OT: Maaco??

I know you pay for what you get, and I've read enough horror stories online about Maaco that makes me wonder how they stay in business. But if you go in and tell them exactly what you want and expect, are they worth even considering?? I've got a 10 year old car that is cracking, peeling, and is different colors. I just want it to look decent. I thought maybe one of there middle paint jobs might be worth it. Anybody have any experience with them??? It probably would be done at the Maaco in Lexington, Ky. Thanks,

Casey

Google a roller job and do it yourself. I had a real long article on it and it sounded real good. Guy claimed the pictures were of a 6 year old job done with rustolium and mineral spirits in freezing temps. I'll try to find it if you want.

Dave

Let's see,Lexington? Lexington...? Isn't that that little berg out east of Versailles? Just east of the airport?

If I was you I would go to a high school body shop and see if they can use your car as a test or something and you pay for paint and tape.

Used them in Lou ky, wouldn't never go back or recommend them. Knew they would paint over dents for their cheap job, pointed out the specific dents and paid extra to fix them. Finally gave up trying to get what we paid for, got some money back and left.

Some 20 years ago, I had them shoot a '78 Buick Century of ours. I fixed a dent myself, removed all the window chrome, then had them shoot the whole car. I thought it looked nice for several years, UNTIL, I needed to fix some rusty spots. The factory color had not been matched! It was close enough to the color to not notice, but not close enough for me to touch it up! I would not recommend. Greg

I suppose that Macco has many more outlets than does Peach. Maaco has tons of complaints on the Internet, search will find them. Lots of those places are franchises and the particular franchisee has something to do with what you get. Peach did mine about1 /2 years ago. I selected their best, the third up from the bottom. The paint did not match exactly, their repair of a few small spots was barely acceptable. Poor masking job, some paint on chrome and glass, some masking over on areas that should have been painted. Paint had dulled noticeably. Rust is not ground out of stone chips, just putty and sand smooth, then rust shows up there again a year later. But a better paint job costs $1500 to $20,000 at pro shops. Assume that you will be a bit disappointed with these shops. But it is as low cost as you can hire others to do.

I meant to type 1 1/2 years.

I go along with Gun guru, a local technical school that teaches body shop or a high school. Pay for supplies and get a decent paint job.

Rustoleum even has clear coat in rattle cans

"I just want it to look descent" Now that is the statement that is gonna get ya with this car no-matter where you go. You say the paint is cracked and flaking and different colors. Unless they take this old finish down to bare metal they will not get rid of the cracks and the new paint will do the same thing. If they do what you "really" want you won't be able to justify the high price for what the car is worth. If they do what you "say" you want (just want it to look descent) then the scope of the word "descent" is wide open for interpretation and the chance that theirs and yours are parrallel is probably less than zero! I'm not defending these shops by any means but 50% of the unhappy customers of auto repair shops set themselves up for it by either not giving requirements , not giving complete and accurate requirements OR knowingly giving vague or misleading requirements in an effort to keep the price low and then complaining about the finished product quallity. Trust me , in my 35 yrs of body/paint I have seen just as many shady customers as shady shops. I could tell you some stories you wouldn't believe about Joe Q Public and how honest he/she is. COMMUNICATION/CLEAR AND HONEST REQUIREMENTS ON BOTH SIDES!! Once you tell them what you REALLY expect , you probably won't like the price.

I had a truck painted at one in N KY. I upgraded to the best paint job they had posted on their wall. I talked to the sales guy. I made a list of the scope of work to be done to the truck so we were all on the same page. We both signed off on it prior to the start of work. I thought this would be a good way to make sure it gets fixed the way I wanted it and what i was paying for. I did not want to have to depend on a verbal agreement.

To say the least they are a bunch of hacks. There was some rust to be fixed in the cab corner. The sales guy said they would cut it out and weld in new metal. I was cahrged for this too. Two weeks later they called to say it was finished. I went to pick it up 1/2 a mile a way it looked decent. Up close it was a disaster. Over spray everywhere. The cab corner looked rough. I reached up under the cab corner to feel how the metal was welded in. They never cut anything out they. All I could feel was cardboard and bondo that they used to fix the rusted out area. I was ------ to say the least. I would never go back.

my 2 cents
Chris Mastin

It's been over 20 years since I ran a parts route to Lexington, but IIRC, Maaco was in a little industrial area just inside New Circle Road, I want to say just off Newtown Pike...[???]..but I can't recall exactly.

Some of the best work I saw back then came out of a little hole-in-the-wall looking place run by a guy named Fanning [Henry??], way out on Cummins Ferry Road outside of Versailles. Not sure if he's still there or not, or if he'd even remember me if he is. But he did good work, and a lot of it...and I understand he was pretty reasonably priced, since he didn't have as much overhead expense.

Might try to see if he's still around.