I paid around $400 I think but I guess there are different levels of quality?? It was a full respray in flat black with clear. I think the main problem was the poor prep job. Maybe they spend more time on the car if you pay for the premium job?

not sure how there time works, but they claim to use different grades of paint. 3 levels i think, 1500 is the most expensive (doesnt include inner doors or inner trunk)

The $400.00 paint(body) job is, "make it look better", "I'm going to sell the car paint job"!
$800.00 paint job, very good, looks great, take care of it(wax), it will last!

For a new, or relatively new car, I'd recommend the $1,200.00, or higher paint job!

Make sure they mask the front, you don't want over spray on oil coolers or CAI's! exhaust tips also

There is no need to strip the old paint off. Just sand the car down with 800 grit to scuff up the clear, fix all the chips and dings, spray color over the repaired areas and then clear coat the whole car. You are still looking at $5,000+ due to all the labor to R&I everything and high cost of materials. If I have time on monday at work, I will write an estimate and post it up on this thread to give everyone an actual price of what it will cost to pull everything apart and respray the car.

Are you saying $5,000.00 at Macco?

I'm saying $5,000+ at a shop that does quality work. Maaco is a hack shop that uses cheap materials. I have been in this business for a long time and any shop that uses quality materials and R&I's everything will charge at least $5,000. Just the material bill alone when we do complete paint jobs using PPG Envirobase is around $1,600.

What ever.

For $1,200 at Maaco nothing is getting taken apart which will cause peeling around the edges of handles, bumper covers, lights, belt moldings, etc. They don't pull the windshield and back glass, door jambs aren't masked properly, and they will use a cheap paint like Nason which will look horrible after 3-5 years. I'm just trying to let people know that you get what you pay for and taking a nice new car to Maaco is a huge mistake.

Cost me 4.5k to paint my 350, paint/body shop did a great job! Do some research and you'll find a decent shop!

Your paying for a lot of "labor"!
Average owner keeps a new car less than 7 years! You could drive down the street and have your car demolished. If some one has 5K, go for it! Not me, I like having money to pay my bills, not yours;)!

:iagree:That is why we don't do a lot of complete paint jobs. Most people don't own the car long enough to need a paint job. Most new cars will look great for well over 10 years with proper care.

Here is an estimate I wrote up at work for a complete paint job on a 370z. This doesn't include fixing any damage or painting door jambs. Fixing chips, dings, scratches, etc will cost extra.

Go turn on the TV and watch an episode of Ultimate Factories, go see how factory paint are applied. I don't care who is doing it, no shops are going to magnetize the body and the paint to get the best possible bond.

If you are going to waste $5K, go trade it in for a newer model.

I have to agree with cossie!

:iagree:
:rofl2:

I think that the oft-repeated mantra that "Nissan paint is crap" is crap.