Does Maaco do a quality repaint job? $225??

My 85 300SD needs repaint. It is dark blue with gray running board trim. Maaco is running an ad on TV, they say forget $1000 to $200 for a paint job, they can repaint your car for $225. I am highly skeptical of this, as I know that there is a lot of labor that goes into this, especially all the prep work...tht is to do it right. And I am also skeptical that they are using a high-quality paint that will last a long time. It is too good to be true. Anyone know anything about the quaility of a Maaco paint job, and particularly this very low price? Does a quality repaint involve putting on a base coat AND a sealer coat? I figured getting a quality repaint for this car would cost around $2500.

Reply to
Jimbo
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It's a joke.

Reply to
Martin Joseph

Here is my philosophy on paint job. There is nothing that will match factory applied paint job... even dealer body shop can't match it.

That's said... now Maaco is cheap paint job... they don't prep your in the manner as standard paint job is done... instead, they leave factory paint alone... chemical washed the car... which will slightly etch the car for proper bond to their paint (made by DuPont, by the way). So in essence, they preserved the factory prep work with new paint.

The catch is this, if you have pending rust... you must treat it now on that particular spot or it will grow like cancer. I had my car painted for $2000 by a friend of mine... he prepped my car... sand it down... everything... however it did start to rust 3 years later... some is their prep problem, other is typical rust on MB that rusted from inside outward.

I don't care if you spent $4000 on your paint job, you will see it rust somewhere that ruins your investment unless you tackle 100$ of the entire body, inside, outside, underneath the chassis, etc. Only restoration job gets that much attention.

So what is my opinion of Maaco? If your car is good and you want to keep it a couple more years, then go ahead... I am assuming you are not going to keep it super long term... like 5+ years... However, if you do want to keep it long, then I suggest you get UV protection coat that they offer... keeps their paint from fading. This is assuming whole cost is less then $800.

Some may paint for $1200 at regular body shop... In these cases, ask them how much more for better paint than what they normally use... the key is better and compatible clearcoat job. The paint cost is practically nothing... maybe $300... you might even want to buy the paint for them... go to the body shop paint supply and talk to them.

All other plans, such as super long term, shop around and look at their shop cleaniness, cars that they just finished...perfect paint job is near factory... no blemish or embedded particles.

Reply to
Tiger

it would look like shit and probably last about 3 months.

my 6.9 is currently in getting stripped back to bare metal, all rust cut out and new metal put in place and resprayed in 2 pack in the good old astral silver, and its costing me $4500, and he's a friend of mine. anywhere else would of been almost double that. I have supplied every single external part, lights, badges, rubber, chrome, etc all brand new to him my self and when finished should look as it did when it left the production line.

Reply to
Ziggy Switkowski

I went to a custom shop, the ones that work on rice cars, and had them paint my 190E. What a frickin' mistake that was. $3k for what? A crappy paint job with swirl marks, a broken sunroof that I had to take to the dealer to fix (for a price of course) and the light on my shift area (the part that tells you what gear you're in in while driving at night) suddenly disappeared. Was I pissed? You bet I was. However, after the sunroof disaster I didn't want him going near my car to redo it. The guy did a fantastic job on the other cars he worked on, so I'm at a loss as to why my car was so crappy. I mean, damn, it was just black! No special color or anything. To think $1k more and I could have just had the dealer do it. What a frickin' waste of money. So, make sure you feel confident with the person painting your car. Make sure they know how to prep a 'benz before painting. That was my damn fault for expecting the guy to know how to take care of a benz.

Reply to
nathantw

It is easy to say it would look like crap... that's the problem and not all of us would consider $4500 reasonable.

Reply to
Tiger

"Jimbo" wrote in news: snipped-for-privacy@uni-berlin.de:

Would you put store-brand ketchup on a Morton's filet mignon?

Reply to
ArchieLeach

If you need ketchup on your filet mignon, then you are a bad cook. I cut my own filet mignon... $4 a pound.

Reply to
Tiger

Reply to
Jimbo

the materials alone to respray a car yourself would be in the range of 400 - $800 how they can do it for $225 is a worry, the coat is probably so thin the first time it rains it'll wash off... as for preparation - ask them that and they'll say, "what's that?"

Reply to
Ziggy Switkowski

she isnt my daily driver, and gives me less hassle than the woman i just broke up with - it actually puts a smile on my face to drive and costs less than a girlfriend too - money well spent i say!

Reply to
Ziggy Switkowski

Forget Maaco.Go to a few local paint and body shops locally who have excellent BBB references and who are known to do good work.I find that the parts people seem to know who is really good also.Using top quality paint with a good painting booth is expensive.For a top quality car,I would go top quality.I think you can get it done for $2500.If it lasts 3-4 years,then it is $625 a year.I think that is acceptable for driving a nice car that you are proud of.

Reply to
sl3204me

Being a European I would prefer mustard with my steak, preferably Dijon.

DAS

Reply to
Dori A Schmetterling

I just had the rear bumper on my 2001 E320 wagon repainted on one side because my bride hit a landscape boulder. It only had several deep scratches about 15" long, no dents or heavy damage. Cost at a local quality body shop: $250.

I've heard estimates to do a quality repaint on a Mercedes is in the $3000-4000 range. Extrapolate from there what a $225 paint job will get you.........

Reply to
jav

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marlinspike

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marlinspike

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marlinspike

Reply to
marlinspike

Just because things are fixing to go doesn't mean they need an enitre replacement. Trannys can be rebuilt and engine parts can be replaced. Don't let it die.

Only? A $5400 1985 300SD is probably a very nice example of a 300SD. When it does go, don't junk it, find a mechanic who wants it. My old mechanic had worked on an older couple's 300SD they had since new for years. Then the engine died. It wasn't worth it to them to fix it, even though it was pretty mint otherwise, so he bought it off of them for cheap and fixed it himself. Richard

Reply to
marlinspike

Hehehe... no... not cattle rancher... It take time to cut the right meat into filet mignon... However, the store gets the bigger part and sell them $20 a pound whereas they leave smaller uncut portion for the rest of us.

Reply to
Tiger

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