash to do it.. Its better

 

Hey Samdog...your car is beautiful!!! What color/brand is that paint?? That look like the color I've been tryin to find? Is that like a PPG sunset pearl?? Beautiful.


Tim

 

I am not sure what brand it was but I am guessing that it is Dupont??? I dont know if that is the answer you are looking for. The guy that painted my car did it as a side job because that work would of costed me 5 to 7 grand if I took it to hallowell were he works. Instead he painted it on the side so I could save money and he could pocket it all instead of the dealership!!!!! He mixed the paint at Hallowell Chevrolet were he works and they only use Dupont. The name of the color is brilliant red. I am not sure if he used it again becuase he matched the paint as best as he could because the whole car did not get painted just the hood, front bumper, two front side panels and the back of the car. The rest was cut so it would shine like the new paint. Everybody thought the whole car was painted!!!!!!!!!

 

he's totally right. i had a maaco job done in high school, and i prepped it all myself. then i drove 70 miles to a maaco that had gotten a lot of good reviews from people i knew, instead of either of the closer ones that generally did garbage jobs. i went at the very end of the "full service" half price sale. i was about $250 for the base cost plus i made a deal with the manager for an extra $50 for a double clearcoat (i watched). i ended up having to sell that car after a year, but i used to run into the guy i sold it to and it still looked very good 4 years later, until he ran it into a tree....

so, shop around before you use a maaco. they're not created equal. and absolutely get the clear coat.

 

The dealer I work for sells parts to two Maaco's. One does the worst work I've ever seen, and the other can't be beat for the money. I'm not talking about the ambassador service, but the $800 - $900 jobs. A $900 dollar job at the good one compares well with a $2500 job elsewhere. It isn't as good, since the paint is not of PPG or Dupont quality. But it is close enough to make the $1500+ difference something to consider.

 

pretty much all the points have been made, so dont really need to repeat any of them

all of them are valid points.......both my cars are street cars.......i dont have time to enter any car shows............besides show cars don't go fast

i have much better things to save $5000 for, rather spending it on a 3rd gen's paintjob

a 67 427 tri-power corvette........i certainly wouldnt take that to maaco

but a street/race car.........to me they dont need a $5000 paint job

pretty much for reasons listed above

i'd rather spend my money on speed parts
i'd feel horrible after getting bumped with a car door
i honestly don't have that kinda money to spend
the maaco's around here do a decent job

:shrugs:

 

oh yeah, after i got my one car painted at maaco, some a-hole keyed my drivers side rear quarter

go figure heh

 

i got my car painted at a local maaco around here. I had them do all the body work and prep, and had them do the paint job too. Came to about $1000 for making a car that look like it was from a salvage yard to a pretty nice looking firebird. The texture looks a little "golf bally". but, i inspected the car after each step, after demanding that i could. Came out very nice. You can't expect that much from maaco, they do a good job for the money though. If i went to another shop. they said $4000 for just body work on my car!!! I'm only 17, i don't have that money. If i was going to pay that much, i may as well got another car. I bought my car for $300 (runs perfect), and $1000 of body/paint. $1300 for a nice looking/ nice running car. thanks to maaco.

 

No need. IN 6 months he'll see why it cost $200.

When I painted my GTA, materials alone cost me over a grand. I can't even imagine what quality products you get for $200 including labor.

 

I'm in the business, and was once told by a Maaco franchise owner that the average materials cost...which would include paint, primer, sandpaper, tape, masking paper, etc...was less than $50. No surprise there. What DID surprise me is that the average Maaco bill was over $800...so much for $200 paint jobs. I'd use them on a beater, or a car I was going to sell, or to get me by til I could do a quality job, but thats it. Doing prep yourself eliminates a lot of the problems, but the paint quality you can't help. If I was ever going to buy a franchise, though, it would be Maaco...they're good at what they do best, which is making high profits for the owner. Fortunately I don't have to worry about paint...I have 24 hr access to several paint booths, and free materials from two of the best paint companies in the business!

 

Don't even really need to wait. Just look at the reflection in the second picture. Instead of a sharp reflection of trees, you have a wavy repetitious smear of the general fauna.