Agreed...you definitely get what you pay for...that's why 'real' body shops
charge $2k. I had my first Jeep painted by Maaco (went for the $299 job as
well) and I brought it to them with all of the bodywork done and everything
stripped off of it that I could remove and still legally drive it to the
shop. Aside from a couple of small glitches which they corrected after a
brief argument with the owner (I happened to have brought an experienced
painter with me to pick up the Jeep which helped my case...even he was
pretty impressed, basically volunteered to drive me over so that he could
laugh at me for using Maaco), they did a very good job and the last time I
saw that Jeep (about 4-5 years after the paint job) it still looked good. I
wouldn't use them for my Durango, but they'll do just fine for my Jeeps
which are just gonna get 'trail rash' anyway. The prep work is tedious &
time consuming, supplies and tools aren't cheap...I don't quite know just
how Maaco turns a decent profit.
-Rodney
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Kuzia [mailto:flyboy01@mediaone.net]
Sent: Tuesday, November 27, 2001 8:39 PM
To: dakota-truck@buffnet.net
Subject: Re: DML: MAACO...I disagree.
I have to disagree with all of you. A friend of mine once had a car with a
$299 Maaco paint job and it looked fantastic 2 years after. Basically, if
the paint job looks like crap, its mostly your fault for not prepping it. If
you have checked labor prices lately, they run about $45 an hour. This means
that the $299 paint job takes less than 7 hours. Most of that time is spent
masking and prepping first. Give them a good foundation to start with. If
you get everything done first, they can concentrate on the paint job only.
To get the best results, wash the truck 3 times and wipe it down with wax &
grease remover. Remove all the trim possible, this means door handles,
rubber window gaskets, antennas, emblems, anything that is not welded on to
the body basically. If there is any bodywork to be done, do it beforehand.
If you take the time to "prep" the job, it will turn out O.K. If you don't
have the time to do all this, spend the $2K and get it done right by a good
body shop. If you take everything off beforehand, it might even cost you a
little less. I would probably never get one of these "cheap" paint jobs for
my 95 Dakota, but I would get one for my work truck that I drive every day,
if done right it can be respectable.
Mark Kuzia
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