[ivonko]

hey guys just ordered a new RS bumper for my obs (journal: ivonko impreza obs) and i found a coupon for my local maaco for painting new bumpers at 130.00.

First I'm pretty sure thats a dang good deal because my uncle said he would do it for 80 but i would have to buy the supplies so it ends up being around 150. but wondering if there are better deals?

there are tons of pros and cons about maaco and i was wondering if anybody has experience with them painting new parts? paint peeling, fading clearcoat, etc.

also i was wondering if maaco does a good job color matching. i need the titanium pearl 89n and whoever painted the bumper thats on the car now didnt match it very well so it sticks out like a sore thumb.

So IS IT A GOOD DEAL? DO THEY DO A GOOD JOB? and DO THEY MATCH COLORS WELL?

Thanks for the input. ill post pictures on my members journal when i get it done:banana:

 

[krotch]

That's a really good price as for Maaco quality, I think it might all depend on the shop themselves. I got my RS bumper painted at Maaco for $250. Matches the car well and so far, no problems. I had it done back in Aug/Sep 2011.

I didn't have any kind of fancy colored car. They simply took my vin, grabbed the paint code, and paint away. My car isn't faded or anything, so the paint is still the same as the day it came out.

 

[ivonko]

thats awesome man. i read reviews and stuff on this maaco. owned by an older couple that likes doing muscle cars and stuff. from what ive read they do a good job. but that was mostly off there site and anybody can give themselves a ton of credit you know?

my car isnt fancy colored its just the 2 tone obs so i want to keep that 2 tone to it. thats one of the reasons i love it.

did you get your bumper brand new or used? if you got it new where did you order it?

 

[ivonko]

and if anybody has experiences with the Vancouver WA maaco for any painting please let me know how it was!

 

[krotch]

The bumper was brand new. I bought it off a guy in NJ. Guess he simply didn't get around to doing anything with it. $500 for bumper skin, fogs, signals, and beam. The only used parts were the fog lights and foglight brackets.

 

[ivonko]

nice! i got the bumper beam for free from i guy in seattle and the bumper skin, foglight brackets, fogs, and turn signals are at 300 so far so i consider myself extremely lucky to get one for this cheap. i ordered the bumper from SUBARUPARTSSTORE that advertises 20% off on the rs25 home page. hope they make a quality product.

 

[krotch]

As long as you've got the right bumper. That site seems pretty cheap. Maybe I'll check for new window trim pieces.

 

[ivonko]

i was looking at genuine subaru parts and its the same price so im not sure... just crossing my fingers. lol not sure how to get a wrong rs bumper but i sure hope i got the correct one. which window trim you looking for? im missing the one on drivers side of my windshield. if thats what your getting let me know the quality.

 

[krotch]

I have all my window trim still, but I'd just like to buy all of them for later on. The only issue I have is the window trim on the passenger side of my car (right in front of the rear triangle window). About 2" piece of rubber behind the trim is gone. You can see some white plastic clip behind it.

 

[ivonko]

oh that doesnt sound too bad. thanks for the maaco info again

 

[krotch]

My bumper right after I got it back from Maaco and put it on. It's a crappy cellphone pic.

 

[ivonko]

can you send it to my phone? ill pm you my number. i cant see pics on my work computer.

 

[krotch]

I can, but it'll be a pain to type that all up on my phone or tablet. If you have email at work, can always send it that way. Unless you can't even view pics in email.

 

[Snakebite420]

I got my bumber painted at a professional shop here in montana for 250$. but yeah. honestly maco's not a bad choice. just prep the bumper yourself.. or heck your uncle would prob be the best choice as its only 20$ more. and im sure he will spend the time/quality in it.

but either way yeah. but if it was me, i would go with your uncle. he cant do any worse then a maaco, but as your family he will put more time into it i bet.

Maaco's arnt honestly bad. you get what you pay for. I recommend to anyone going to a Maaco paint shop, to Prep and tape off everything yourself. it will turn out better. dont expect at 250$ paint job to look 3,000$ good. But yeah i have seen some really nice jobs done from a maaco, (they prepped and tapped off them selves and paid for the best paint at the maaco was like 1,000) but yeah looked good

 

[RallycrossRS]

Regarding Maaco, they are independently owned and have their own idea of quality.

But, one thing I've noticed; the people that bitch about poor quality are the ones that expect the world with the $299 full car repaint. They are the cheap people that say "you just painted over those rock chips, that basketball sized dent in my door, and my bumper is still held on with shoe string." - "you paid $299, scuff and spray."

My best friend was a painter for Maaco and he is one of the best painters/ bodymen I've ever seen in my life. He and I do not comprehend "cutting corners." Just can't do it. Even if I spray paint something, my prep is flawless. You'd never know it was spray painted.

I'm speaking generically, just on the topic of Maaco; not you specifically krotch.

 

[krotch]

I go to a Maaco in Glen Burnie, MD. They have 3 different services. Crap, average, and premium or something like that. I saw a lot of cars there and they definitely did a good job prepping and taping off a car. Other cars, I don't think they even bothered prepping the car.

I don't know if this type of service is limited by location.

 

[krotch]

I'm speaking generically, just on the topic of Maaco; not you specifically krotch.

No worries. I'm lazy. If I had to paint my own car, I'd just spraypaint right over the existing paint. I wouldn't bother taping off. I'd just take off what I didn't want to paint. Taping takes too long.

 

[RallycrossRS]

Oh, and if you do your own prep (which will still need work, don't bother - I'm :unamused: everytime I see rattle canned primer all over the place and the person used 7 grit sand paper), don't tape...TAKE THE CAR WITH PARTS OFF.

$1000 is a Good paint job from Maaco. Usually base/ clear and a 2k primer. Pay to get your dings fixed, its literally a few $$.

Another funny thing...I've seen cars come in with CELs on, barely running, and basically a "honk if parts fall off" getting full paint jobs. Its slowly dying, but it sure is shiney! :lol:

 

[krotch]

ya, I'll probably use Maaco for a full car respray, but I don't know anything about their bodywork. I have a bunch of small dents and dings around the car. I was thinking of just replacing the parts themselves with non-dented parts and then sending off those parts elsewhere for repair, then storage for the future.

I really should learn how to do bodywork.

 

[ivonko]

got the pics (krotch) that looks great. colors match very well from what i see.

so with a new bumper if I'm going to maaco what prep should i do? just wet sand it? also i have that coupon for 130 but im not sure what is included in that price. just the spray or prep also.
I will talk to my uncle about it. i know he does a great job but it may take longer because he works full time so it would be on the side and would take longer.

Maaco is like a drive thru at burger king lol they paint it and send you on your way which would be cool so i can install my bumper asap