[08rookie]

def not for my bmw!

i have a tan 2001 chevy venture. i want to paint the van black. i know maaco has different paint job options and i know that the quality sucks....however i dont want to spend 2-3k for a paint job if i can get a paint job for under 1k? when i spoke to maaco they have like $400 jobs and $600 jobs and $1000 jobs for my vehicle...

i was thinking of doing some sand work/prep work myself and taking the car there? ive read reviews and some people make it seem like maaco uses crayons to paint cars...like a 5 year old can do better...i know they are not top of the line auto shops. i wouldnt take my bmw there for something....but changing the color from brown to black on a 2001 chevy minivan??

[Souljah]

why you want to waste money and paint ur piece of crap car in the first place is beyond me...but i deal a lot with autobody stuff so i can give you proper advice..


Maaco uses sherman williams paint, pretty cheap stuff...lasts about 2 years or so before it starts peeling...they make their money painting cars by cutting corners and not pulling doors, fenders, lights, windows, etc...they just tape shit up...rule 101 of painting, if the paint does not wrap around an edge, it's more proned to lifting at that corner....so if you tape up the rubber seal and paint the car, it won't get around that curve underneath and will peel right there...


they don't prep the car carefully, they just use a 400grit DA and just massage the current paint down...since they paint a large amount of cars, their paint booth is always dirty, and more proned to dirt and other debris falling on top of the finish...it's one of those paint jobs that people get to sell their car quickly...

hope i answered your questions...no matter what the haters say, maaco's 2 stage, base and clear, is still very tough and nothing like crayons or spray paint that u can get at wal mart....that is an exxageration....it kinda look like a real paint job from a few feet away

[Maestro]

I did a Macco job once, reason being I was going to sell a pickup I had bought to do work on my house and it got abused in the process. I had actually done most of the prep work on it, fix some rusted out spots and the such and just did not feel like doing the final painting myself. So for $400 they painted for me, it actually turned out pretty good. So now I have a pickup with a fresh paint job and I sold it it immediately afterward. The best part is I own this truck for 4 yrs and end up selling for more than I originally paid for it.

The other Macco experience I had was a 66 mustang I bought, the previous owners put two Macco paint jobs on it. Needless to say they sand it down and did not prime the bare metal spots and paint new paint right over the metal. Over time the paint was chipping off in sheets and it was all faded and there was not a thing you could do to bring back the color, not even those miracle waxes you see on TV.

I end up doing a complete strip job on this car down to bare metal and did the complete paint job on this car myself in my garage at the time. It turned out far better then the Macco jobs.

[Joonsup]

If you do most of the prep work yourself a Maaco paint job is decent. Of course I wouldn't bring my e92 there, but I took my e30 to Maaco since the clearcoat was peeling. My e30 is white, so I had it repainted the same color. I'm sure if I got it painted black, you could see the quality of a Maaco paint job, but with white it's easier to hide.

Another thing is one Maaco is not the same as another one, so try to do some research of the different Maaco's in your area. The quality of the work will differ from what I hear. They had to do a little extra sanding on mine plus they charged me a little more since I had the bumpers off so I paid about $500 out the door for the second level paint job (presidential)? Normal price was 399 and they had a special going on for 299.

I recommend taking your tailights, emblems, headlights, and other moldings/trim off before you take it to them.

[08rookie]

Originally Posted by Souljah

why you want to waste money and paint ur piece of crap car in the first place is beyond me...but i deal a lot with autobody stuff so i can give you proper advice..

actually reason im painting is for work. im in the death business haha...no joke. i own a funeral service trade company. ive done research in vans and life expectancy and have owned many myself. i found a chevy extended van with 60k miles on for 4 grand! single owner, soccer mom type, all service records available, even talked to her mechanic....now that same car at a dealership would be substantially more...ive compared many. so i purchased the car. only problem....the car is tan. i still do work in my business. i still solicit calls. its a side business but black is the preferred color for a vehicle in my profession. Maaco paint job will just be needed to turn the car black! thats it. does not need to be factory shine. just need a black van. my post was referring to the difference among the options maaco offers. and if i were to do any of the prep myself, would that make a huge difference among the option i select....

i went to a maaco down the street from my house. the presidential(not the cheapest but not the most expensive) is 399, to change color 100 more, a van is 125 more, door jams are 50 bucks a piece....that cheap maaco job runs from 399 to well over 800 after all the add-ons and simple body work.

i dont need the car to look like a caddy coming off the line but i dont want my headlights painted either lol....there needs to be something i can do to satisfy myself. maybe sand the car myself? hand power sander and 220 grit?? i dont have many emblems on the vehicle....

[Joonsup]

usually maaco has specials for the various paint jobs. I got my presidential paint job when it was 100 off.