I agree!

 

wrap it dude, dont let maaco paint it

 

Or if you really want/ need to save money do it yourself. I wrapped ny roof, currently molding and painting a Wald spoiler and completely re painted my s2000 last year https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=601931

 

Most people here agree on the wrap. Here is my input
It seems to me that you are on a budget.
If you wrap your car for $1200 or more, how long do you think you will be happy with the look of your car. I think wraps is just a trend that will eventually be gone within the next five years.
After five years or less, you will literary be forced to unwrap your car for a number of reasons e.g. trade-in, sell, got bore/tire of it, out-style etc. and you will end up with the same csenario of repainting the whole car. The only good thing is that a wrap will preserve the existing paint and in three or five years you will be able to save big bucks for a whole body paint. Not from Macco!

Why not invest a couple of more hundred dollars and ask around for a local but good body shop that will do the kind of job you really want for your car without paying thousands. You can visit the shop to witness the process to make sure they are doing a good job (prep./paint/clear). They should be able to guarantee it though. Do not pay in advance, and don't take your car out unless, you are fully satisfied with the result.

Good luck

 

No to Maaco. The paint they use will peel like a potato.

 

Let's just say this. I wouldn't let Maaco paint my civic. They are garbage and the cars that get painted by them are garbage.

If you are really trying to save money on a paint job you probably shouldn't have bought a Lexus. Those things just don't go hand in hand.

 

the reason maaco is still in business cause there are a lot of stupid people out there.
I went there once ha learned my dam lesson.

 

They're a JOKE if you care about the end result! I might as well paint your car!

 

I'd save up. Screw Maaco. Good paint job where they prep and take off parts instead of masking, is about $2500 to $3000 I'd say.

 

One of your questions was-how can they still be in business if they suck so bad? I haven't exactly seen this topic addressed as much. Let me explain a little something called capitalism to you. It's entirely based on consumer demand, availability, and the market value of a service. Now, just because a company produces a valuable product does not ensure that the product will last. Rather, it is the demand on that product. Many very successful companies have made fortunes not on selling good products, but cheap ones. The best example of this (in my opinion, many will disagree with me) is Walmart. Walmart began years ago by establishing a reputation of having quality goods for cheaper prices. Over the course of the last decade or so the quality of their goods has steadily declined, while the price has stayed the same, but because American's are by nature cheap-they continue to shop there, even though the customer service is terrible and Walmart's business model is one of the things wrecking our economy.

Now, with that said-Maaco to me is the Walmart of the automotive painting world. There will always be poor/cheap American's that are willing to go to Maaco because they want to save a buck. IMO this is the same as taking your Lexus down to the local used tire shop and buying 4 different used tires in order to save some money. In the long run-it will likely cost you. Maaco isn't successful because of their quality, they are successful because they are cheap, and we American's tend to love cheap stuff.

No, I don't shop at Walmart.

 

You got quoted 1200 for a reason. They suck.

 

....I'd love to see this topic of Walmart in the debate section

 

Do not compromise the factory paint. If you do, it will never be the same. People can tell if the car has been repainted if they know how to look.

Also people who have the paint gauge - all they need to do is to start measuring points on the car and the measurements would be jumping all over the place instead of being consistent like what the factory paint would be. Reason being the factory paints it by using a robot and a paint shop is painting it by hand.

It is best to have the front and rear bumpers repainted by a high-end paint shop.

 

maaco is a no no

 

No on Macco! Had them paint a Lexus before and it looked nice! 3 years later the paint wasn't as shiny and clean as factory. Would I do it again, only on a beater car and I got their top of the line paint there.

Save the extra money and go to a real shop. My 2 Cents from actually experience.