A crazy guy threw a stone to my car while I was driving to school What a accedent So I'm thinking about painting my car at Maaco. I don't know how good they are and what reputation they have. I just watched an advertisement several times on TV and it says they are painting specialist but who knows? Please let me know if someone experienced this body shop. Thanks~

 

It all really depends on location and what kind of guys they have working there. Stop by one day and have a look at there work. And if you really care about the car go with a 2 stage paint job not the cheaper paint thats good for cars you dont care about that much.

 

Yeah that's what I'm thinking about too. I really care about the paint job cuz I screwed my car's hood once before by having my car painted at wrong shop. Due to my car is SSM, like yours, if the paint job is not perfect, it will look really awful. Thanks for the reply. Awsome SSM with TSW wheels by the way

 

personally i wouldn't even think about taking a TSX there, just get it done right at a professional shop

 

Oh if you know where to go around here in Maryland, please let me know

 

 

i had my car repaired/repainted at pohanka acura's shop in chantilly, va. really far from you, but they did a great job

 

Stay clear of Maaco, I use to do stripes and graphics for them to cover up peeling paint, sand scratch marks, paint pits and dirt. Half of the time my masking tape would peel up the paint! They tape off all window pillar moldings instead of properly removing them, so eventually the clear coat will chip off. Make sure whoever repairs your car doesnt do this. You really wont be happy with a "budget" paint job.

 

I agree with xizor and jaketc, DO NOT take your car to Maaco. The shop by me has done nothing but crap. Take it a really well known body shop, or the dealership near you!

 

Instead of Maaco, you could use a can of spray paint. Now that's really budget.

 

and the results won't be too diffrent

 

I heard that you can get ok results if you prep it properly yourself and let them paint it. I think the problem with Maaco is is that they don't properly prep your car for the paint work, nor will they take off plastic trims, etc before painting.

BUT, I still wouldn't take a relatively new car for them to paint. I was only considering them when I was thinking about painting my old Civic.

 

Find out who does collision repairs and repainting for the dealership.

I know my dealer is the body shop for the following brands (other dealerships send all their cars to my dealer): Honda/Acura, BMW, Mercedes, Lexus, Porsche, and some VW/Audi.

That's one hell of a client list. And, the best part is, their labour and materials rates are always the same as other places.

Maaco = ABSOLUTE CRAP in comparison.

 

Oh, and with paint jobs, the number one factor in a good result is PREP WORK. That's where the bulk of the labour cost goes.

Guess what happens when places like Maaco charge you less for labour? Yup... less prep. A missed piece of tape here, some orange peel there... and your car will look like garbage, whereas a car repaired CORRECTLY, for only a minimal increase in cost, will look brand new (or better!).

 

Hyung, stay away from lousy paint jobs.

More importantly, stay away from MAACO.

 

Theres nothing wrong with Maaco if you spend the right amount of money there. You can get a really good job. There better paint is the same stuff that most of the higher end shops use.You cant exspect to get a factory job when you spend 500 dollars. Its all in prep work and if you dont spend top dollar in prep work its not going to look good.

 

My insurance company sent me to MAACO for a hit & run accident. When I got my car back, there was fine white dust everywhere inside my car, there were a few grease marks on the dashboard, the car wasn't washed, and there is some clear coat residual that wasn't polished right on the hood. I wasn't happy with their service (I shoudl have made a stink - but I was too happy to get my car back from driving the crappy rental loaner car). I think the service of each MAACO shop is going to be different - so although mine was bad, maybe the one near yours wasn't. I think in this case, you get what you pay for so you should consider that. Good luck.

 

I wouldnt even think of taking my 10 your old integra to MACCO!

My friend got his truck painted at MAACO a few years ago. I was looking closely at the paint job and those guys just painted over the old paint! They didnt even sand off the old paint, just painted over it. lol. I guess what do you expect for $400 right?

 

body shops are the devil

 

Thanks for the replies guys Yeah the paint job is expensive and it is hard to find nice and reasonable body shop around here. Moreover, there is no Acure dealer doing paint job here in College Park Sigh...may be I'll just live my car like that until I find nice body shop .

 

I always thought it was, *Double A, beep beep, M C O", as in AAMCO.

 

LOL....I think that is a tranny shop, if I'm not mistaken. I know the song you're thinking about though.

 

I took a Cadillac I once had to MAACO. The problem with them is (and they told me this up front) that they don't have a "clean" room and so the paint could (will) get some dust particles in it. The owner told me "10 mph from 10' away" and it looks beautiful. He was right.

I will only use a professional paint & body shop (my dealer has one, Bob Howard Acura in OKC) for any work I ever have done. Of course, I dearly hope & pray I never have that.

 

When I was in college I took my 91 Corolla to MAACO to get a fresh coat of paint. The car had been in a previous accident and the color did not quite match in some of the body panels.

I knew it was a cheap paint job, so I decided to do all the prep work myself with the hopes of improving the results. I masked/removed all the trim, lights, etc... Sanded the old paint, fixed all the door dents, even primed some areas where the old paint was not looking very good. I also paid extra to have the "better" paint applied.

Well, MAACO painted the car and took it out of the oven while it was raining and before the paint had dried completely. Not only that, but they also let the rain drops dry on the fresh paint.

When I got there to pick up the car, the new paint looked just like the surface of the moon with deep pits where every rain drop had sat until it dried. I was furious and demanded that the car had to be stripped and re-painted. The manager said absolutely not. All they would do is let the paint fully dry for a week, wet sand and polish the pitted paint. I even called MAACO headquarters, and not solution. I was so furious that I never took it back and ended up sanding it and polishing it myself (I was afraid whey would make it even worse).

Thee years later the MAACO paint started cracking all over where it had been exposed to the sun, even though it had been waxed on a regular basis.

STAY AWAY FROM CHEAP PAINT/BODY SHOPS!!!!