WTF Maaco? Too good for flat rate pricing anymore?

No, I don't want a free estimate. I want the list that you used to have -

Really crappy paint = $299
Less crappy paint = $399
Decent paint = $499
*Trucks and Vans extra.

Pricing is now nowhere to be found. Grrr.

Yeah I went to price what a quick respray would cost for the hood, roof and trunk lid on the teg I'm fixing to sell and said the same thing.

When I priced painting the race car a few years ago, the prices were

$499 crappy paint

$699 less crappy paint

$1299 decent OEM like paint

I chose this:

About $150 total. Graphics extra.

All I know is Maaco is the reason I have to spend more time to correct the paint on my Honda than if it came to me with crappy paint.

It's the wife's daily. So spending weeks roller painting isn't in the cards. It's a 10 year old 150k mile Protege, so it's not valuable enough for a "proper" paintjob. But she's getting sick of driving around a car that is 4 different shades of yellow (the P5 yellow fades BAD, and differently depending on what panel it's on) with chipping clear coat on the wing.

So even a crappy paintjob should be a marked improvement. We tore it down yesterday, removing all lights, emblems, antenna, roof rack (which meant pulling the headliner), squirters, etc., as well as removing the pinstripes and dealer decals. The only sanding I did was to the wing (removed also) since it had chipping clear. So it literally should be at the point of scuffing it, fixing a couple of door dings, taping the glass and wheels, and shooting it. Past experience has shown that delivering a car in this level of prep typically gets good results. For one, there's less there for them to screw up. Secondly, I think that it shows that you are investing work in getting a quality job, and they too seem to respond in kind.

I talked to a couple of Maaco's this morning and the one that sounds less shady is $100 more, but said that they will do the mid-grade paint (Urethane with integrated clear) for $650, and that as long as the dings are as minor as I describe, they shouldn't add much if any.

I think they are franchises which is why you get different answers. There are a few here that still run the flat rate specials, and a few times a year advertise half off.

I just saw a commercial for the $299 paint job.

< (former $29.95 Earl Scheib customer - with tax and fees and $10 upcharge for red, it was actually right around $45)

Poor Earl must be rolling in his grave.

Besides being independant franchises, I think they got caught up in the consumer expects too much deal. Too many people going in for a cheap paint job and expecting high quality results. Then there is the EPA paint requirements/criteria they have to deal with. The newer paints end up being more expensive. Paint is the most expensive part of restoring a car because of all this.

They are franchises, so you'll get some variation. But beyond that, Maaco is trying to shed the image of the super cheap crappy paint job place. They're trying to move "upmarket" and get into more collision repair, including insurance claims. That's probably the big driving factor why you won't see advertising on the "cover it with newspaper, hold your breath and spray" jobs anymore.

I have a track project that will need paint soon. I have checked my local Econo Paint shop. the quality of the spray looks good. The prep work and tape off job sucks. The only way I have seen reasonable work from these type places is to deliver the car prepared to a final tape and paint shoot. Like DILYSI commented they will usually spend a little extra time since they are not taping off the details and more time can be spent on the final paint prep.

dave, i remember you got a pretty stellar result on a black CRX many moons ago. is that shop still around?

AngryCorvair wrote: dave, i remember you got a pretty stellar result on a black CRX many moons ago. is that shop still around?

I wish.

I'm nose-deep in my own roller car painting experiment, and I'm beginning to hate the process. It's taken weeks and the paint coverage is only so-so. I can't seem to get rid of the roller marks, and I've been playing with paint/ thinner ratio but haven't found one really satisfactory.

And then there's the sanding. Oh my God, the sanding. I spent all day Saturday, about 12 hours, with a water bottle, 800 grit, 1500 grit, and polishing compound, and managed to get the trunklid looking not-horrible. The orange peel is still noticeable, though. And by the time I got through the O/P I was down to primer in spots. Ugh.

Finally, I wet-sanded a test area with 800 grit and hit it with Rust-oleum in the same color as I'd been rolling, from the spray can. Wet sanded with 1500, hit it with polishing compound, and it actually looks decent, no O/P. Bought $24 worth of rattle cans, wet sanded the whole car with 800, pulled my shirt up over my nose, and shot it. I'm going in to do the 1500 and maybe the polishing compound tonight. Then it should be done.

I much prefer mechanical work.

Do like the jeep and 4x4 guys do and just bedline it. I suggest monstaliner. Their 1 gallon kit does a complete 2dr jeep tub(inside and out) so it should do a protege fine and it only takes 1 day or a weekend to do. You can get basically any color you want as well. And it will last longer than one of those maaco jobs.

Pretty sure the wife doesn't want to mark a bedlined Protege in the parking lot at her elementary school. I haven't asked that specifically, but it's just a hunch.

DILYSI Dave wrote: Pretty sure the wife doesn't want to mark a bedlined Protege in the parking lot at her elementary school. I haven't asked that specifically, but it's just a hunch.

Put your helmet on and ask her, it can't hurt. (for long)

Women can be funny like that. We're lucky enough they don't mind an older car. An ugly older car is pushing it.

Wally wrote: Women can be funny like that. We're lucky enough they don't mind an older car. An ugly older car is pushing it.

Exactly. If I can drop less than a grand on making this car acceptable for a few more years, then that's a win.

Plasti dip? Cheap, easy and effective.

Sine_Qua_Non wrote: Plasti dip? Cheap, easy and effective.

+1. If the wife's car needed paint, I'd probably plasti-dip it. I think she'd approve.

^This.

There's a place local to me (http://www.rubber-wrap.com/) that "paints" cars with something like Plasti-Dip for very reasonable prices. Maybe there's something like that near you?

The rattle-can job is definitely working. Figure on 1 can of paint for every foot of car, for multiple coats. If the weather is warm and not humid, you can probably get all the coats on in one day, sanded the next, and be driving it again on Monday.

Tony died a few years ago and the family may not be in charge of each Maaco any longer. I know they sold the yachts and the boat dealership.