well i went and got a price quote from Maaco for my paint job today, and they said.........$1504! i was NOT expecting that. i'm definitely going to alot of other places to get different quotes. my body is completely straight, and needs no work, but they said it would be $705 before they even started painting to get everything ready, and then $799 for the paint. and this isn't even a top notch place. here's the rundown of how much it all cost. give me your thoughts, whether you agree with them or think i should definitely go somewhere else:

2 door jambs - $150
color change - $100 (i have red w/ black stripes, and i'm getting black w/ red stripes)
stripes - $350
reblack the headlight pockets - $30
machine the deck lid - $30
remove old stripes - $45

buying the paint - $799

grand total = $1504


the $350 they charged for the stripes wasn't for paint for the stripes, it's just a charge they issue because i'm getting stripes


so what do yall think. it seems like they're trying to charge me some crazy amounts of money for really doing nothing. wouldn't sanding the car INCLUDE taking off the stripes? and wouldn't painting the car INCLUDE reblacking the headlight pockets? and i dont think there should be the stripe charge should be anywhere near $350!

well tell me your thoughts....

 

now I'm going to ask....why would you ever let maaco touch your car anyway?

 

lol...so i take it maaco has a bad rep? i've never known anyone that went there so i don't know the quality of their work......it was just the closest place on my way home from work today so i checked it out

but that's besides the point...is $1504 a normal price or are they trying to charge me for stupid s***? if they've got a bad rep, i won't take it there, but still, i need to know what price i should expect to pay

 

Trust me, you don't want Maaco. Although they have good commercials, if you ever walk in there where they paint, it's a dirty area and that's a bad thing when you're painting cars. You need to have a perfectly clean are to paint in so nothin blows up on your car and gets in the paint. Plus, I can probably say that 799 for Maaco paint is bs. Unless it's a high quality paint, but mostly they'll just use the same old stuff they use for other beatnick cars. If you want a good paint job, I would go around your area and check out some local places. They definitely need the business and they'll do a good job so you can tell your friends, bringing them more business. Maaco could care less if your stuff chips after the first year. You will end up paying a little more if you're getting a total color change like that. The local place I'm getting my car repainted is actually gonna tear off all my seals (windshield, t-tops, hatch, doors, etc.) so it looks cleaner along the edges and their painting area is immaculate. There's no dirt or anything in there. They even use huge suits you'd see at like computer companies, hehe. Hope this helps.

 

alright i'm gonna check out some local places tommorow.....it's too damn busy around town now w/ everybody gettin off work. it takes me 10 min. to get to work at 3am in the morning, cause nobody's on the road, but comin home at 12, it took 45 min!! well thanks for the info....what do you think about the $350 for stripes though?

 

Are they the stickers or paint? Still sounds a tad bit high when all they need to do is put some tape on there and spray through. Not sure though, I could be wrong.

 

the old stripes are stickers, new ones will be paint.......they're not painting the stripes on hard sections of the car, it'll be easy to tape up so i dont see how they charge very much....i couldn't see anybody charging over $40 for stripes

 

Yes, it sounds like Macco is charging a bit much...being Macco anyways. But Macco is a franchise type of company, and each one is independently owned. So this may be a shop that provides a good quality paint job. I think you may want to investigate them a bit further. Find out what kind of paint they use, and the process they go through painting it.

I personally found someone to paint my car that just started his own business. This was last month. The guy used to work for a hot rod shop in Germantown Ohio that produced $100,000+ cars.
I paid a total of $1,100 for paint and BODY which included two new fenders. I got a good quality job, and a heck of a deal!

I suggest maybe asking around about an independent painter that does it on the side.

 

wow. For Maaco, i think thats total garbage. But in all honesty, id be expecting to pay about 2k for a full paint job. To get it all done right, anyway. But thats just mho, and theres always deals to be found out there.

Just remember, if it feels to good to be true.....

 

Ok first, sand and prime the car yourself, theres $450 back at u. Paint the jambs black yourself, theres $150. What do u mean by machining the hatch??? they have differant paint jobs, ambasitior (the cheapest) and professional the best, $799 is for the professional, how bout u down grade some?

 

Thats actually pretty cheap, considering you want a full color change, color changes arent cheap when people start to pull door to do it right, etc, if you think 1500 was a lot, you better not even ask any good shops.....

 

well they're only charging $100 for the color change, but i dont see why they'd charge anything....

they sand and primer the entire car, so the whole thing's white. so why does it make any difference what color you paint it after that? it's no more work

 

also, keep in mind...


i want a GOOD paint job, but i'm not looking for a show winner

 

in response to an ealier post....

yeah i prob. won't get the top top paint job, but still. i had thought about sanding and priming myself, but i dont know how much work would ahve to be involved....any idea how many hours it'd take to sand and prime it w/ a power sander?

 

You'll probably sand through if trying to sand yourself, the edges can be tricky, color change requires more paint to cover than one of the same color, there is more paint and labor involved in removing doors, spraying jambs, removing weatherstripping, fenders, etc to do a proper color change.

 

Color change after paint, before reassembly.

 

mine for sanding with a palm (finishing) sander and spray can primer took maybe 6-8 hours, but i had bad orange peal. its not much work, though your right index finger starts hurting from pressing the nozzle..lol youll be fine, make sure u mask and news paper EVERYTHING. I had my camaro painted at macco, in total it was $287, with a $200 off sale, reg. price was like $487, tax included, it was the 3 fromt he best paitn job, held up good for the month i owned it before i sold it.

 

what's so "wwaaayy" high about it?

paint is a very high priced mod that should only be done when you can afford to do it right. were you expecting the comercial price to be the flat rate?

 

i can see how they would charge that much. there is alot of labor that goes into painting a solid color car. it is more labor when you put stripes on. first all the body work must be complete, then you have to spray the base color. after that you have to put tape down for the stripes. then spray the stripes. after all that you have to bury all that color under clear coat. thats alot of time and labor

i too would not go to macco. i have hear bad things about them.

 

you guys think you have problem with paint costs
i have a basically straght car and have been quoted around 9k us$ to repaint my car !!!!!!!

 

To AUSRS: I paid $3500 with a color change here in Melbourne 4 years ago and got a pretty good job. have to go back occasionally to have the lower front spoiler touched up due to the low car.

 

Good paint jobs around here are around $3000.

 

i have ended up getting a colour change with bare metal repaint for $7000 (about 3500 us$)
that is with some small body work and flames

 

I got news for you that price is dirt cheap, however so are most of Maaco's paintjobs. By me they do a decent job of spraying it on at best and it looks really beat in a year or two. I had a private shop paint my car and it cost around $5,500 including some minor body work. Everyone that see's it says it looks great, but it wasn't even up to my standards. I'd say spend the money and take it to a good private shop. See if you can help out with the prep and the sanding to cut down on the cost.

 

That actually is a good price, but I don't believe I would take it to Maaco.

I paid $1400 to repaint just the silver part of my car(did not include gray part) and that was because the guy cut me a deal. Now, I'm not happy with the job they did so when I get enough money I'm having the silver *and* gray redone. That will cost me over $2500 which I think is reasonable for what I want done.

The quote you got from Maaco wasn't really high, but try a local shop. Even if you dont want it to be a show car, I'd feel better going to a private shop.

 

I have a local shop that will paint my car "triple black" with clearcoat for $1500, that's with me doing the sanding, primer, dent removal and rust, scratch repair myself. For them to do the extra work was about $700 more. Got another quote from a different shop for $2200 with the same work and only a basic black coat. Just depends on who does the work.

 

Now when everyone talks about getting a good deal on a paintjob, does this include pulling off all the trim and weatherstripping? It does look better when the paint goes up underneath the stripping as apposed to flush with it. It's more prone to pull up some as time goes on.

 

If you have a daily driver, there is really no point in getting a $3,000 + paintjob, for some puck kid to come and key the car or rear-end it......

Maaco, can be good BUT, and this is a big BUT, you need to get the better paint, and do alot of the work yourself......

The less stuff they have to tape off or anything like that the better......

I.e., take a bare car to them, so all they have to do is basically do some minor prep work, then paint the car.....

Check some work they are doing currently, as well as what cars they have just finished painting........

 

I have been quoted at $3800 for a high quality paint job here in the san francisco bay area. That includes removal of various door dings, etc. (No color change.)

After my suspension work, that comes next. I can't wait

-Anthony Helton

 

2150 for mine. Changed from red to black. Came out pretty well I believe.
I'd say keep looking.