macco paint job

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81iraqitaxi

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Aug 22, 2013
24
1
3
ontario, canada
So my car is an 81 chevy Malibu which is currently painted in flat black primer, I had to drive it through the winter because I couldn't afford another car, so I had it oil undercoated, but the problem now is that the primer is flaking off because I guess the old owner just used rattle can primer to paint over the old paint. I want to get it painted but don't have a very large budget so I was looking at was a macco paint job, from what ive heard, as long as I do the prep work myself it wont cost a lot and will look semi-decent, is this true? and does anyone know around how much the paint job would cost?
 

MadMax87

Not-quite-so-new-guy
Dec 8, 2013
13
0
0
Wisconsin
For the money, it's not bad, if you do the proper prep as you said. At least around here anyways. They advertise paint jobs for $300-$500 or more depending on what you want.
 

spudd

Apprentice
Sep 10, 2012
95
0
6
we have a macco in st.paul MN that dose awesome paint work. There prep work is terrible but they have a painter that is outstanding
 

85442/86buick

G-Body Guru
Feb 12, 2013
746
1,118
93
Perth Country , Ontario
81iraqitaxi said:
ya that would be awesome for that price!


hi

not sure where in ontario you are ? please consider these are american prices , a quick google search for toronto was $999.00 for the supreme ( what thats ? ) .The last time I priced a job the paint ( primer / clear / etc) alone was over $ 500 plus canadian dollars.

Dave
 

RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
It really depends on the shop. I got a quote for $1,073 to do all the paint and body work on my car from the shop closest to my house. Seems like a deal, considering the local shops wanted around $5000 for it. But it seemed too low and the guy seemed unsure of the body work. My mechanic recommended I drive about 15 minutes farther north and get a quote from another local Maaco. He said they have an outstanding paint guy, the body guy is great, and the owner restores classic cars. I am going there this Saturday and I'll let you how it goes. According to my friend, his Firebird was in similar shape as my 442, and he got their top of the line paint + body work for $2500. I've seen the Firebird and it looks like a $5000 paint job. If I get a similar quote this weekend you can be assured my Olds will be going there for paint rather than the $5k local shop. Now I'll have money left over for the engine rebuild!

PS - They have a $50 off coupon online - make sure you print it out and bring it with you when you get the estimate
 

Blueboy84

Greasemonkey
Sep 25, 2010
139
4
18
Northern Kentucky
Mine was done by Maaco about 7 years ago.... perfect, show quality? No. But it looks pretty darn good to this day. As said in a previous post, they are independently owned so go and check out the cars in their lot and talk to the owner. I drive mine daily in the Summer months so this was exactly what I was looking for.

 

RunAwayNJ

Master Mechanic
Oct 9, 2012
409
182
43
Ocean County, NJ
So I hope this helps you. Today was actually almost 60 degrees and sunny so I took the 442 around for the final 'parade of paint estimates', including local shops and 2 different Maaco shops (1 Maaco recommended by my mechanic). Anyway, the local shops wanted anywhere from $2500 to $3500 to do the paint, and time+material for the body work, estimates for that around $2500 to $3000, possibly more. So we are looking at $5000 to $6500 for it all, which is more than we allotted for the paint. The goal was to get everything for $4000 or less. I went to the first Maaco and was highly disappointed. The guy I spoke with seemed to think the entire job could be done for under $2000. He quoted me to mid-line paint job + body work. I really wasn't happy with how he explained things would get done. So I went of to the Maaco my friend recommended. Turns out, I actually have met the owner a number of times at local shows, and he spoke highly of my mechanic. He took about 3 times as long going over the car, checking every spot and making sure he didn't miss anything. He let me know certain spots would be welded with new metal rather than bondo (I was already happy to hear that) and he took the time to make sure he addressed what I wanted done with the change of paint color and the spoiler. We talked about the different levels of paint and doing the door jams vs not doing them. He also explained the major differences in all of their paint packages, from the type of paint, how many coats, clearcoat, sanding, and buffing. The biggest difference between the lower level jobs and the top of the line jobs is the prep and the buffing. I chose to go with the top of the line paint and forgo the door jam painting (I'll do that myself over the summer). So with everything done right, I am at $3700 (I am going to do the pin striping myself) . I got to meet the painter and prep guy and see some of the work they have done and how they do it. something the other Maaco would not let me do (the local shops were more than happy to let me look around as well). I felt very confident and actually left the car with him and had my wife come and pick me up. As I was waiting, they offered me lunch and went out of their way to include me in their conversations. So I think the bottom line, and what mostly everyone here has said, is it depends on the shop. I'll post some pictures in 2 weeks and let you know how it came out.
 

lilbowtie

Comic Book Super Hero
Jan 7, 2006
3,460
3,965
113
Canton Mi
I have had 3 cars painted by Macco and have no complaints. All they did was paint, I prepped the cars. Right about this time of the year they have
their 1/2 off sale.
 
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