Complaint Review: Maaco Autobody & Paint - Kennewick Washington

To begin, in June of 2001 I had my car painted when this Maaco Company was running a special on a presidential paint job which seemed affordable.

There was a large scratch across the back of the trunk at the time I purchased the car in February of 1998. I always wanted to have this scratch taken care of and thought only of having the trunk repainted as the rest of the car was sufficient. When Maaco was running this special at the time it was assured to me that if the entire car was painted for a reasonable price that the overall paint would completely match. Since I had a few dings and a large scratch across the trunk the owner said he would repair all this and would charge extra along with the paint job. I did not have a problem with the extra charges and agreed to pay the price of this procedure.

We both went around the car and as I pointed out the dents to be repaired, I brought to his attention that the paint on the grille was chipping off. I requested to have the chipped paint removed to repaint. He made notes of all that I pointed out. When it was finished I went to pick up the car and I noticed that in some areas the surface of the car had painted over dust particles and there were drip spots of dried paint on the hood. I also noticed that the grille was not finished as I specified, but was only painted over the old chipped paint.

When I brought this to the attention of the Maaco owners, they said we did a professional job but added, What do you expect from a $300.00 paint job? We live in a desert and a few speckles of sand is not unusual. I wasnt pleased with this comment, and asked that it be repainted. The owner refused. I asked him if I at least remove the grille and bring it back, would he paint this for free. He said he would. I left to later remove the grille and as for the rest of the car, decided I would just rub it smooth with polish after a time when the paint sets up more. After he repainted the grille, I noticed that I had a large run going across the bottom of it, but I guess I felt I could live with this.

In 1 years time (August 2002) I noticed that the paint started chipping off the hood where the dried paint drips used to be. I also noticed that when I started to apply polish to other areas of the car, the paint started coming free from the dust spots leaving white hairline streaks. It wasnt long afterwards that the paint started coming off in big chunks from the hood right down to bare metal.

I took it back to this same Maaco Company and asked him what is happening to this paint job? Although the bare metal was showing he was specific in saying that he did not strip it down to the metal, and that somehow the Maaco paint and the original factory paint did not adhere properly which caused all the problem. It was very hard for me to believe this would happen as he said. I then immediately took my car to the Nissan dealer to get there input. They said it was taken down to bare metal as you could see the sanding marks from the stripping sander that was used.

Because of this peeling and the paint rubbing off in other areas (from just waxing) I told him I want the whole car repainted as I did not trust the durability of this paint job for any more length of time. He said he would only repaint the hood for free but not the whole car, but if I wanted the whole car repainted, he would charge me half price for the same paint job. I agreed and he repainted the whole car again. When I checked over this paint job, it did look better so I paid him the half price as agreed and left.

Now just near 8 months later (April 2003) the paint is once again coming off the hood of my car. I drove all the way back to the owner of the same Maaco company again. As he assessed the problem of paint peeling from the hood he informed me that the paint job is past warranty and that he would have to charge me for having it repainted. When I asked him what could have caused such a problem he made the comment that the metal of my Nissan somehow is defective in some way that prevents his Maaco paint to not adhere to the metal of my car as he did all the right preparations.

I told him I did not believe that he prepared this car properly and although he claims it is past warranty, that a faulty preparation would make the warranty invalid. Besides this, a whole year had not past since the last paint job. He then informed me that he only warrants the first time paint job, not the second as that is considered a re-paint. I asked him what he would charge to repaint the hood of my car. He told me it would cost $125.00 however it would not be put under a new warranty.

Now I do not understand how a first time warranty paint job, that has been completely removed to bare metal and then a totally new paint job applied will not hold a warranty like the first. I then informed this owner of this Maaco company that I can not trust the honesty and integrity of his policy even if I allowed him to repaint the hood of this car. For the invested $125.00 and for having this done for the 3rd time, I will have no warranty or guarantee that this will not peel off in another years time.

I called the Maaco headquarters for some restitution, and after their evaluation, this Maaco Shop was in rights concerning his warranty and thereforethey could not help me. I finally ended up taking this Maaco company to a small claims court, but lost due to the fact that I had agreed to have a one year (presidential) warranty paint job and that it lasted exactly what the warranty saidonly one year!

In conclusion, posted all over inside every Maaco Company is the statement Maaco is Americas smartest choice for auto painting and bodywork and At Maaco, we stand behind our workmanship. In Maacos agreement package it is stated: Our warranties vary depending on the repair options you select. Whether you desire the latest, best available materials and technology, or were more concerned about looking for a good value at an economical price, you can have confidence in our workmanship and materials, yet as of right now for the 2nd time, my car is basically ruined and will get worse as it is beginning to rust.

To add to the cost of repairing this damage, another body shop would have just given me the price for painting a car, but since it has been painted before, all this paint has to be totally removed and will add up such a cost that is even more expensive than the value of my car. As well noted, I could lose a significant amount in trade-in value. At this time, I can not afford to pay anymore to have my car repainted. I was warned by my mechanic prior to all of thisIf you value your car, do not take it to Maaco. I will never, ever trust a car to Maaco ever again, and I will carry a clear conscience to advise anyone elseIf you value your car, do not trust it to Maaco!

George

The Dalles, Oregon
U.S.A.

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