Maaco Consumer Reviews - Page 5

HAYWARD -- I don't have much time, so I'll attempt to make a short story out of what was a long and frustrating experience. I have a 1996 Buick Regal 2-door coupe. I've had it for about 2 years now and decided it was time to sell it and move on. Problem was, I bought the car with large paint chips mission on both the hood, driver door, and rear panel. If you've sold cars before, you know something like that can make for a very slow sale. I decided to repaint the car, did a little research, and figured an inexpensive ($300-500) Maaco package would do the trick.

I picked up a friend and we headed down to National Ave. My buddy lives nearby and we planned to walk to his house in the case that I left my car with Maaco that afternoon, and he would then give me a ride home. When we arrived at the shop, a young lady helped us out. She took a look at the car, I told her what I wanted, and I was told, "It'll be $229 for the Supreme prep. package and $249 for the Ambassador paint package, so it'll be like...$600". The Supreme prep. package states that the car will be sanded and any chips repaired.

I was rather confused by the pricing, but carried on. She said that if I left it with them that evening (Monday), that it would be ready on Wednesday, Thursday at the latest, which seemed suuuuper quick to me. Anyway, I said thank you and told her I'd be in touch. My friend and I went back to his house, and I decided that instead of talking myself out of it and procrastinating any longer, that I was going to drop my car off at Maaco that evening and just get the show on the road; I was motivated to sell my car quickly.

We headed back to Maaco, my friend followed in his car behind me. The manager/owner ** was there this time, so I spoke with him. I told him what I wanted, and the young lady that helped me earlier that afternoon blurted out "I told him $600." After a bunch of detailed explanations and instructions for the car, he wrote up a receipt that included a fee of $120 for 'extra sanding', which brought the total to a nice round $600 before tax. I started to get a little anxious, and eventually just left the car with them, and got a ride home from my buddy.

Now I dropped the car off about 15 to 20 minutes before closing, that's when we finished negotiations and were physically leaving the shop. When I got home and thought things over, while looking at my receipt, I decided to call Maaco and leave a message, and ask them to postpone work on the car until I could come down and clear a few things up. I figured they would get the message early the next morning, and put the car aside until I could head down there and talk things out. I got a call that morning and was told they had already started working on the car. So...so much for clearing things up first.

After a few calls, I got a hold of **. He explained to me that the charge for extra sanding was for the chips in the paint, which I assumed would be included in the Supreme prep. package. Sigh...OK. He told me that my car would be ready on Friday. I asked if I should give them a call Friday afternoon. He insisted that there was no need, and that they'd contact me as soon as it was ready. He was polite about the whole thing, so we ended the call peacefully.

Friday rolled around. I woke up. It was raining. Automatically I expected a call from Maaco informing me that they would need more time with the car, due to the moisture and what-not. That wouldn't have bothered me, totally understandable, and I would actually appreciate that they would want to keep my car the extra couple days to ensure the job was done right. What bothered me, is that I never received a call/voice mail/anything from them on Friday.

A bit aggravated, I decided that I would give them all of Saturday as well, a 2nd chance, if you will. Saturday drags by, no phone call. Sunday they are closed. I called and left a message for them explaining the situation, while emphasizing my concern. Once again, I figured they'd get the message Monday morning, and give me a call right away with some sort of status update. Monday afternoon rolls around, still no phone call. Screw this, I'm going to call them and see what the hell is going on.

I called, and talked to the receptionist. She was a nice lady. I told her the situation, and she seemed rather confused. She put me on hold and went to find out what was going on with my car. A minute later she got back on the phone and told me that my car was ready. I was a little caught off guard. I replied "Oh...I'm really sorry, am I late picking it up? I didn't know." My attempt was in hopes of tricking her into telling me how long the car had been ready for, without sounding aggressive and provoking her into lying to me. She said "Oh no it's OK don't worry, the car has been ready since Friday but don't even worry about it."

Wow. So it was ready Friday, and I didn't get a call all weekend, AND didn't even get a call back after I had CALLED THEM to see if my car was ready or not, and having to call AGAIN to finally find out. I didn't get loud with her and was not impolite, I simply told her thank you and that I'd be there shortly to pick up my car.

My friend picked me up and we drove down to Maaco. When I asked for my car, she didn't know where the keys or the receipt were. She showed me the key box, and asked "Are any of those yours?" None of them were. We waited in the lobby while she went in back to figure things out. A dude came out and asked me what type of car it was and then went around back to look for it. Nobody could find it, not to mention my keys were still missing. ** the owner had taken off for the day. They decide my car might be in the storage area they have, which is locked up.

After all of this and about 15 minutes of waiting, they finally found my car, and my keys. They take me in back to check my car out. It's still dusty, inside and out. There's overspray ALL over the place. Grille, weatherstripping, tires, panel lights, ANDDD they painted over the trunk lock.

I was super frustrated, and although the proper way of handling it would be to leave my car there and wait to speak to ** about the flaws in the work they did, I made my mind up that I was taking my car home that night. I needed transportation, and couldn't wait any longer. I took pictures of the flaws with my camera phone and left a note to ** listing the errors, and that I intended on returning with the car tomorrow afternoon.

The next day, I head down to Maaco. ** is there, he apologizes up and down and ensures me that they will correct their work and that the car would be done the next day by 11 AM. I ask, "Are you sure about that? 11 AM seems kind of early, can you meet that deadline?" He insists that they've got it covered.

The next day, 11 AM passed and no phone call. I gave them until 2:30 that afternoon to call me and they never did. I had my buddy pick me up and we headed down to Maaco...again. Like deja vu, we got there and everybody seemed surprised. As if I showed up way too early, or as if they had no idea what car I was talking about. A man eventually came out and explained they needed more time to fix the flaws. Even more frustrated, I manage to politely say "OK. Thank you.", while my friend had to drop me back off at home.

Before closing time, they called me and my car was ready. AGAIN, back to Maaco. We got there and the car was dusty inside and out, once again. On top of that, HALF the flaws weren't even fixed!!!! I was absolutely done with that place, I didn't even want the rest of the flaws fixed. **, I didn't even want my car around them anymore. Although the staff was overall friendly, they were sloppy, totally unprofessional, and did horrible work. NOT. RECOMMENDED.

FORT COLLINS, COLORADO -- I really have nothing good to say about Maaco, so that's it in a nutshell. Let's start with the customer service, or lack thereof. Everyone I talked to on the phone (which was at least 3 different people) was rude. Once I came into the shop, the lady was rude.

When I came to pick up my car, they started to drive a Honda Civic over to me, rather than a Toyota Corolla. When I asked to talk to the manager, they said he wasn't there. When I called 3 separate times to talk to the manager, they always said he wasn't there. Someone gave me the manager's personal cell phone number, which I'm pretty sure they weren't supposed to do, but he never answered and didn't return any of my voice mails.

Now how about pricing? I was given 2 separate "deals" over the phone, which I wrote down with the names of the people who gave them to me. When I came in and asked for those deals, they told me that the first one had expired and the second one didn't exist (and the person who gave me the deal didn't work there, and apparently never had). So, I had to haggle for 10 minutes to get a good deal. Not kidding. 10 minutes.

Okay, so I finally get the deal and I pay for the upgraded "prep pack" because I did some of my own minor body work and it needed some fine sanding. The lady said they would sand and it wouldn't be a problem. She said they would sand it.

So how did the paint job turn out? They didn't sand it. Not at all. They just painted over it. Not only that, they got the body filler wet on top because now the paint has cracked and separated. Okay, so we have cracked and separated paint so far along with several rough patches. Then there's the crooked decals on the back with sloppy glue all over the place like a little kid glued them back on. And to top it all off, THEY DIDN'T EVEN PAINT THE WHOLE CAR!!! Yeah, that's right. There's a section beneath the right passenger door that didn't even get painted.

So what happened? I got screwed. Like I said, the manager never returned any calls. I opened a dispute with my credit card and he sent a rebuttal letter filled with lies that he had called me back and he has "tape that clearly shows {me} driving off with my car, apparently satisfied." If he actually had tape, it would "clearly show" me sitting in the parking lot, going over all the crap they screwed up, noting the issues, and driving away pissed (note that the manager was not in, because I had already asked, so there was nothing I could do and I needed my car back!) Oh, did I mentioned they finished 2 days later than promised?

So back to the story: after the manager sent his rebuttal, which had the logic of a 6-year old and the writing ability of a pothead 7th grader, Wells Fargo sent me a letter that had a huge checklist of things I had to do to pursue the dispute. It included getting a statement from an outside source, sending them photos (which I had already done), sending them a complete, detailed account of everything that had happened, getting call records of the times I called and didn't get answers, etc. There was no due date; they just said, as soon as possible.

Now, I was working a full time job as well as taking a summer college course. I got it done in about a week. Just then, as I was putting everything together, I got a letter from Wells Fargo saying they closed my dispute. Just like that. One stupid little lying letter (sent months after the dispute was opened) and they give me less than a week and close my case. Needless to say, I'm not super happy with Wells Fargo either on this issue.

Morals of this story: I'd rather get a sandpaper massage and afterwards take a bath in lemon juice than work with Maaco again. I'd rather do an entire paint job myself, top-to-bottom, and pay the same amount to some random guy on the street for no reason than have Maaco touch my car (and I guarantee I'd do it better). I'd rather be one of Enron CEOs than the manager at this Maaco because then at least I'd be an incompetent, unethical, menace to society AND be rich.

SUNNYVALE, CALIFORNIA -- I was referred to this MAACO dealership in Sunnyvale, CA because the owner was a veteran, as am I. As I live in the SF Bay area I have the choice of over (6) dealerships and made a HUGE mistake in selecting this one!!! After reviewing several options for Hood/Roof oxidation damage/spray paint on my 1995 Toyota - I picked the MOST EXPENSIVE option - base, clear coat, etc., "Spot Job" with "Lifetime Warranty" for $1500.00 - just for the hood and roof. I paid for the best warranty, for just (2) areas of my car - to ensure the job was done right.

When I came to pick up the vehicle, after several phone calls informing the owners I was on-the-way (& after the shop having it for over a week), I arrived to find a filthy, shop-dust covered vehicle; bright, BLUE paint splotches on my GREEN vehicle's hood; an "orange peel" like surface on the hood; the roof rack NOT painted - although it was clearly indicated on the contract that it should be painted; buffing/sander grinding DAMAGE on my "new", 5-month old windshield; AND buffer/sander damage on doors that were supposed to be blended with the roof. There was also painter's tape clear-coated and STUCK to areas they masked.

When I pointed out some of my concerns, the owner's wife immediately started telling me that "you didn't want the roof rack done" and "that (tape/over spray) isn't from us - that was damage on your vehicle when you brought it in" and "What? I (owner's wife) don't see ANY problem (MAACO related) with our work..." Luckily, there was a MAACO Regional or National Rep there that day who looked at my vehicle and DID "see" some of the areas I was concerned about. The husband/wife owners were VERY upset that they were going to have to keep the vehicle a few more days to fix the work.

When I returned, a friend brought us in my old truck (which I WAS going to d/o to MAACO next - IF my first truck looked good). She drove my vehicle to her house and I drove the old truck back. The instant I got in the Toyota I saw the BRAND NEW, SHINY, CLEAN (no ROAD dirt) whirled SCRATCH/ETCHED marks on my windshield. I went back to MAACO and calmly asked to speak with the owner. He started yelling at me to "Get Out" and charged at me like an enraged bull. I am a disabled FEMALE vet and he was pretty angry, threatening and intimidating. When I tried to explain about the windshield damage he started yelling again.

He stormed out and I told his wife I didn't feel safe with his behavior & felt I needed to call the Community police so that I could safely explain myself and retrieve my car. I also called my friend back to the store to get me. She assured me it would be okay when the owner came back. Unfortunately, when he came back in - he started YELLING at me - AGAIN! The wife jumped up from her desk in an effort to calm him down. She kept saying, "(Husband's name)..Stop...STOP!!!" At that point, I got out of the store (I was on crutches) and contacted the SUNNYVALE POLICE.

They came and took a report so what I'm telling you IS documented on a POLICE REPORT. The police officer came out and said the owner "seemed calm" so I went back in with the officer - upon which time the owner began raising his voice to me WITHOUT ANY provocation (ie: me yelling or swearing at him). The police officer and my friend witnessed this new episode unfold. I then tried to calmly speak to the owner WITH the police officer present - but the owner continued raising his voice over mine and repeating himself - so the police officer and my friend left the store again. It was a HORRIBLE and SCARY experience.

If you are a veteran, someone with a disability, or a parent reading this blog - I would really encourage you to CONSIDER YOUR SAFETY when visiting this MAACO store. I realize MAACO is independently franchised - so I'm sure other MAACO's don't do shoddy work; won't DAMAGE your car and blame it on the customer or create a violent/hostile/threatening experience when you attempt to state your concerns. Good luck out there!

HOUSTON, TEXAS -- I took my '98 BMW to Maaco Auto body in Houston TX (17107 Clay Rd.) to repaint my vehicle. I picked up the vehicle a week after but it was already dark outside so I was not able to check out the job for any defects but I noticed empty fuel tank light. The following day in the morning I was able to inspect the vehicle for any flaws. Upon inspection I noticed scratches, over-spray on weatherstrips and trims, missing paint, not fixed dents on the roof, paint drips on hood and back bumper.

I returned with the vehicle to the shop shortly after my inspection and pointed all the defects I saw to the manager (Lenny) but I was only strongly advised to wait at least 2 weeks until paint dries so they can work on it. I went back 17 days later and point again all the defects and left my car. I was told that car should be ready in few days. On the 13th day, since I didn't hear anything from the shop, I called asking if my vehicle is ready and right away was told by owner (Chuck) that is only little dusty but generally ready to be picked up. So I told him I'll show up later to pick it up but at the time I went out there it was dark outside again.

This time I went to the closest gas station to look at it under the fluorescent lights and realized that the only thing that was done was the hood. They didn't fix anything else and my fuel tank was empty again. All of this make me a little suspicious so when I went home I check my odometer with my up to date files and realized that since I drop it off at the shop I have over 423 miles put on it.

The shop was already closed so next day my wife contacted them and after talking to the same manager (Lenny) she was disrespected and her complaint was completely ignored so she asked to talk to somebody above him and Chuck answered the phone but this time he was really bad and after few minutes of barge talk, ask my wife to fax him the list of issues and have me dropping-off the vehicle so he can take a look at it and this time he will make sure to personally take care of it. I returned with the vehicle the day after to have the remaining defects corrected.

I asked Chuck why someone drove my car and he said that it's impossible because he personally close the shop every-night so obviously he lied and most likely he drove it himself. I asked also why the job is so bad and sloppy and he said that if I will pay more, then quality will also be better so I asked why they even offer those prices without mentioning anything about so poor quality of work.

He called me "petty" when I pointed out the problems that need to be repaired. He have been in general so rude, nasty and disagreeable. I told him at the end of the conversation that I paid for a paint job and I'm expecting what I paid for. Eventually I was promised that he will take care of it and car will be ready in two or three days.

On the third day after 9pm, I had a phone call from Chuck stating that weather was bad and his oven broke down so they couldn't finish it but finally by the end of the next day I picked up my vehicle which turn out to be completed maybe in 80% but I just rather let it be this way than being screwed even worse and have more miles put on that car not mentioning waste another few gallons of gas every each time.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA -- I took my 1987 Monte Carlo to Maaco in West palm Beach on Church St. off of Okeechobee Blvd. What a mistake I made. They totally destroyed my car and laughed about it. I took the car there last year around September and was told it would take two and a half weeks and 1500.00 dollars and it would look like it came off the Showroom Floor. I did not get the car back for over eight months and what hell that was.

When they found out I called corporate about the problem they took it out on my car. The first month it was there it was left outside to be rained in twice I had to come and cover it up. Then they moved it inside and when I would go and check the progress all they had done was sanded it down and in the dust wrote nasty sayings and drew nasty pictures on it. The second time it happened me and the manager had words and I told him if you have time to write and draw on my car why can't you paint it. Well people that ended in a nasty way and the manager was cussing me out.

I asked him what would it cost me to get my car out of the shop. I did not want it there any longer. He told me 1500.00 dollars. I asked "for what" and he said they had painted it once already so they could see the dings because it was black and that counted as a paint job. Mind you the car was sitting there sanded down with cuss words and dirty pictures on it.

The two new doors I got for it they said they had someone to hook them up and they lied. They wanted me to find someone and blamed the car not being done because of that. Then I came back and the car was still not done and more nasty words and pictures was on it. That's when I called corporate office. That's when they destroyed the car I guess as a payback. They cracked the front windshield, they busted the side mirror on the right door, they cut the wires to the doors, they busted the back taillight, they pushed in the headlight in the front and their finger prints are there because when they did it the paint was wet.

There is running paint on my new tag, on the taillights, over spray on the brand new tires I had just put on it three days before I brought the car to them. The puttied over the trunk lock so I can't open the trunk. They took out the lock from the glove box so I can't even open the trunk that away.

The paint job looks like a child did it with a spray can - it is bubbled and there is no clear coat on it. I could go on and on and I have pictures to prove all of this and I will seek further help because corporate claims they can't do anything - go figure.

They also lost the chrome that goes around the back window. They lost the chrome lettering that went on the lower doors. I just can't believe it. And then when I was told by the owner he would take care of this this is how my car was given to me and the owner wasn't there like he said.

The car wouldn't start and when it finally did it wouldn't move. One of the employees got in my face and told me to leave the lot now and said "if you hadn't of destroyed my car I would." I put some transmission fluid in it and got it rolling. I had to pull over at the first gas station. All my gas was gone. They had drained all the fluids out of the car. And before I took it there I put 5000.00 dollars in restoring the engine and that includes the new tires and rims which they also destroyed because of the over spray.

I can go on and on and if anyone is crazy enough to take their car to Maaco may God be with you. Please don't take your car to the one in West Palm Beach off of Okeechobee blvd. Trust me ladies and gentlemen you will regret it I promise because they will DESTROY YOUR CAR!!!

Email me if you would like to hear more or if you have had problems with this Maaco center. They will not replace the front window they busted or find my chrome for the back window. They want me to take 500.00 dollars and release them of the other damage. NO WAY - ATTORNEY HERE I COME!!! Thank you for letting me get some of this off my chest. I have to go, the first of the news teams are here.

GARDEN CITY, MICHIGAN -- The Garden City Michigan Maaco is a fraud. O.K. Here is my beef with Maaco. I took 2 cars to them, one just needed a replacement bumper cover, and the other was going in for a paint job. Let's start out with the bumper cover. First off they ordered my bumper cover, I was assuming it would be the exact same cover. Nope it was very close but not the same one. Then they taped it off wrong and now there is dark blue paint on the black surface (my 9-year-old saw that). Then the edges of the bumper were not even painted. They said "Oh it's because it sat on a rack to get it painted."

Then as I look at my 2005 Durango they installed the bumper cover crooked. They tried to tell me that "Maybe when you hit it you bent a bracket." I took it in for a cracked bumper cover not a rear end collision. The closer I looked I noticed the paint did not match. The bumper cover was lighter than the rest of the truck. Then I noticed they used a light colored primer to paint a dark blue bumper. Um no that is the wrong thing to do. Anyone who has ever painted anything knows when you are going from light to dark. You have to use a darker primer to get an exact match. So Maaco told me "well then you will have to leave the truck for 2 days so we can color match from the paint book."

By this point I was ready to blow so I had to leave. Now mind you they have had my other car for almost 2 weeks now and that one was in just for a paint job. We started out with a white Mercedes and was changing the color to a light creme shimmer. Not a huge color difference. The main reason for the paint job was from an egging. They painted the car once and it had runs and overspray. Then they painted the car with the doors shut so there was a paint build-up around all the doors where the rubber seal meets the main body. They also over sprayed both chrome exhausts. The paint was bumpy and had a lot of bubbles in it.

I took my husband up to look at it and he was not happy. This was not a cheap paint job and he expected a much better job for the money. Now Maaco is painting the car for the third time, yes I did say third. After the owner cursed in front of my children telling us that if we did not like the job then to take my car and get the hell out of my shop.

Now this is supposed to be a business owner cursing in front of a 7 and 9-year-old. I had to take my kids out to the truck while my husband "discussed" some matters with the owner. How do you explain to children why the owner said that. My husband then told the owner "then give me my car. I don't want to to ruin my car anymore. You have already done 2 paint jobs now you are going to do a third, this is too much." So the owner told him "well then pay your balance." He was told "pay for what a shoddy job, no I will not." So we left the car to get another paint job and all I can say is 3 strikes you're out. I never expected this from such a well known name. Ticked in Michigan.

YORK, PENNSYLVANIA -- I took my car into Maaco in York Pennsylvania, and told them I needed it repainted because it was peeling on the trunk and hood. The lady at the front desk, Lee told me it would be $250 just to have the trunk and hood stripped down to the bare metal. The rest of the car would just be sanded down. I paid overall for everything $726.10. Lee set me up for the Presidential packaged without even asking me what packaged I wanted. A guy my fiancee knows paints cars and I was willing to pay $1500 for him to do it but I'm not keeping this car forever and I just need it to get me through college for the next 3 years.

So I decided to ignore what everyone said about Maaco and see for myself. I was hoping they would prove them wrong and be a great company. Boy was I wrong. I got the car back 3 days later and it had so much texture in the paint it looked like an orange peel. They apparently don't tape your tailpipes off because mine are half black now and silver on the bottom. Whoever takes off your emblems doesn't put them back on because they were in completely different places. I'm even missing one! The spoiler which was to be painted the same color as the car was black with the original silver showing through at places.

The only nice thing about the paint is that it has sparkles (hey I'm a girl what do you expect?). I called Lee back after I got home and was able to check every inch of the car and was told to bring it back in and they would fix it. I took it to the Lancaster branch and was told that this car should have never left the shop looking like this and if it was his paint job he would be ashamed. We then took it back to Lee and she said that she would fix it after she decided to tell me to my face she didn't like me and didn't like my attitude and that whatever she did to my car I wouldn't be happy with.

After about 30 mins of arguing she agreed to redo it. A week later I get the car back again and it doesn't look any different. Now parts are worse than they were. Chuck the so called manager said it's a beautiful paint job and that I have to wait 6 weeks before he will even touch the car again and that I got what I paid for. Maaco doesn't care what your car looks like as long as they get their money. They throw you the runaround and that's it. You get what you pay for apparently. Now they want me to pay them more money and upgrade to the highest package which is $800.00... That's bull. I'm not paying them a cent more. I beg anyone don't go there!

Pictures at **. WE ARE STARTING A CLASS ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST MAACO...TO JOIN GO TO ** or email us at **.

Summary: Maaco painted my car and damaged the car and did not give me the paint job that I paid for. The hood will not shut properly and the rear quarter panel is bent behind the tire. I was told by their secretary that someone hit a car in the parking lot and I think it was my car. The highest price paint job on the wall was $899.00 but the paint job that I got was the $399.00 paint job according to the manager. They are trying to charge me $980.00.

The car has a lot of scratches and trash in the paint and there is some orange peal on the car (looks like an orange pealing). It has numerous runs and drips and after only 2 weeks, paint is peeling off of the passenger door. I took out a small claims court action and before the court date, I asked Maaco if I could bring another paint and body man over to inspect the car. They cursed me out and would not let me see the car or anyone else see the car. They told me that they would see me in court and forget seeing the car.

After we lost in court the first time because they had shiny pictures that didn't show the imperfections and we had no pictures since they wouldn't allow us access to the car, we appealed that ruling and after them not allowing us to see the car AGAIN (even with us having the police with us), we won in court but now after being painted THREE times and 3 1/2 months later, the car is really screwed up.

Whole story: Now let me tell you how all of this started so you won't make the same mistake we did. Then we will get back to the conclusion. Well I had my 91 Corvette Convertible sold on eBay and the buyer wanted me to get it painted before he picked it up because the paint was a little faded and swirled...see pictures. So we figured...uh-oh better call Maaco...what a mistake.

But anyway we went to Maaco to get an estimate. The manager ** (what a name...**) HA-HA-HA... Well he looked at the car and said that he could make the car look like new. The paint was peeling off in two small areas that he said would need special attention but that they could handle it. I asked how much and he said that they could give it a top-notch job for $980.00. I said, "well let me go next door to talk to a friend of mine at the car dealership next door and that I would be back in a minute. (I was going there to ask about their shop and reputation).

Well when I came back, he had taken a bright yellow paint pen and marked ALL OVER my car. He had circled every spec and spot on the car....some places he circled had nothing there. I asked what the heck was he doing, he said that he was marking the areas that needed attention. I asked him if the yellow marks would come off and he said they would have to be sanded off. I was pissed but sort of stuck. So I agreed to the price and went inside to get things started. He said it would take a week and it would look great.

I signed a paper agreeing to the price and noticed the signs on the wall. I saw the $899.00 sign and said that's what I am getting right and was told yes. Well about two weeks later, they called and said the car was ready. This was during a hurricane we were having on a Friday. I said, "are you serious...it is raining and blowing like crazy outside. Do you really want me to pick it up in this weather?" They said that if I didn't pick the car up that day, they would not be responsible for any damage that happened to it. THEY CALLED BACK FOUR TIMES THAT DAY DEMANDING WE PICK UP THE CAR. I guess they had to make payroll I don't know.

Well I called Maaco Corporate and asked them if they thought I should pick up the car in a hurricane. They said that they didn't recommend it. I told them to call the Franchise and tell them that I would be there on Monday to pick up the car. Monday came and we went to look at the car. OH MY GOD...the car had trash all in the paint and had a lot of runs. The manager told me that I got what I paid for. I said, "what do you mean?" He said that I couldn't expect much for $980.00. I said, "you told me that the car would look great and be right. You didn't say ANYTHING about price equaled quality"...I told him that he was the one that gave the price, not me.

He said tough ** and that if I wanted my car, pay the bill. I told him that I would have to talk to his corporate office first. I called the corporate office and complained and they informed me that each Franchise was independently owned and operated and that I would have to deal with them. Later that day, a guy called me as the owner of the Franchise and asked me why I wouldn't pay for the paint job. I went through the entire story with him and after a lot of arguing, he said that they would fix the car and he would meet me four days later on Thursday.

Well Thursday came and went and I never heard a word from anyone. About two weeks later, I received a call from them saying the car was ready. Well we went to look at the car again. This time the car was worse than the first time. It had scratches all over the car and the entire passenger side of the car was orange-peeled. Again the manager, **, was rude and ugly.

I asked him why the car had scratches on it and he said that was where they had washed the car...and then asked me, "you are going to wash the car aren't you?" I said why would washing the car put scratches on it and that I had washed a lot of cars in my life and it didn't leave scratches. He said that they were there but I just couldn't see them.

I then asked if anything could be done about the orange peel on the passenger side. He said that there wasn't anything that could be done. I said, "and you want me to just pay you and take the car like it is?" He said, "if you want your car, yes." I said, "you have lost your mind if you think I am going to accept that." He cursed me out and told me to get off his property.

I contacted their corporate office and they did NOTHING to help me with my situation. I sent three unanswered letters to the corporate office - two addressed to the CEO and alleged owner. To this date I have heard nothing more from them. All they care about is opening franchises and nothing else. The lady that was in their customer service department told me that. She also said that there was nothing they could or would do about it. She basically told me tough luck.

The reason I went to Maaco in the first place was because of their national name and size. What a big mistake. No one in this company couldn't care less. I left 10 messages for the franchise owner to call me and I never received ONE call back. They think they can do anything they want to the customer and us have to take it. I sent several letters to the local office as well and only one answer from them which said that they were charging me $20.00 per day for storage until I picked the car up.

This brings us to the my lawsuit that I filed against them for $5000.00 for the damage they done to my car. About three days before court, I called them and requested to see the car and to bring another paint-and-body guy with me to inspect the car. They told me that neither I or the other guy could see the car and ** cursed at me again and told me he would see me in court. I could not believe they wouldn't let me see the car or take pictures for court.

Well, we went to court and they presented pictures of the car that did not show the scratches and other problems and the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case because of the pictures. I appealed to superior court and asked for a jury trial. The court appointed a mediator and again I went to the Maaco store to see the car and take pictures for the mediator. Again, the store manager refused to let me see the car or take pictures. I called the police to meet me at the store because of threats I have received from the manager in the past. He still refused to let me see the car or take pictures and two Wilmington Police officers can attest to his refusal.

While I was there waiting for the officers, I was threatened again by the manager while two of his employees stood next to him. They cornered me in the back of the building beside a fence. Luckily the police showed up and nothing happened but I think they had plans to assault me.

I went to the mediation procedure and as usual the man from Maaco lied repeatedly to the arbitrator just like the first case. Luckily this guy didn't believe it for a minute. The arbitrator asked me if Maaco could bring the car to court so I would have the opportunity to see the car and he would look at it too. I said sure and that I would LOVE the opportunity to actually see the car since I had been trying to for over 2 months and Maaco would not allow me to see it.

This was 10:30 AM and Maaco said they could have the car thereby 3:00 M...WHATTTTTTT? I guess they had to finish the car over 3 months later. Who knows...anyway the judge asked why so long since the dealership was only 15 minutes down the road. Maaco said they had to wash the car first. I told the judge that I would agree to 1:00 P.M. instead and the judge agreed.

Well, we went back to court and while I was outside Maaco drove up with the car. I went over to look at the car and it was atrocious and it was actually worse than the last time I had seen it. So I went up to court and asked the judge two questions:

(1) Before we look at the car, I would like to have it impounded by the police until the conclusion of these proceedings so they can't do anything else to my car. Answer: The judge said he couldn't order that. (2) was the decision of this court...final and binding? Answer: He said that they were not and that either party could appeal the decision. I then told the judge that someone took off with the car when I was walking back to court and that I didn't know what happened to it. (I wonder what happened - repo man might have got it, I don't know)

The man from Maaco went crazy...telling me I would be arrested for stealing my own car (wonder how that could happen). At the end of the proceedings, the judge ruled in my favor because I had to refund a person's $1000.00 that they had given me when I had the car sold on eBay. But since it has never been ready, I had to return the money. So the judge awarded me $1000.00 and gave them $980.00 for their screwed up paint job that has to be sanded off and repainted. UNBELIEVABLE.

I did find the car and sold it the same day. After taking pictures and having 4 other body shops evaluate the car, they obviously wrecked the car or something because there is more damage now than when I took it to them and luckily I have pictures of the car I had taken the week before I took it to them that I had put on eBay. The car had no body damage before and now it does. Not to mention paint pealing off of the car. This is what made us design and host this site. THE INJUSTICE HAS TO STOP! TELL YOUR STORY NOW AND JOIN US.

UPDATE: You are going to LOVE this. We finally had a chance today on Friday January 13, 2006 to really inspect the car. We took it to three other body shops to inspect the damage. The car has been damaged and repaired and the car did not have any damage when we took it to them. But that isn't the worst part. They have painted the car for a third.....yes THIRD time and it still looked like crap...but wait...it gets better. This time they didn't even use Metallic paint like I had requested.

The last time I had seen the car, they had used deep metallic which would have been pretty if it wasn't scratched and had runs all in it. But wait it gets better...the pictures they presented in court on Thursday were of the car when it had Metallic paint on it. The evidence they presented in court was FRAUDULENT!!! The car has just regular old paint on it now. I was told by the body shops that they done that because metallic can not be buffed and regular paint can.

We did picket the Maaco in Wilmington on Friday, January 13, 2006 and were able to talk to quite a few people and let them know about Maaco. Some of the employee's came out and took our signs we had posted by the road. We had to call the police and they denied taking the sign. Luckily I had a picture of them taking them...ha...ha. Now I have to decide if I want to prosecute them for stealing the signs.

Two more employee's walked up and starting taking other signs. I approached them and told them not to take it personally and get themselves in trouble. They took the signs out of the ground and I told them the police were on their way and they didn't need the trouble. I took the signs out of their hands and put them back in the ground. I told them they needed to visit our website and others like it and learn for themselves why we were there and to talk to their idiot boss. Overall a fun day...Ha...Ha...

WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA -- Maaco painted my car and damaged the car and did not give me the paint job that I paid for. The hood will not shut properly and the rear quarter panel is bent behind the tire. I was told by their secretary that someone hit a car in the parking lot and I think it was my car. The highest price paint job on the wall was $899.00 but the paint job that I got was the $399.00 paint job according to the manager. They are trying to charge me $980.00.

The car has a lot of scratches in the paint and the passenger side of the car is orange pealed (looks like an orange pealing) has numerous runs and drips and after only 2 weeks, paint is peeling off of the passenger door. I took out a small claims court action and before the court date, I asked Maaco if I could bring another paint-and-body man over to inspect the car. They cursed me out and would not let me see the car or anyone else see the car. They told me that they would see me in court and forget seeing the car.

I contacted their corporate office and they did NOTHING to help me with my situation. I sent three unanswered letters to the corporate office. Two addressed to the CEO and alleged owner. To this date I have heard nothing more from them. All they care about is opening franchises and nothing else. The lady that was in their customer service department told me that. She also said that there was nothing they could or would do about it. She basically told me tough luck.

The reason I went to Maaco in the first place was because of their national name and size. What a big mistake. No one is this company couldn't care less. I left 10 messages for the franchise owner to call me and I never received ONE call back. They think they can do anything they want to the customer and us have to take it.

Well we went to court and they presented pictures of the car that did not show the scratches and other problems and the judge had no choice but to dismiss the case because of the pictures. I appealed to superior court and asked for a jury trial. The court appointed a mediator and again I went to the Maaco store to see the car and take pictures for the mediator. Again the store manager refused to let me see the car or take pictures.

I called the police to meet me at the store because of threats I have received from the manager in the past. He still refused to let me see the car or take pictures and two Wilmington Police officers can attest to his refusal. While I was there waiting for the officers, I was threatened by the manager and two of his employees. They cornered me in the back of the building beside a fence. Luckily the police showed up and nothing happened but I think they had plans to assault me.

I went to the mediation procedure and as usual, the man from Maaco lied repeatedly to the arbitrator just like the first case. Luckily this guy didn't believe it for a minute. The arbitrator asked me if Maaco could bring the car to court so I would have the opportunity to see the car and he would look at it too. I said sure and that I would LOVE the opportunity to actually see the car since I had been trying to for over 2 months, and Maaco would not allow me to see it. This was 10:30 AM and Maaco said they could have the car thereby 3:00 PM...WHATTTTTTT?

I guess they had to finish the car over 3 months later. Who knows...anyway the judge asked why so long since the dealership was only 15 minutes down the road. Maaco said they had to wash the car first. I told the judge that I would agree to 1:00 P.M. instead and the judge agreed.

Well we went back to court and while I was outside Maaco drove up with the car. I went over to look at the car and it was atrocious it was actually worse than the last time I had seen it. So I went up to court and asked the judge two questions.

(1) Before we look at the car I would like to have it impounded by the police until the conclusion of these proceedings. The judge said he couldn't order that. (2) Was the decision of this court...final and binding? He said that they were not and that either party could appeal the decision. I told the judge that someone took off with the car when I was walking back to court and that I didn't know what happened to it. (I wonder what happened - repo man might have got it I don't know).

The man from Maaco went crazy...telling me I would be arrested for stealing my own car (wonder how that could happen). At the end of the proceedings the judge ruled in my favor because I had to refund a persons $1000.00 that they had given me when I had the car sold on eBay. But since it has never been ready I had to return the money. So the judge awarded me $1000.00 and gave them $980.00 for there screwed up paint job that has to be sanded off and repainted. UNBELIEVABLE. The judge knew I wasn't really out any money this way so it didn't really matter. A Really Smart judge.

I did find the car and sold it the same day. After taking pictures and having 4 other body shops evaluate the car, they obviously wrecked the car or something because there is more damage now than when I took it to them and luckily I have pictures of the car I had taken the week before that I had put on eBay. The car had no body damage before and now it does. Not to mention paint peeling off of the car.

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON -- In May 2005 I took a car into the Bellevue WA shop and spoke to the estimator about getting the car into saleable condition. The main problems were paint chips on the hood, some light scratches in the clearcoat on one door, and more severe scratches on the bumpers. He looked it over and said that only the hood needed to be painted, and all the scratches would polish out. He wrote up an estimate for $315 plus tax.

When I picked up the car, an employee was still working on the side door, and the manager stated that polishing out the scratches had been more difficult than anticipated. As it was raining heavily, I wasn't able to properly inspect the work before paying the bill and taking the car home.

The next day, on examining the work that had been done, I saw that the front bumper had not been touched at all, the scratches on the right door were now worse, as a very clumsy job of polishing had been done, and there was a paint bubble on the hood where the repainting had been done. I phoned the shop and pointed out these problems to the man who had given me the original estimate. He was apologetic and promised to personally do the work to my satisfaction if I would bring in the car again, which I did.

I went to pick up the car again a week later. I found it in the yard in a dirty condition with the front license plate and antenna sitting in the back seat. On inspection, I found that some work had been done on the bumper, and the paint bubble had been sanded so that it was now just an unsightly blotch. However, the scratches on the front door were worse than ever and in fact the rear door was now badly scratched as well; the whole side of car appeared to have been attacked with sandpaper.

When I brought these matters to the attention of the manager, his manner was extremely unhelpful and insulting. First he said that "the story keeps changing," which was nonsense; the work I had wanted done was quite clearly stated on the estimate and I had never asked for anything else. Then he tried to throw the blame on his estimator. Then he said the $315 was only for the painting, and the polishing had been done "free" as a "favor" to me.

Finally, he stated that his shop didn't normally do polishing at all, and that if I had wanted that done, I should have gone to a detailing shop. He refused to accept that his shop had any responsibility for the fact that (a) I had been told that the car would be put in a saleable condition, which it was not; (b) the scratches on the side of the car were far worse than when I had first brought it in. He refused to even look at the car and told me outright that he would not do anything more for me.

In the end, I asked for my keys and left the shop, telling the manager that since he was not willing to give me what I had paid for, I would have the work done elsewhere, send him a demand letter for the cost, and sue the shop in small claims court if necessary. His last words were, "Fine, I'll see you in court."

I then took the car to two other shops for estimates. Both told me that the paint on the hood has been so badly applied that it would have to be entirely redone. The scratches on the side of the car -- mostly from overaggressive polishing by the Maaco people -- were too deep to be dealt with other than by repainting. In the end, it cost me $1600 to put the car in saleable condition, in addition to the $315 I had paid Maaco.

In response to my demand letter, the owner of the shop apologized for his manager's manner but refused to acknowledge that I had any claim. He too asserted that the polishing was a "free" item even though it was on the estimate. (He didn't address the issue of the additional damage caused in the course of doing me this "favor".) He also stated that I had chosen not to take advantage of their warranty -- which is absurd, since the manager had clearly told me he was finished with the car and he wouldn't even look at the faulty workmanship.

I might also mention that I wrote to customer service at Maaco national headquarters and did not even receive the courtesy of a reply. So, this matter is ending up in court, and I advise staying away from this shop if you want quality work and courteous treatment.

UPDATE 9/15/05: The judgment in small claims court was in my favor, despite some questionable testimony from the Maaco representative, who asserted that I had asked for the car to be left on the street (not true) and that the scratches on the side of the car must have been caused by vandals! The judge ruled that I was entitled to a refund of what I had paid Maaco, plus the cost of repainting the side of the car. So in effect I just ended up paying for the repaint on the hood.