My Maaco paintjob: 2 year followup

[deevergote]

Well, it's been almost exactly 2 years since I had Maaco repair my rust and paint my car. The paint is decent. The rust repair is... well... not. The rear 1/4 rust that I once had is coming back.

So, I went to a bodyshop today. One that has a great reputation. Talked to the guy, asked about the re-appearing rust spot on my passenger side rear quarter. He said about $300 for a repair and primer job... Which is a little on the high end, but fair. I asked him about the previous job, and if it was welded or bondo'd... he said it was DEFINITELY bondo. That made me a little angry. I had always suspected that the Maaco repair wasn't welded as I was promised, but that was confirmation.

Totally pissed, thinking of what I was going to say to a lawyer, I drove all the way to Maaco (a good 20 minute drive from the body shop). I got there, and I was greeted by a really nice guy. He asked what I drove, and told me he wanted to get a car just like that... I couldn't unload on this guy! So I took him outside and showed him the spot... not yet telling him that I had had that work done 2 years prior at that particular Maaco. He also confirmed that it was NOT welded. I then told him my situation.

The guy took me inside and got to work trying to make things right. Looked up my old records, got his manager in to help me, talked to the body guys hoping one of them would remember my car... unfortunately none that could look at it today did remember.

Apparently, the guy that I had dealt with before got fired for doing what he did to me... not because of me, but because of numerous other people. He would charge for expensive stuff, give crap stuff, and pocket the difference... He probably found a way to make commission off of the expensive charges as well. Well, that Maaco has since stopped paying on commission.

I'm now waiting on the owner of the shop to call me to resolve my issue. I'm pleased with the level of service to this point... I really feel that the guys were truly interested in helping me fix the issue. Hopefully the owner will be as helpful! I'm not sure what to expect.

Honestly, if they take care of this situation to my satisfaction, I would most certainly recommend them to ANYONE on here who wants some good work at a fair price. Mistakes happen, and so do lousy employees... How a company FIXES their mistakes shows how good they truly are!

[HondaFan81]

Yep, agreed. Always some sour apples in the bunch, at least they caught onto him.

My dad has true metal removed and replaced with new metal, primered/rustproofed and repainted for $650-700 for both sides at a local bodyshop and they did good work. I guess I'm lucky as I plan to have them do work on both my cars.

[Clueless]

how much did they charge for the suppose welded in rear panel and paint job for?

[williamsvt]

welll Mike i hope everything works out for you. it sucks that you were told one thing, and another thing occured. i was actually looking into a Maaco paint job with a rear welding job to fix the rear quarters. i want my rust done right way, not done half ass and have the rust reappear in a few years. As we speak, i have primer on it, just to keep it from rusting anymore, but i am hoping that this summer ill be able to get a nice repaint.

on another note, i was wondering how much they charged you for the repair of the quarters and repaint?

[deevergote]

They charged me for 5 hours labor... normally it should take 8 hours, the guy today said. That right there shows that the guy was a cheat. Bondo takes about 2.

I forget what they charge per hour, but I paid $250 for the paint, and the rest (about $700 total, paint included) was labor. I had the rear quarter "fixed", the trunk and roof sanded and prepped... everything else was just prepped normally and painted.

[AccordWarrior]

Just don't do what I had done.

Unless your rust was as bad as mine.

[Gemini]

I hope that they repair the rust for free and give you a deal on a new paint job. That way you get what you want and they still make some money.

[Clueless]

Just don't do what I had done.

Unless your rust was as bad as mine.

What's that? anyways...I plan to do my own rear panels when I refine my welding skills...

[Bongo]

yea, maaco doesn't have much of a good reputation with anyone that knows about body work. but if they take care of that for you and give you a decent price or even free of charge to make up for your trouble then they're definately pretty nice people. i work at a bodyshop and if my boss ever caught me bondo-ing rust...he'd literally kick my ass haha( not that i would anyways because it's just dumb and it's basically asking for more rust.) hope it works out for you tho, good luck.

[Clueless]

yea, maaco doesn't have much of a good reputation with anyone that knows about body work. but if they take care of that for you and give you a decent price or even free of charge to make up for your trouble then they're definately pretty nice people. i work at a bodyshop and if my boss ever caught me bondo-ing rust...he'd literally kick my ass haha( not that i would anyways because it's just dumb and it's basically asking for more rust.) hope it works out for you tho, good luck.

Mind explaining how to properly do rear quarters?

[pretty_ricky302]

i was quoted at 700 by two shops to do just one rust side.
they told my boy his would be 1500 b/c the bumper right now doesnt even have any metal to hold on to (rear)

[Bongo]

are you being sarcastic? well if your not you either buy a replacement panel(not the whole panel just the part around the fender) or you fabricate your own piece. then you cut all the rust out of the old one, then weld in the new piece of metal, spray undercoating on the back side, grind the welds down, put bondo over it to fill in any pinholes then polyester putty, then prime then paint

[deevergote]

To do a rear quarter properly, you need to cut a good chunk of the panel off and replace it with a patch panel. Maaco quoted me $47 for the part. That's about normal price-wise.

Honestly, Maaco's work IS decent. The paint (which was the $500 Presidential job at half price) has lasted nicely. The only flaws are the bondo'd rust, 2 slight orange peel spots that they said they would fix (I never went back because the same guy was a jerk when I did), and a couple scratches that I put on there myself. If they can weld that rust spot, I would be very happy with the work!


Honestly, I'm hoping they just fix it for me. Fix the rust, and repaint the car. Basically, I just want what I already paid for! Yes, it will be a second paintjob... but it's necessary to do it to return the car to it's expected state. I won't settle for a repaired rust spot and a shiny repainted panel that doesn't match the rest of the car. And I honestly don't think I should have to pay because their guy ripped me off!

[Zero's R]

be careful about dealing with Maaco. I just had my car done by them. they kept my car for nearly 2 months after promising me it would only take 2 weeks, and it still wasn't right. they were nice... at first. well they were nice the whole time, but they consistently promise stuff that they aren't going to do. it happens nationwide at many Maaco facilities-I've read about many complaints from people... and it all sounds the same. if you know someone who has their car painted at Maaco and are unsatisfied with their work... have them go to the local court and pay for the cost of the paint-job. get a release order and have a cop go there to pick it up. then it will go to court... the judge will probably rule in the plaintiff's favor because of the many complaints against Maaco. most of them are complete scam jobs... with the exception of a few. it really depends on where you go... but better safe than sorry. a warranty card from a place that does a crap job in the first place isn't going to be any good to you, because they'll very likely do the same kind of crappy workmanship as before. I say screw Maaco... save your money for a decent paint-job from a reputable auto-body shop.

[Bongo]

holy shit that's a huge sig