MAACO

[cudadude013]

So I finally gave in and decided to take my '68 to MAACO. It was sitting outside in primer and I thought anything has to be better than this. I'm on a tight budget so I found one of the $275 presidential coupons and decided to give it a shot. They said the primer has some water bubbles and it will need new primer. So the final bill is $1400 (big jump from the $275 I was expecting!). Has anyone here had experience with MAACO? Good/bad? Are they honest? What quality should I expect?

I know... worthless without pics. I'll be posting pics as soon as its out of the shop.

Thanks!

[694spdRT]

PocketThunder had his '68 painted at a MAACO shop.

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,154.0.html

[Hemidog]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,154.0.html
*edit: damn, too late 

[694spdRT]

http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,154.0.html
*edit: damn, too late 

He He. 

[cudadude013]

Thanks guys!

[69mopar]

I used Maaco to repaint this 76 vette. Yes, I know its a vette and not a dodge      but its a good example of what they can do. .  my charger is currently getting a paint job now there. have a look at the vette. they did a custom job for me with great colors. the paint is nice. Good quailty and its nice and smooth.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

My Satellite had 1 re-paint back in 85' at a MAACO in Florida.

The jams,trunk and engine bay were not painted and they matched the original green perfect.You can't notice at all when you open the doors, etc...
The original owners of the Satellite had MAACO paint the Satellite before they moved to Winsconsin, due to the Florida sun fading the paint.
The paint still looks great till' this day.

[Charger-Bodie]

MAACO body shops are just like anything else . There will be good ones and bad ones , do youre research and make sure you choose a good one! 

[68RT440]

I worked at MAACO for a few months and we had a 70 charger being done while I was working there. It all depends on the prepping. There were a few cars we painted that the customer prepped and put into primer and we had some issues. But as long as you prep it and do it right, from my experience it will turn out great.

[JimShine]

I am sure the price you pay makes a big difference as well. They are not going to want to put too much time into a $275 job.

[BMOTOXSTAR]

Earl Scheib had a deal where you roll down the windows when you take your car in for paint and they paint the interior for free.
I think Springsteen mentions the deal in one of his songs on a live version.....

[hemi-hampton]

Unfortunately I worked at a Maaco in the Late 80's. At that time the Presidential was $149.95 & I had to paint 1 car a hour or 8 a day. At 8 cars a day you are not going to get a Quality job. A Friend of mine took his car (70 Mach 1) to Maaco 3 years ago. I told him big mistake. He brought in Monday & they said it would be done Friday. He was paying $2,000 & figure it would take a week & they said a week. They call him Wednesday saying it's done. Come get it. For his $2,000 they painted jambs but didn't tape off anything, Painted over Rubber weatherstrip, latches, strickers, Vin Decal, ect ect. I told him looked like car sat Monday & Tuesday & then they cranked out a peice of crap Wednesday Morning. I know, I use to work at a Maaco. As you can see on that guys 68 Charger for his $5,000 they painted over his Master Cylinder, Master Cylinder backing plate(should be gloss black) Brake lines & Proportioning Valve, Caster Camber adjusting bolts (should be black phosphate coated) Shock rubbers, ect, ect. If you pay me $2,000 or $5,000 I'd do a better job then that. Maaco is fine if your not a Nit Picker. If your a Nit Picker wanting a showcar go Elsewhere.   LEON.

[bill440rt]

Unfortunately I worked at a Maaco in the Late 80's. At that time the Presidential was $149.95 & I had to paint 1 car a hour or 8 a day. At 8 cars a day you are not going to get a Quality job. A Friend of mine took his car (70 Mach 1) to Maaco 3 years ago. I told him big mistake. He brought in Monday & they said it would be done Friday. He was paying $2,000 & figure it would take a week & they said a week. They call him Wednesday saying it's done. Come get it. For his $2,000 they painted jambs but didn't tape off anything, Painted over Rubber weatherstrip, latches, strickers, Vin Decal, ect ect. I told him looked like car sat Monday & Tuesday & then they cranked out a peice of crap Wednesday Morning. I know, I use to work at a Maaco. As you can see on that guys 68 Charger for his $5,000 they painted over his Master Cylinder, Master Cylinder backing plate(should be gloss black) Brake lines & Proportioning Valve, Caster Camber adjusting bolts (should be black phosphate coated) Shock rubbers, ect, ect. If you pay me $2,000 or $5,000 I'd do a better job then that. Maaco is fine if your not a Nit Picker. If your a Nit Picker wanting a showcar go Elsewhere.   LEON.

As part of my job, I go to a LOT of body shops. Every Maaco I've been to has been a complete dust bowl. I've never seen a panel block sanded yet, everything is DA'd. They also do not use quality paints.
I guess Maaco has it's place, fine if you're building a driver or have a car you don't want to sink a lot of money into. Just don't expect a show car to come rolling out the spray booth doors.

[AutoRust]

We refer a lot of people to paint shops here.
Maaco is good if you dont want to look to close.
This is what I tell people all the time about paint.

I do a lot of stuff at the local circle track. You can paint a street stock with a broom if needed. It has to look good from 40 feet away at 65 mph.
The closer you want to look at it, the more you have to pay. If you can handle a few "imperfections" and dont need to to be show car material, Maaco will work. Around here they have invested a lot of $$ into new equipment and seem to be doing a better job.
I hear of guys spending $1000-1500 on MATERIALS alone.
Get what you can afford and dont be to picky.
The more you spend, the better it will be.

[Charger-Bodie]

I stand by my belief that there are some good MAACO shops....There is a member on here that runs a MAACO shop and seems to be on his game IMO . I think his name is MichealRW or something like that. 

[41husk]

You may talk to the painter on the side, he may do a better side job for the same money.  The painter is probably going to get about $150 on every thousand paid.

[hemihead]

 Just like everything from hiring an employee to work for your company to hiring a Body Shop to paint your car the bottom line is , you get what you pay for .

[hemi-hampton]

When I worked at Maaco it was $150 for Presidential & we used Synthetic Western Acrylic Enamel single stage (I've noticed lots of painters are not too familiar with spraying a metallic single stage) If you paid $300 you got the Supreme which was just a Cheap Western yellow looking clear that was what they call Intergrated with the paint. This means I just added clear to what paint was left of my 2 or 3 gallon Pressure Pot. If you where a big time spender that just hit the lotto you went for the base coat clear coat that was $600. This paint we used was called Phoenix paint . I must admit I did some old 1940 Ford Business coupe Street rod for a guy that came out Killer. He wanted Black metallic in base coat clear coat for $600. I laid down black base. A coat of clear tinted in silver metallic, Buried it in 3 coats of clear. No runs or dirt or orange peel. Best $600 job anybody ever seen. Guy was so happy came back with a case of Budweiser after work. LEON.

[DC_1]

I own a Maaco. I have done several cars that have faired pretty well in shows and several more that are excellent drivers. Biggest problem I have with people is expectations. It is true that we are a production shop and produce more cars in a week than the typical shop. However, if you are looking for higher end quality we can do that as well and have done so many times. My shop is not the typical Maaco as we have 3 frame machines and spray Waterborne paint on a regular basis. The average age a vehicle we work on is 4 years old and we do as many BMW, Mercedes and Lexus as we do Sunfires and Neons. When people come in wanting a $500 paint job I usually turn them away because the car needs $3000 worth of body work before I can even put primer on it. That being said there are allot of Maaco I know that paint 14 year old Toyota Camerys for $500 by the dozen. Thats the demand in their market and they are filling that demand. I particularly don't want to do that type of work and steer away from it. Bottom line, it doesn't matter who's name is on the sign tts what the owner of the shop is willing to let get out the door and does that meet your expectations.

Here is one of the latest cars I did.

[hemi-hampton]

Sydmoe, your right, people expect to much for what little they pay. Also, When people insult Maaco your the exception to the rule & they mean most Maaco's except yours. I can tell you, you did not do that El Camino for the Typical $300-$600 usual Maaco Price. Seems like the maaco I worked at would love to say sure we'll paint your car for $150 or $300 but we'll have to charge you $500 more for bodywork. Seemed like the low paint price was just a gimmick to get you in there then nail you with a big body work price. LEON.

[nh_mopar_fan]

Three years ago, I picked up a 2002 Sebring ragtop with 40K miles on it for $6000 less than book value because the idiot bought it for his girlfriend and less than a month later she decided she didn't like the factory forest green. He took it to Maaco and they sprayed it red for $500. 

3 months later, she dumped him. 

Since I would be running the miles up on the thing (I average 30K a year), I could care less what the paint was going to look like a few years down the road. It was a terrible paint job. The taping was terrible. Some of the tape was still on the car. Overspray was everywhere. It's no wonder no one else wanted the car.

1/2 the car has since been repainted thanks to idiot Boston drivers that have hit me. I'm hoping the other half gets whacked soon so all the Maaco will be gone.

I'm sure they can do great work when someone knows what to ask for. This guy was clueless and deserved what he got.

[sick dawg]

The MAACO's around me are all independently owned shops, so you never know what to expect.
We have one that's like a second chance shop that has some real talent on their payroll. This guy hires all the old painters and bodymen that get fired from allthe high dollar custom places around town. These are the dudes that have done the rounds of all the big money places and wore out their welcome and chances due to drugs and, or alcohol problems.  I have seen some killer stuff come out of this place on more than one occasion. On the other hand I've seen some real ugly too.  I guess in the long run you just have to be on top of things and do your homework before you let somebody shoot your car.

[Runner]

The MAACO's around me are all independently owned shops, so you never know what to expect.
We have one that's like a second chance shop that has some real talent on their payroll. This guy hires all the old painters and bodymen that get fired from allthe high dollar custom places around town. These are the dudes that have done the rounds of all the big money places and wore out their welcome and chances due to drugs and, or alcohol problems.  I have seen some killer stuff come out of this place on more than one occasion. On the other hand I've seen some real ugly too.  I guess in the long run you just have to be on top of things and do your homework before you let somebody shoot your car.

   what is it with druggies and body/paint work,  same thing seems to apply to tranny shops.  why do alot of them seem to work in these fields?  no drug testing?  ive had 3 cars painted at maaco and ive been pretty happy, 2 of the cars were painted there when a good friend owned it but then he sold it to someone i would call a friend but we arent real close.   good luck  hope it turns out great for ya!!   

[bull]

The MAACO's around me are all independently owned shops, so you never know what to expect.
We have one that's like a second chance shop that has some real talent on their payroll. This guy hires all the old painters and bodymen that get fired from allthe high dollar custom places around town. These are the dudes that have done the rounds of all the big money places and wore out their welcome and chances due to drugs and, or alcohol problems.  I have seen some killer stuff come out of this place on more than one occasion. On the other hand I've seen some real ugly too.  I guess in the long run you just have to be on top of things and do your homework before you let somebody shoot your car.

   what is it with druggies and body/paint work,  same thing seems to apply to tranny shops.  why do alot of them seem to work in these fields?  no drug testing?  ive had 3 cars painted at maaco and ive been pretty happy, 2 of the cars were painted there when a good friend owned it but then he sold it to someone i would call a friend but we arent real close.   good luck  hope it turns out great for ya!!   

Hey Runner, I can tell that first pic was taken by Wallowa Lake.

[DC_1]

The MAACO's around me are all independently owned shops, so you never know what to expect.
We have one that's like a second chance shop that has some real talent on their payroll. This guy hires all the old painters and bodymen that get fired from allthe high dollar custom places around town. These are the dudes that have done the rounds of all the big money places and wore out their welcome and chances due to drugs and, or alcohol problems.  I have seen some killer stuff come out of this place on more than one occasion. On the other hand I've seen some real ugly too.  I guess in the long run you just have to be on top of things and do your homework before you let somebody shoot your car.

Hahaha....that too funny. You just described my crew. Some are old timers that have been around and have worked on their fair share of $75,000 cars. They have some excellent talent but even now in their 50's have a hard time staying away from the brown bottle or the bong during the week. At first some feel too proud to come work at a Maaco but soon come to realize I don't put out sh*t or put up with it either. I don't turn anything away as long as the customer is willing to have me fix it properly and that ensures they always have a car in their stall and I have never had to send a bodyman home because of no work.