Ok recently somebody backed into the driverside rear quarter panel just behind the door. I have taken it to get estimates wich range from $1500-2242 (repair crunch and paint side of car). Today i decided to go to the local Maaco just curious what they can do and for how much. Everywher i have taken my car said that its impossible to get the whole car painted. Maaco quoted me $800 to repair the crunch and paint quarter panel (not the whole side) and then he said the could probably work a deal with the insurance company to paint the whole car. I asked more in depth about the quality of the job and what they would do. He said that they would strip it down and fix any body inperfections (door dings ect.) then primer and paint it with a urathane paint. They also do a base and clear coat. All of that was quoted to me at $1699 with a 4 year warenty. I know its not really about MAACO, but who works on your car and i saw a car they just finished, a new sebring (sp?) and it looked really nice. So should i go with just getting the quarter panel repaired and painted for one of the prices listed obove or go with MAACO? My car is starting to fade and has some minor imperfections and pealing paint in the front. Personaly i think it would be better to go with Maaco. What are your guesses opinions?

 

The line about working out a deal to get the whole car painted with the insurance company. Insurance companys dont do this. They will however give a reasonable price to repair the existing damage caused by the accident, usually. How you use that money is up to you if you own the car outright. Maaco will then move the money around to how they need to make their complete pricing work. My only advice to you is remember you get what you pay for. Body shops dont need the practice, they are all out to make a profitt otherwise they wont be there long. If its cheap they must be saving money somewhere, if its cheap material, cheap labor or cutting corners, its coming from somewhere. Just look their work over thoroughly. Know exactly what your going to get, & what to exspect, dont guess or assume, Its even more exspensive to re-repair a bad job. Good Luck & let us know how it comes out.

 

Maaco is actually the one who painted the whole car about 6 years ago. Its a really good job other than the front bumper. It still would be a good paint job if the paint was actually taken care of. My cousin, the previous owner hardly ever washed it. It had moss growing around the trunk and the mirrors and had dirt and gunk caked on everywhere. Anyhow, im not sure how insurance companies work these days but i hope they can see that everywhere else is way more expensive and you get less. I'll keep ya posted on what happens, hopefully this will get settled soon.

 

id go with Maaco since your happy with their paint jobs..good luck with it

 

Does anyone know what brand of paint Maaco uses? I did a search and it seems most people think there paint jobs suck because they dont use clear coat on them. So i figure if this guy does use base/clear coat on a $1200 paintjob plus uses the urethane paint it should turn out pretty good right?

 

I just got back from maaco again. They use Sherman Williams urethane paint (sp?). Is this brand any good? Also i asked for what i want how much it would cost, i told him i wanted it stripped down to bare metal, fix any imperfections, primer and then paint (same color blue/silver) with a base and clear coat. He said it would cost about 2k for a job like that and that does not include decals wich they wont do. I looked on the Better Buisness Bureau's website and looked that maaco up and they have a satisfactory record for the past 3 years. All other maaco's in the area were unsatisfactory. Its said that the complaint they had was resolved. So im guessing it should't be too bad to go there.

 

My brother had his 86 Firebird painted there, owned it for 2 more years after and the paint was great, i just had my Formula painted there in june and it looks great to me.
Course we did all the body work on both cars ourselves.
It depends maaco used to have a bad rap that obviously hasn't dropped, i have no problems using em but like i said i usually do all the body and prep work myself.

Good Luck

 

Had a buddy take his 300zx to them......4 times because the first three times they F'd it up in diffrent spots. I will say at least if you arent pleased they will do it again, just make sure you stay on their a$$ if you dont like something.

 

Ok, here's an update. During thanksgiving i was talking to my cousin and he knows someone that works at an autobody/paint shop. They do restorations also. I took my car there for an estimate and he's giving me a deal on painting my whole car with Matrix paint and using primer, sealer and 3 coats of clear plus fixing all the inmperfections on the body (door dings ect) for about 2k. All i have to do is fax in the estimate and hopefully take it in next monday and pick it up friday or monday. Im getting ready to order some decals to have them put on too. I'll take some pics when i get it back and also some nicer weather.