I went to a local Maaco in the bay area (Fremont i think) and asked them to look at my 96 Accord Coupe.

Like most Accords of that year the clear coat is peeling on the roof, I have lots of swirl marks, and the front fenders and hood are showing cracks in the paint (spiderwebbing he called it)

I just bought the car for for cheap and use it as a commuter. But I would like it to not look like a beater.

I requested for the Presidental paint job (i had a coupon for $199..but he told me that was incorrect it was now $299 because cost went up...or so he said)

I asked him after the paint is done, can i wetsand it after.....

He said NO. You cannot wetsand the Presidental paint job only the top of the line Signature ($1000) can be wet sanded and that i should get that paint job instead.

He also said that all the Maaco paint jobs will have some specks of dust in the paint job. I asked "you really can't polish or wetsand that out after?" he said no.

He also told me he needed to chemically strip the hood and the front fenders because the spiderwebbing or cracks in the paint means i have a bad factory primer. If they dont strip the paint it will show. I asked him couldnt you just sand it down, reprimer it, then paint it?

He said no.

So my estimated total ended up being close to $800, with a majority of the cost being labor and materials to strip the paint.

Am I getting screwed here? something seems off.

I'll try to scan my estimates and show pics of my car's paint when i get to a scanner.

And is that true you can't wetsand a single stage paint???

 

I'm no paint expert but I think you're getting screwed. Here's why...

A. If your car was brought to them with a primered hood, would they still paint the car? The answer is yes.

B. If your coupon is valid then they must honor it or they are subject to a false advertisement lawsuit.

C. His claim about the "dust particles" sounds suspect to me. I've never heard of a paint job you couldn't wet sand or buff.

I suggest you go to another Maaco. If you make a big deal out of it and still go to them they will likey do a poor job on your car anyway. Just my $.02

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by BoostedH23Accord &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I'm no paint expert but I think you're getting screwed. Here's why...

A. If your car was brought to them with a primered hood, would they still paint the car? The answer is yes.

B. If your coupon is valid then they must honor it or they are subject to a false advertisement lawsuit.

C. His claim about the "dust particles" sounds suspect to me. I've never heard of a paint job you couldn't wet sand or buff.

I suggest you go to another Maaco. If you make a big deal out of it and still go to them they will likey do a poor job on your car anyway. Just my $.02</TD></TR></TABLE>

actually if you think about it, the presidential paint service is probably a single stage paint job where the base coat (color) and clear are mixed together and shot as one.....depending on your color, i dont think you can wetsand that because you will be taking out color too....with the top of the line job that costs a G, he saidyou can wetsand that job because im going with the assumption that it is a basecoat clearcoat two stage paint job...so the clear is by itself and can be sanded flat.

with the spider webbing..if i were you since the guy is being a ***** about it, why dont you just sand the panels that are taco'd with a block with 600 grit and bring him the car and just have them do the final prep and paint. might save you a lil money on labor.

 

The Car is Black, and i want to paint it black.

On the coupon there is no expiration...just a part that says, "Must bring at time of estimate. Hurry offer ends soon! Valid at participating locations only!"

It also says Presidental is $399 original..now $199. It is dated July 31st. I brought the car in 7 days ago.

I am willing to do the prep work myself too. He said if i did the prep work, then Maaco would not give me a warrrenty. They also said if they paint on the front end with out the extra paint stripping they would not honor a warrenty. So basically I have to do all the extras to get hte warrenty.

The guy at the desk was swearing up a storm....really bad sales tactic and very unprofessional (this is in the Fremont location at Centralmont pl)

He told me about the dust because when i was there a customer was complaining about the dust in his newly painted car....saying that the specks were unacceptable.

 

wow why even bother, i would find another location to paint your car..that guy is a [pejorative]gle

 

Dude, if you still get your car painted at that place after witnessing all that you have then you deserve a poor paint job.

Don't do it, bro. Just go elsewhere. They don't deserve your business.

 

Even though it isn't a great idea to You can wet sand and buff single stage paint. It is easy to burn through if you are trying to get particles out of it. And yes you are getting screwed by Maaco. bring it to some local places for a quote on a base/clear.

 

You can wetsadn and buff single stage however you must have enough coats on to not burn though, which im guessin for 199, they barely put one coat of paint on.

 

failure ive never done a single stage paint job, so i dunno haha i can only imagine if it was a metallic single stage you would be serving it up and putting streaks in the metallic haha

 

uh oh better not get maaco

 

First off,

Maaco is an independantly owned franchise so when the coupon says at participating locations it means what it says.

Second,

You don't want to sand a single stage... I would ask why you even care about sanding it if you only want to pay $199? You aren't gonna get a show paint job so why try LOL.

Third,

If the paint is cracking you probably would want to atleast sand it down and get through it or in their case strip it... he's looking out for his best interest as who knows what sanding could bring.

I dont really think hes ripping you... thats what maaco's do quite honestly. The packages aren't really meant to be sold alone.

FYI I'm a supplier to many maaco's in the area so i know a little more about what they're doing than some people who think they know.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by integrapunk67 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Maaco is an independantly owned franchise so when the coupon says at participating locations it means what it says.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

Good point.

Did they say they wouldn't honor it because it was not their location that sent it?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by supermotothud &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
He told me about the dust because when i was there a customer was complaining about the dust in his newly painted car....saying that the specks were unacceptable. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Dude you're on your own. If you go back you deserve what you get. Find another location.

 

well sometimes i would rather find a local painter do it in his garage for 200 than take it to macco, just my 2 cent

 

seriously regardless of all this debate over stupid maaco, it all boils down to YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR!!

if you pay 199 and expect colored glass its not going to happen...i dont understand what more there is to debate about this ****, if you want quality pay for it!

 

I would honestly do the "$50 paint job" listed on here before I took it there. You would be better off going to the local community college body shop and asking one of the students to do it.

 

After dealing first hand with several Maaco paint jobs, it all boils down to one thing: You get what you pay for.

I have seen a $600 Maaco paint job where the mouldings, emblems and even the muffler were painted over.

But I have also seen a $2000 Maaco paint job that was just as great as some of the top shops in the area..

 

I DEMAND SOME PICS!

 

$600 Maaco &lt; $300 diy garage special

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by GuNnErGoD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">After dealing first hand with several Maaco paint jobs, it all boils down to one thing: You get what you pay for.

I have seen a $600 Maaco paint job where the mouldings, emblems and even the muffler were painted over.

But I have also seen a $2000 Maaco paint job that was just as great as some of the top shops in the area..</TD></TR></TABLE>

thats true, ive heard of very well done maaco jobs and very poorly done jobs that were both the entry level jobs offered...it also depends on which maaco you go to...some are better than others. thats too bad that the quality is not consistent with the company like it should be.

 

there ya go! your talkin a $1400 difference.....????? ya get what ya pay for!!!

 

you can sand single stage if its not a metalic...solid colors are fine!!!

 

I had Maaco paint my prelude back in high school, now that i think about it, i'd rather rattle can my own paint job and look better...if you bought the car for commuter car, who cares what it looks like, save the money and hassle. And that 199 price doesn't include clear coat, which costs more...