Repair delimma!
 

Hi,

Well my 11 GS was in a fender bender a month ago and i brought it to my good friend's shop, which happens to be a Maaco. Now before you chime in that Maaco is garbage...this guy is a very smart former exec. who 15 years ago decided to go independent and go into the body shop business...they use premium paint and techniques for their insurance repairs on many hi end cars.

So anyway...I stopped there yesterday to check on the car and it was almost finished. When I first saw it, I couldn't believe the quality of the finish...they did nose, hood, both fenders...it looks like glass, no orange peel, no dust spots, just very smooth, show car finish. I was ecstatic until i realized they had put this ugly license braket on the nose of the car...damn! Looks like a zit on a beautiful models face

He told me the insurance company dictated this as we are in NJ which requires. I bought the car in pennsie, so there was no bracket and I had no plans to put one on...I have previously used those under the air dam brackets that slide under the car when you dont want it to show.

He says he willl take car of me, but now there are at least two holes in the nose that must be filled and paint that must be blended in again. I am kind of sick because I really like the guy, so we are both loser in this, but why the heck didn't he call me about it before they put it on.
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...1eb70f5d2e.jpg

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...f92bc755ed.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...2ad39f849b.jpg

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.cor...59810cd5cc.jpg

Are you sure it's bolted on? I would think a guy with body shop experience would use the one that sticks on with double sided tape.

:iagree:

Was it your insurance company that paid for the repair? Either way, I cannot imagine an insurance company even thinking about a front license plate, let alone dictating it. Perhaps it's a replacement nose and it had the bracket on it?

Yeah, if it's an OEM bracket (which it looks like) it is just stuck on with double-sided foam tape.

Yup, you're right. It does look like a zit on a model's face. Hopefully your friend can make it right for you. Too bad Chevrolet didn't come up with a better idea for a license plate holder. At least the C5's had a recess in the bumper cover for the license plate, and a cover if you didn't have a plate. Looked much better than that add on plate holder on the C6.

It's your car and I wouldn't tell you what to do with it but if it helps, I don't think it looks bad since we all know it's a requirement.

Yea...a lot of people think that Maaco does only cheap work and can't do the real thing when it's really only the fact that they offer cheaper paint jobs for those that don't want to buc-up the big $$$. I've seen some good work come out of some maacos if one is willing to pay the price. But then again of course, the true quality (or lack of) of any paint job will take several months to show it's due.

I have no doubts about the paint....it is sherwin williams top of the line product...again I have known and dealt with the owner for years

It kinda looks like a bad Hitler mustache!

MACCO is better than people give it credit for. When I was 16 I put the cheapest MACCO paint on my truck cost I think $400 for the whole thing, I am 30 now and the truck has sat outside all these years and the paint I starting to fail. For a cheap paint job I consider that to be good.


They obviously have much better options that come with clear coats and what not, but as a teen with little money that was good.
Also it looks like one of those plate brackets with double sided tape. Easy way to tell would be just pull the plate off real quick and check.

I agree. They painted my pickup (after I pulled all the trim and bumpers) with the Presidential (?) job for about a thousand bux. It had a clear coat finish. I sold the truck about 6 years later and the paint job still looked like new.
I think their motto is "Leave the windows down and we'll paint the inside for free."

Maaco shops are independently owned and each shop will have a different level of performance. I had a car painted at Maaco before and it was impeccable. The painter came to meet me explained that he was a Mustang fanatic and took pride in his work. When I got my car back it really showed.

Take the license plate off and see if you can see any screws, if not it is only held on by 3 round pads of double face tape. I have the identical OEM bracket that was given to me by the previous owner and never installed. I chose to go with a removable one instead.

Most brackets I have seen installed are screwed in. I think a lot of people don't trust the adhesive pads. That said, one car I bought came with the bracket screwed on. I had one of those repair places that do work for the local dealerships fill and touch up the bumper. I believe it was on an 08 CRM. I paid $100 at the time. Then I put on one of those hide away plate holders. Va is a 2 plate state.

They should. If the bumper is cleaned properly a gorilla couldn't pull that thing off. I dripped some goo gone over those pads on mine and it finally came off.

Berlin NJ , my old stomping grounds ....

Dave

Maybe it isn't normal elsewhere but if the guy wanted to get paid by the insurance co., he may have had to follow their "advice" re the license plate bracket. Also, as much as I don't like them, it doesn't look too bad to me. I had to finally put one on due to tickets and judges. Not to mention the rear-facing cameras that foto all cars in my state and will pull you over if they a) recognize your rear plate and b) see that it has no front plate on it.

:iagree: I had them paint a company car for around 700.00 and fix the hood on my daughters car. Both really nice work. I took a car in to have a fender done last year and it looked really bad. Same shop. You just never know with them.

The insurance company would not even think about the license plate, unless somebody called and asked them about it, which I bet is what happened.

Let your friend fix it. Somehow, he made the mistake, or the call to the ins. company, so it is on him.

The OEM nose wart bracket is just glued on. I sure hope that's all that happened. :eek: