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Honestly, unless there is some sort of emotional attachment, you are better off IMO selling your current (needs a paint job) car. Then take those proceeds, and buy a newer, lower mileage car not in need of a paint job. If you factor in the cost of a professional paint job, I'm betting you'd come out ahead financially by taking this route. And, IMO no matter how nice a re-spray is, it still de-values a car compared to a factory paint job. Any knowledgeable buyer will always have the question in his or her mind as to "why" was the car repainted.
My 2 cents.
I agree with you. Putting a bunch of money into painting these cars and their value remains the same seems like a waste. A good option would be to sell it and upgrade.
Many years ago I bought a 64 Buick Skylark convertible as a DD to stop putting so many miles on my 69 C3. The Buick ran great and had a really nice interior but the paint had crazed badly. We sanded it, removed almost all of the chrome and old Earl painted it metallic burgundy for around $50. Came out great. The guys I worked with were surprised at how good it came out. Still, wouldn't have brought a Vette there. But for a beater, it was great.
Today that Buick is more worthy of a good repaint than a c5 is. I was looking for a classic vert. when I bought my c5, funny how quickly that changed, 20k doesn't buy a very good classic but will buy you a low mile c5 that looks and drives new!
St. Jude Donor '08-'09-'10-'11-'12-'13-'14-'15-'16-'17-'18-'19-'20-'21-'22-'23-'24
Originally Posted by calvins
shooo... I remember when he'd do it for $29.95! Of course you had to scrape it off of the windows and figure out how to get it off of the bumpers and lights....
laugh all you want , they have a local man at Macco the moonlights at the high end shops.
Everyone says his work is outstanding.
laugh all you want , they have a local man at Macco the moonlights at the high end shops.
Everyone says his work is outstanding.
A friend of mine restored and refurbished old cars to sell. He swore by Maaco. He said all they do all day is paint cars so they get pretty good at it. He does all the body and prep work and Maaco sprays them.. I saw some of his cars and they were just as good as the other body shops.
laugh all you want , they have a local man at Macco the moonlights at the high end shops.
Everyone says his work is outstanding.
I'm sure at car shows all over the country the cars painted at Maaco are the winners of the best paint awards! You guys can't really believe the only difference between a high end shop (shops that paint/ repair luxury and sports cars) and Maaco is the price! A good painter does more than hold a paint gun! Good painters make way too much money to work at Maaco and moonlight at a quality shop. I was not going to comment on this posting but I'm afraid someone may actually take it serious and ruin their Vette.
My opinion, but I have actually worked at a quality shop and have seen what it takes to get a quality paint job. Not happening for a few hundred or even a couple thousand bucks.
I agree with you. Putting a bunch of money into painting these cars and their value remains the same seems like a waste. A good option would be to sell it and upgrade.
unless you have tens of thousands into the drivetrain, you're never getting that money back anyway.
I'm sure at car shows all over the country the cars painted at Maaco are the winners of the best paint awards! You guys can't really believe the only difference between a high end shop (shops that paint/ repair luxury and sports cars) and Maaco is the price! A good painter does more than hold a paint gun! Good painters make way too much money to work at Maaco and moonlight at a quality shop. I was not going to comment on this posting but I'm afraid someone may actually take it serious and ruin their Vette.
My opinion, but I have actually worked at a quality shop and have seen what it takes to get a quality paint job. Not happening for a few hundred or even a couple thousand bucks.
Spraying a car is the easy part. Almost anyone could learn how to do it. Heck, after a few minutes instruction and previous observation, I even did it once while working in a Hot Rod shop .. Turned out fine. It's the prep and finish work that makes a show car paint job and that's where the money goes. Putting a 10K paint job on a $15K C5 makes absolutely no sense to me. A 3 or 4 thousand dollar job might make sense. It won't be show quality, but it won't ruin the Vette either.
Spraying a car is the easy part. Almost anyone could learn how to do it. Heck, after a few minutes instruction and previous observation, I even did it once while working in a Hot Rod shop .. Turned out fine. It's the prep and finish work that makes a show car paint job and that's where the money goes. Putting a 10K paint job on a $15K C5 makes absolutely no sense to me. A 3 or 4 thousand dollar job might make sense. It won't be show quality, but it won't ruin the Vette either.
yes I agree you could probably get a decent job in that range and not ruin car but that's not a typical Maaco job.
yes I agree you could probably get a decent job in that range and not ruin car but that's not a typical Maaco job.
I have seen some Maaco jobs that were as good as any body shop in town. If their customers weren't happy they would have been out of business a long time ago.
shooo... I remember when he'd do it for $29.95! Of course you had to scrape it off of the windows and figure out how to get it off of the bumpers and lights....
Do you remember this?
I do believe that was the cheapest unless he paid you to paint your car.
I have seen some Maaco jobs that were as good as any body shop in town. If their customers weren't happy they would have been out of business a long time ago.
I stand corrected you actually do think the only difference is the price, there is nothing more I can say
I never said there wasn't a difference but a guy spraying 4 cars a day should get pretty good at it. If you read some of the posts on that thread some people were very satisfied with Maaco. A friend of mine in the Car business liked their work. Like I said if they only did crappy work they would have gone belly up a long time ago. I think it's a waste to pay a high end shop $10K to paint a $15K car that will still be worth $15K after it's done. Better to upgrade.
I agree with you. Putting a bunch of money into painting these cars and their value remains the same seems like a waste. A good option would be to sell it and upgrade.
How is that any different than putting 10K into the engine. You don't get that back either. There are plenty of supercharged cars that don't bring any more than one that is stock,
These cars certainly aren't investments, as most cars aren't. My take is that you customize a car for your enjoyment with no expcectations that you will ever see a penny of it.
I have seen some Maaco jobs that were as good as any body shop in town. If their customers weren't happy they would have been out of business a long time ago.
All I can say is Maaco must be a completely different company in your part of the world. Because my experience is that they are crap.
Shakey
Some people think a car painted with a roller looks ok, otherwise who would do it ....right, I've seen cars painted with lineX. You get what you pay for when it comes to this kind of work, could you pay too much and get a crap job?...yes, but you can't pay a little (hundreds) and get a nice job by my standards.
My opinion
Oh and by the way you can't just repaint over a crap job, now a nice job is going to cost a lot more.....so be careful out there
A/R Autobody did mine here in sunny So. California, Complete color change from black to mellenium yellow, Took the whole car apart, and color sanded the whole car too, I think its show quality in my opinion No orange peel or overspray anywhere, its won 4 judges choice awards and 1 best of show in just 1 year from being painted, He did my brake calipers and also did some interior and engine parts too, all for only 5K
Just starting to take it all apart for prep then paint
1st painted rear quarter panel is on the car now
Its finally starting to look like a corvette again...Yay !!
Some of the interior parts are done now
Paint is finally done, ready for color sanding now
The trunk turned out very nice and clean
The painted engine parts came out great, I did the lettering with a simple sharpie for now, will probably change that later...cheap but effective
The engine bay looks great now, just a few more things to finish it up
Interior is done, nice two-tone
The finished product complete with new wheels, tires and color matched brake calipers...but is it ever really finished ??... its a never ending labor of love
Last edited by CorvetteBob52; 11-24-2015 at 03:19 AM.
This question. When I had mine done the more reputable shops tear the car down and that requires time. The car is painted in pieces. Other general collision shops painted pretty much in tact. This is the problem. I spent $10k and that was someone I knew, I also have zero orange peel. So labor hours for were high not only for taking apart and reassemble but countless hours of prep and wet sand. I had prices the low end $6k to as high as $16k. Do yourself a favor don't visit the car during this, seeing this many parts spread out all over the place hurts.
IMO, for what it's worth.....This is the ONLY way it should be done. Is it expensive ? HELL YES. Worth it in the long run ? You better believe it !
Beautiful car Bob. And the color is the right one too......
Shakey
Thanks Shakey, Yes the color was a perfect change since black here in the Mojave desert is nearly impossible to keep clean very long, Yellow stays nice and clean for a long time.
11-19-2015, 04:47 PM
Of course you had to scrape it off of the windows and figure out how to get it off of the bumpers and lights....
You guys can't really believe the only difference between a high end shop (shops that paint/ repair luxury and sports cars) and Maaco is the price! A good painter does more than hold a paint gun! Good painters make way too much money to work at Maaco and moonlight at a quality shop. I was not going to comment on this posting but I'm afraid someone may actually take it serious and ruin their Vette. 
unless you have tens of thousands into the drivetrain, you're never getting that money back anyway.
yes I agree you could probably get a decent job in that range and not ruin car but that's not a typical Maaco job.
. You get what you pay for when it comes to this kind of work, could you pay too much and get a crap job?...yes, but you can't pay a little (hundreds) and get a nice job by my standards. 
