Did you already get the car painted? I got two shops I know if you want

 

BS, bro. I posted that BEFORE I had any replies so don't tell me I don't want to listen! Nobody was talking... there was nothing to listen to!

And yes, I'm sure I could get a better paint job for $2000 or $3000 but it's her work car. It's a 94 Camry. It ain't a show car. We're not trying to impress anybody.

And yeah, I'll post some pics after the paint has been on it a year, and I'll post pics every year thereafter in the interest of fairness.

You need to chill amigo. What's wrong? Is your biz going down the tubes? If that's the case, it ain't my fault. Maybe it's a tough economy or maybe your a real hard ass who chases customers away.

So far, there have been 10 additions to the original post.

4 of them (including this one) have been mine.

There also have been 1 each from two different forum members.

Then there's you, with 4 replies, each of them some derivation of sour grapes.
That tells the story as far as I'm concerned.

Again (now read this closely, pure kustoms), I'm sure I could get a better paint job for $2000 or $3000 but it's her work car. It's a 94 Camry. It ain't a show car.

Do you get it now?

 

I called 3 times -left message, and pmd you! Macco will welcome you with open arms and a jar of vaseline!!

 

Grady,

You PMed me with your phone number. I called you the same night and it wasn't a late night call. I got your voice mail and left you a message.

By the time you got back to me I had been to the first Maaco. I looked over the equipment they used and two of their "Signature" paint jobs that were waiting to be picked up and they looked pretty damn good.

I made up my mind to go to another Maaco and do the same thing and call you IF I decided (guessed, really) that you might do a better job.

The second Maaco seemed to be better run than the first AND they offered to do the same job as the first Maaco for $400 less.

They are 7 miles from my house. You are well over 50 miles. I can watch Maaco every step of the way and have the car back in three days.

(By the way... I PMed and heard back from 2 guys you did work for and they were VERY, VERY happy with the work you did).

Anyway, it just came down to my getting the job done faster and for less money and no hassle of driving some distance to drop it off and pick up. It ain't a personal thing.

We'll just have to wait and see about the, er, lubricant aspect of Maaco. I've read a lot of the Maaco complaints. Here's what I think:

They are franchises and some do better work than others. Most of the complaints I saw came from their cheapo $300 paint jobs. I didn't see any gripes at all about the "Signature Series" paint jobs. Not one!

The majority of Internet posts about large companies (not just automotive, but UPS, Apple computers etc.) generally seem to be negative.

This is because people tend not to post things like, "They do a good job and I'm satisfied with them." People bitch when something goes wrong. It's human nature. When they get what they pay for, they generaly have no comment.

Maaco franchises have been around for a long time now. They are only as good as the people that run them. I would think that if all Maacos sucked, they would have all gone out of business by now. Word of mouth is big, huge in this age of the Internet.

I'm getting the best level paint job Maaco does at a considerable discount from what they normally charge.

No, it won't be a showroom job, and it probably won't be as good a job as you would have done. But I don't expect that for what I'm paying.

I do think the extra $50 I promised to pay the manager will help. Maybe it won't, but I think it will.

i live 7 miles from the place that's doing the work. I'll be there all three days for at least a little while while it's being done.

I'll insist on meeting and talking to the prep guy and the shooter the day I drop it off. I'll probably offer them a $25 "tip" each if they take their time and do a nice job.

I shouldn't have to pay $50 to the service manager to keep an overall eye on the job, and another $50 to the guys that do the actual work but so what? I think it will be worrth it and Ill still get out of there for welll under $900.

I'm gonna go over it real closely when the job is done. If I see something I don't like, I'm going to insist it be made right and nobody will get an extra dime from me if theres even one small problem.

In other words, I'm going to be an "involved" customer/consumer or what some would call a pain in the ass.

But I bet I get a better job done than if I were a passive, no questions asked type of customer.

Remember, this is the car the old lady drives to work. I'm betting it comes out pretty damn nice.

Time will tell, so we'll just have to wait and see what happens. I'm willing to take the chance with Maaco.

And for the people who say, "Yeah, you wait, (pick your time factor) 6 months (or a year, or two years or whatever) from now you'll be unhappy," well, I have no way of knowing that AND NEITHER DO THEY!

They don't know the franchise I'm going to, nor do they know the the service manager, the prep guy or the shooter.

I got the specs on the paint, it's Sherwin Williams (I forget the designation) but I looked it up and a lot of paint and body guys say stuff like, "The Sherwin Williams xxx xxx is good paint. They have come a long way in auto paint and it's good quality."

Only one guy said it tends to "dry hard" and is a little prone to chipping. But that was the ONLY negative I saw about the paint. Most said it was as good as the big boys, Dupont and PPG but just cost less as SW continues to try to compete with the others.

Maybe this is a bit of a crap shoot. So what? What isn't a crap shoot when you got to someone you don't know to get something done.

I've done my homework and am as satisfied as I can be things will turn out OK.

 

Last thoughts on this...

Maacos are franchises. To say "Maaco sucks" is like saying, "All Irish people are drunks, all black people are lazy, all Italians beat their wives and all guys who paint cars are snot nosed, ill tempered primadonnas who think everybody else's work sucks and they say so at every opportunity."

Sorry. It just ain't so! Ya just can't generalize about stuff!

Bottom line? Maacos are as good (or bad) as the people who work there.

Also, there's a certain "snob factor" if you will, concerning Maaco. They're just so "common."

Lots of snobs say, "Oh nooooooo, I never watch television except for the news. I'm a reader." That's fine. I read too. But there ain't nothing wrong with watching a little tube.

McDonald's are common too. A lot of people just turn up their nose at them. Hey, I eat a Big Mac every once in a while. Not bad at all. Tastes good, fills ya up and the price is right.

Some people LOVE to repeat horror stories. And they love to embellish them. Some people jsut make a hobby out of knocking stuff they really know NOTHING about.

Knocking stuff, being negative just makes 'em feel good for some reason. Probably because they live shitty little miserable lives, are unhappy and like to make others unhappy.

"I know a guy who knew a guy whose brother-in-law took a car to Maaco for a paint job and neither the guy nor his car were ever seen again. His wife and kids are homeless now and she has become a crack addict and a prostitute. I swear, it's true and it's all Maaco's fault!"

I'll bet there are some guys here who have had Maaco paint their cars. But they'll probably never admit it on this forum for all the hostility the admission would probably engender.

I hate snobs. I really do.

 

you are wrong on many points, but the only one i am going to mention is that painters are against each other, that is not true at all, yes it is a competitive industry but, the only other painter that tried to give you advice was oldschool, after you asked for advice,. We all know you are not looking for a show piece stop saying it, we were just trying to tell you that maaco does not use good ethics or paint, what do you expect for someone who is a "painter" making such a low wage, dont you think if they are that good they would not be at a more custom shop? or that the offer of $50 would make them put in twice as many hours? and there manager would not make them speed up to keep cost down? and pay the manager a "tip" and he will buy better paint and primer? (if they are even going to prime it)
i'm done,.
talk to oldschool and maybe he will give you some advice if you are willing to take it,.....

 

BS - I'm sure if I were wrong on many points you would have pointed them out ...

Once again, they are franchises. Yep, and all Italian guys beat their wives.Stop generalizing about all Maaco's.


So you know what all Maaco painters are paid? I bet there are a lot more painters around than there are custom shops whjo will hire them, especially in this economy. As I said, I will be talking to the guys who work on the car and ask to see some examples of their work, how long they have been doing it and so on. No money has changed hands. If I don't like what I see and hear, I'll drive away.


You are SO full of crap. Where do I start? The price is already agreed on and the cost is already "down." I don't care if they work fast or slow as long as it's done right. I already know what paint and primer is being used. It's SW and has a good reputation.

Now you're done. I think you should quit painting cars and get a job as a professional smoke blower cuz that's all you do; blow smoke. All your BS just breaks up and floats away when you say stuff like - They are FRANCHISES, sonny. When are you gonna get that? They are owned and operated by different people. They don't all use the same materials. Some are better and some are worse than others.

If they ALL sucked, they would not still be in business.

 

yes they are all franchises, but they still have to honor the paint jobs that are advertised, I,E, ambassador, and signature, and so on

again.
good luck with your job.

 

Thanks, I'll let you know how it turns out.

 

this thread just reminded me why I havent even been on the forum in a long time....

thanks for the reminder. good luck on your shit paint job.

Josh