Maaco Auto Painting & Body Works

These folk painted and repaired an older vehicle for me last year, and did a great job at a very competitive price.

Now someone scrapped the bumper on my new car, so I just went there and got a very competitive estimate. But best of all, [redacted] was able to buff out most of the damage FREE OF CHARGE.

I highly recommend them.

Review: The written estimate was for 2757.11, I authorized the repairs. They had over 3 weeks with auto in possession, to produce this written estimate. After a month, I called, wanting to know when auto was finished. They said, that I needed to have another mechanic remove the inverter box, and fuse box, because they hadnt started the repairs. So I towed auto to the other shop, they removed these parts and then had auto towed back to Maaco, in CM. Then I waited for them to tell me when to pick up auto , week or 2 went by, they said they would be finished but never were! They had auto for over 3 months, then I finally went down to see car, and the signal lights were missing! The [redacted] hood emblem, was gone! and the battery was dead! It had been sitting in their lot, open to elements the entire time! Then the said, If I didn't pay balance of 3,080.00 they would charge me rent of $35 per day until I did! I said, you haven't even finished the work, they said, too bad, they would keep my auto. So , I got a tow truck, went down there and paid the amount of 3689.53. The guy, ran my bank card for 3000, 5 times! saying, oh, it didn't go through! Later, my bank said, that 3000 was rung up, and approved out of my bank account for 5 times! And, they said, that Maaco, would have to reverse these transactions! I paid the $600, on 9/11/2014 -& 80 in cash. They didn't provide for the reservoir which was missing and the door was not fixed, just looked like someone banged out the dents, but you could still see where it had been damaged in the wreck! Then they tried to tell me that the repairs were 1st quality, when they only did a spot paint job, on the damaged parts, and they used aftermarket parts!!! Also, they said I agreed to the new total, when they never called me up to get permission! I offered to meet them half way and pay, 3200, which is way more than I felt was a reasonable adjustment, but they would budge!!! Kept, saying" fine Maam, well just keep your car!"Desired Settlement: I feel they have grossly over charged me by 900.00 for the repairs, and also, they somehow, drained my brand new battery, and they need to replace this, which is a 200.00 cost.

They broke the [redacted] Emblem and need to replace this for my hood.

Review: I went to Maaco Costa Mesa, CA to discuss how they would repair my vintage 1990 VW Vanagon for dent repair, rust repair and repainting the Vanagon before bring it in for repair. The first time with [redacted] (operation manager) and the second time with [redacted] (later learned as the Manager). We discussed the rust on the body and rear window, dings and dents on the back and side of the bus and sand pits on the f[redacted]t of the bus. I bought the Vanagon in on Tuesday May 6th and it was scheduled to be completed on Wednesday May 14th.

Primary concern are the dings and dents that were discussed with both [redacted] and [redacted] during the pricing of the work and not completed and thoroughly disregarded. This was fraud with intimation. They had my Vanagon, which is my home while back in the States. I live In Ecuador most of the year and said that I needed this Vanagon painted on schedule. Instead of the 6 working days promised, it took 12 days. This was a major problem, just say’n.

Actual Schedule:

5-6-2014, Tuesday – brought in at 8am. No work completed

5-7-2014, Wednesday – No work completed

5-8-2014, Thursday – No work completed

5-9-2014, Friday – Repair rust at back window, repair dents on right side panel, repair sand dings on f[redacted]t panel. Discussed with [redacted] about the lack of repair on the back window dings and dents and the right side ding next to the window. [redacted] said they would get those dings when they brought the Vanagon in for sanding. I was concerned about the schedule and asked if the Vanagon was still on schedule to finish next Wednesday. [redacted] told me that it was on schedule to finish.

5-12-2014, Monday – No work completed. [redacted] said there was a gas leak and they couldn’t work, but other work was going on in the shop… not true.

5-13-2014, Tuesday – No work completed. Blaming no work on the gas leak, but other work was on-going.

5-14-2014, Wednesday – No work completed. Same story

5-15-2014, Thursday – On May 15th in the morning, I once again pointed out the five or so small dents on the back door and back of the van to [redacted], with my brother [redacted]. I showed [redacted] each one and he said that when they go into do the prep work they would get it... I came back later in the day and the Vanagon had moved into the shop. Your worker was doing final sanding without the dents being fixed. I asked [redacted] again about them and he said they would get [redacted]e.

5-16-2014, Friday. The vanagon was going into the masking stage without the dents being fixed. I got Ruday again and he went over to the next booth and got a man to fix the dents, so assuming [redacted] was fixing them I left. Later that day the vanagon was painted.

5-19-2014, Monday. I came by and saw to my dismay that none of the dings and dents in the back window and panel were not touch, just painted over. The white gel coat fiberglass top, which was supposed to be painted white was painted the same color as the rest of the Vanagon. I was mad and wrote Maaco Costa Mesa an email detailing the scheduling and workmanship issues.

5-19-2014, Monday Afternoon. Around 4pm, [redacted] called and my brother [redacted] and I went over to discuss the issues with [redacted] and his manager. I met [redacted] in the paint booth and detailed the problems. [redacted] said with a smile that the manager wanted to talk with me and took me to see [redacted]. I was not introduced to [redacted] as the person in change. Actually just the opposite. During the delay of working on my Vanagon, I has asked [redacted] questions and he said that [redacted] was in charge and to discuss with him. [redacted] started to be real aggressive and bring out the contract that was written. I told him I did not appreciate his used car salesman trying to push me around. I let them both know what we discussed and whatdid not get [redacted]e. But they had my Vanagon and I was only days away from heading back to Ecuador. I was intimidated into agreeing to pay an extra $175 for the white top, which was now going to take another two working days to complete. Just one of the five or so dents I was now being quoted a repair price of $200 for each one, which would bring it over a $1,000 to fix what supposed to be [redacted]e. They had my Vanagon and I needed it back. So I was intimidated into agreeing.

5-21-2014, Wednesday afternoon. Maaco still had my Van and it was locked behind the paint booth doors. Once again feeling intimidated by [redacted], I signed the completion certificate. I was not satisfied and still not.

5-24-2014, Saturday. Noticed that the whole panel below the rear bumper did not have rust repaired, sanded or prepped and was not painted. This is a panel the width of the Vanagon and about 6 inches tall.

5-27-2014, Tuesday. Brought the Vanagon in and discussed with [redacted]. He said that they could paint it, but it would take two days. I was scheduled to leave for Ecuador on the 29th, so that was not acceptable and by this time, I did not trust them anyway.

Note - I have photos of the work in progress on 5-9-2-14, 5-15-2014, 5-16-2014, 5-19-2014 and 5-27-2014, which shows the dings and dents and the lack of paint on the lower back panel.Desired Settlement: My intention is to reduce the cost of the work at this point in time... I wanted the work to be [redacted]e correctly and on time, which did not happen. They will not be touching my Vanagon again. I will be contacting Visa and letting them know that I am reducing the amount payable to them as follows.

Amount Charged on Visa - $2778.50,

minus $178.50 for painting the top white, the original color,

minus $200 for each of the dents not touched. There are five but would agree to three or $600,

minus $50 per day for just not doing their job, extending the work out 6 additional days, which I ended up staying on a couch in the f[redacted]t room of my mothers house instead of travelling which was my intention prior to getting the Vanagon or a total of $300.

$2778.50 (-178.50-$600-$300) = $1,700.00 and reducing the cost by $1,078.50

Business

Response:

[redacted] came in with his rusted, dented and faded 1990 VW Vanagon and was very clear about his budget. He did not want to spend a penny more than $2600. He pointed out that he wanted us to repair rust, remove a few select dents on the "right side only" for $264.00 body labor. It is a shame that [redacted] now thinks he was going to be receiving dent removal all around the entire van for this amount of funds. Unfortunately, we live in the real world where small businesses like mine will not survive by charging 6.0 hours of bodywork for a minimum 25 hour job, and the amount we quoted was not just a dent; it was a side swipe that stretched out for about 18 inches long and six inches wide, along with a couple other dents on that side. We also repaired rust all around multiple windows for an additional $220, which was also a more than fair price for the amount rust that was present. $2700 was the absolute best deal for the amount of work performed on this vehicle and the quality of the work performed on this vehicle.

What [redacted] "forgot" or failed to mention and is 100% incorrect on, was that there was no intimidation from my end when he entered my office, only counter-objection. Obviously this is a ridiculous he-said, she-said situation. The attempted intimidation began with [redacted] starting off the conversation with answering my "What's going on?" (hello) with "What do you mean what's going on? and "I think this is bull[redacted]" in a very "intimidating" and hostile tone of voice and volume (no way to start a conversation where I come from). And the swearing started and did not stop there. I answered him with "What do you mean, what's bt?" and he continued on his ranting and raving. A civilized conversation was out of the question with [redacted]. He answered everything I discussed with him, with "[redacted]'t give me that used car salesman bt!!" I'm a very reasonable person to deal with... if you want or need a hundred references on the patience and professionalism that I bring to the table, let me know.

He brought in his brother [redacted] to witness this situation and probably to obtain his second opinion as well, and I am glad he did. His "second opinion", [redacted], stated several times "this seems like nothing more than a matter of miscommunication between both parties". He was very calm and agreed that this was not a body shop taking advantage of a customer, just miscommunications (just a customer not communicating that a vehicle has three colors, not two). How a grown man his size felt intimidated with his brother [redacted] at his side and with his hostility in my shop and my main office in front of my other customers, is not only absurd to me, but sounds like when a soccer player fakes an injury on the field so he hopefully gets the call in his favor. I, [redacted], the owner of Maaco, Costa Mesa, tried every effort to keep as calm of a tone as I usually do, but it obviously did not influence [redacted] to lower his voice and discuss the situation like civilized adults, as he is much older than myself.

He continued to want to have a verbal altercation, so in order to compete with his loud, obnoxious swearing and yelling, there was no choice but also to raise my voice and unfortunately compete with him for the microphone, back and forth, until I said, "you know what, let's go take a look at the vehicle together and figure this out." The other option was to ask him to leave and come back when he was in a better mood, but I opted to continue on and settle the issues at this moment in time.

He also did not understand that in the body shop industry, estimated time of completion means "estimated" time of completion, and additional setbacks are very common to occur that may result in extended time for the vehicle to be worked on and/or in this particular case, delayed because of prior vehicles being worked on. I explained to him that we are not in control of some situations, like this one, for example, which could and would delay the process on this vehicle as well as the next vehicles in line. Nor, can I be in control of key employees being shot in the face and killed in their own home 1 week prior, leaving me a man down, also slowing down the work flow (true story). The strange thing about this particular gentleman is, he did not seem to change his tune or tone even 1% after I told him about my deceased sander, whom accounted for 50% of my sanding crew. I understand that this would not concern him as it would or should me, and it was my issue to deal with, but a man's life is worth so much, and not to even blink an eye was impressive to me. I will admit, [redacted] had the intensions to still get the customer his vehicle back as soon as possible. I understand that [redacted] wanted the vehicle back sooner than it was delivered back to him. I believe, without knowing for sure, that [redacted] probably did promise the vehicle back sooner and [redacted] probably felt like he was getting the run-around. That would annoy me as well. I wouldn't storm into a business with guns blazing over it as he did, but I would stop by and discuss it with the owner as well if I felt I was getting the run-around as well.

Another one of his main issues, was the fact that the vehicle was allegedly originally a three-tone color vehicle: light cream colored roof, white colored crown around the base of the pop top, and the bottom was more of a gray color. The pop top of the vehicle was so faded from the sun, it appeared to be entirely the same color, even with my 20/20 vision and with the sunlight beating down on it. Originally, the client and I discussed whether or not he would like to keep the van as a "two-tone" vehicle or paint it all one color. I not only used the word "two-tone" several times, it was also on the legal documents that we discussed & signed by him at the time the vehicle was dropped off, before any work was performed and went a minimum of 1 week or more before any paint was applied onto the vehicle. This, in my opinion, was ample time for the customer, who obviously knew the vehicle was three-tone, to alert us of the discrepancy and allow us to discuss the change in plans and additional cost involved. The client never corrected this obviously very important detail until after the vehicle was completely painted. Whenever you add an additional color to a vehicle, whether it be two-tone or three tone, it adds a lot more work, than not adding additional colors. $400 would normally be the minimum to add a third color tone to any vehicle, before it is painted (easily minimum $500 to have to repaint what has already been painted for waisted wages and materials). We had already painted the entire vehicle two-tone, and the customer became rude and irate with my manager [redacted], and sent a demanding email to the stores' email inbox with his demands. [redacted] suggested the customer to come in and discuss the situation with the owner, me. I offered, without any hesitation, to perform the service at a loss, for $175 to at least cover the additional materials (not including the labor, that would account for much more), even though the vehicle had been already completely painted. This would include, removing the vehicle from the spray booth, unwrapping it completely, re-prepping the designated area, re-masking the entire vehicle re-entering the vehicle into the spray booth again (and losing that spot for another vehicle to be painted that day, thus delaying someone else's vehicle for an additional day), spraying the selected color desired and again unwrapping the vehicle to send it to our clean-up department. He was still extremely unhappy and was not impressed in the least with more than 60% off the minimum normal charge. A perfect example of someone attempting to obtain something for nothing, with the mindset that he is right and everyone else is wrong and/or trying to take advantage of him.

He also is accusing us of not removing discussed dents on the vehicle that he claims he advised us he wanted removed. The entire vehicle was completely covered in dents. He pointed out some dents that he felt were more obvious on the right side of the vehicle and wanted us to repair them. I stated to him while my manager [redacted] was present outside with the vehicle, that there were also dents on the tailgate as well as other areas on the vehicle all around. He was very short and without care about what I was explaining and pointing out, so I left it alone because he had already mentioned that he was expecting a certain price and he wanted to stick to that range of $2600. After the vehicle was with fresh paint, the customer was very unhappy now that all the other dents were more visible and pronounced then they were with faded paint, and now miraculously "we allegedly forgot" or missed repairing all of the other dents around the vehicle as if now cost was not an issue before. This guy is unbelievable, I thought to myself. I attempted to remind him of our conversation when he dropped the vehicle off, but he was not interested in listening to anything I had to say. The amount of bodywork charged was only for the areas that we repaired on the right side of the vehicle, and he would have been charged more to do more bodywork in other areas of the vehicle. We, without a doubt, did not do less work than was charged to the client and was more than fair with him on all the pricing for all the work that was performed.

As a gesture, [redacted] had some of the other smaller dents removed by one of my employees at no charge, but could not remove all of them without getting my body man involved, which would incur more cost to the customer. He was surprisingly again, extremely angry and vocal about this. Once again, attempting to get something for nothing.

Lastly, it seems that he is angry about us not painting the long painted piece that is located underneath the vehicle about 6-12 inches underneath and behind the rear bumper. Firstly, I would charge him to remove all of the rust that is covering this entire piece and secondly, would normally charge someone more money to paint something that is underneath the vehicle, as this would not be a simple task. The bottom edges of the front and rear bumpers is as far as we will paint on any vehicle and is the stopping point of the outside painted body. For example, if someone wanted me to have all the door jambs painted on the vehicle because they are the same color as the outside body, I would have to add this and charge additionally for it. I am more than happy to charge him additionally to repair the piece of all the rust and to refinish it if the customer would like to return for that to be performed or anything else he would like to pay for, fair and square. I would also be more than happy to repair all the other dents on the van that [redacted] would now like to get repaired and would gladly again, give him more than fair pricing for it.

As a small business, things are difficult enough without these types of ridiculous situations. The bottom line, is that [redacted] got a great deal and great work performed on his van and I am appalled at the degree that he is trying to exploit and take advantage of this situation and my small business. Unfortunately, we can't please everyone, no matter what we do or how hard we try, not even the most interesting characters.

I 100% do not agree that [redacted] should receive any compensation from my business whatsoever. It would be highly unfair and undeserving. [redacted] may think that as a Maaco, we are rolling in the dough, so this, whatever this is that he is trying to do here, will be felt, and now he wants us to pay him for the work we did on his vehicle? Well guess what, we make pennies on what other body shops make thousands on for the same work being performed. So, when we have an individual that is trying to harm our business and obtain free work that we performed for his benefit, it makes my stomach turn and my blood boil inside of me. We always offer great deals, and he was charged fairly and was given a great deal on everything. Price out the work that we did at any body shop in the area, and then come back to me and tell me we took advantage of [redacted]. In all honesty, there was no miscommunication and everything was clear when the vehicle was dropped off for the work to be performed. How he thought he should receive complimentary services or a refund on top of a great deal is beyond me and I will not stand by for any degree of victory on this for [redacted].

Thanks,

<st[redacted]g>Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting</st[redacted]g>

Review: I got an estimate for a rear bumper repair on May 27, 2014 from [redacted] Marquez at the Maaco Shop at 2076 Placentia Ave. Costa Mesa, CA 92627. Before the estimate I ask him if they needed to take the bumper off and he said "Of course, he has a hole in it". That was the same thing the three other body shops said, very enphatically, including one other Maaco shop. I ask how long it would take and he said two days. The other shops said three days. I told him I would bring the car back the next afternoon, Wednesday ([redacted]), , so they would have part of that day and Thursday (052914), and Friday (053014), and he agreed with that. I took the car by on Wednesday. I did not check on the car on Thursday but on Friday I went by the shop about lunch time. The car had not been moved or touched and the bumper had not been removed. I ask [redacted] about that and he said they were going to get on it that afternoon and it would be finished by late afternoon. I ask how they could do the painting in that time and he said they would bake it. In pressing the issue farther, he said it would be better if I would come after it the next morning at about 10a. I went in at 10a and the bumper had been painted and the car would totally masked off. I went to the office and [redacted] was not there but I talked to [redacted], who seemed to be Rudy's supervisor. I ask if the bumper had been removed and he said no. I ask how they could repair it properly without removing the bumper and he did not give an answer but commented that it looked good. He said it would take about two more hours for them to uncover it and do touchup. I waited in the waiting room and he sat across from me eating breakfast and working on the computer. I walked out about an hour and a half later and no one was working on the car. I went back in and asking why no one was working on the car and he said "I am the only one here". He made some comment about doing the work himself and went out and started. He was finished about half an hour later.

He told me the car was ready to go. I told him the repair that had been estimated was not completed because the bumper was not removed so the hole could be patched on the patched properly on the backside which I was told by his shop and three others was the proper way of fixing the bumper so I did not believe I should be require to pay for a job that was not done properly and according the the agreement. He told me that it did not say on the paperwork that the bumper was going to be repaired by removing the bumper so they had no responsibiliity to repair it in that way.

I had little or no choice so I paid the $300 and left.

When I got home I looked at the bumper more closely and could see where the bumper was indented where the hole had been patched. Because the hole shows and it was not repaired properly, I believe the first time the bumper gets bumped the patch will crack out or fall out.

I am asking for a refund of $300 so I can take it to another shop and have it repaired properly. Or, If you would prefer, I will take it to another Maaco shop and you can arrange to pay that shop for the cost of correcting the initial repair that was not done properly.

I later received a phone call response from the Maaco Complaint Dept. It simply said "each shop is independantly owned. We contacted the shop and the owner and the manage said the repairs were done correctly". That des not specifically address the complaint issue that I had spoke about.Desired Settlement: I request either the job be done according the the verbal agreement stated at the time the work estimate was verbally given to me or receive a refund of what I paid so I can take the car in and have the bumper properly and satisfactorily repaired.

Business

Response:

Let me start by stating, this particular client has been a joy to deal with. I will make this short and sweet, because this clients claim does not deserve much of my time. Since the moment he dropped the vehicle off, he assumed that he was smarter than the system and he thought he could con his way into a free repair. He was told that if our body man was unable to repair this bumper without taking it off, we would call him back to let him know, we would need additional time and the estimate would jump $66.00 if we needed to remove the bumper and reinstall it after paint. We were able to repair the bumper without removing it, obviously, because he was not charged for removal of the bumper and we did not have to. This saved him $66.00...so glad to see he obviously appreciated our honesty. When he picked up his vehicle on a Saturday, I, the owner of this shop, got the vehicle ready for pickup myself after finding out from the client that he needed his vehicle this day, and not Monday, which I was more than happy to do, while at the shop on my own, answering phones and dealing with other clients in the meantime. I dealt with this within 1 1/2 hours time (as fast as I possibly could) to respect his time as best as I was able to. When it was time to pay, he was smirking and tried to explain to me that it is mandatory by the automotive repair guidelines that we must remove a bumper when painting it. I smirked back and let him know that he should probably go back home and do his homework again. He insisted to not pay for the repairs, as I again played his smirking game and explained to him that he could either walk home and enjoy the weather to the best of his ability, or pay his bill and drive home in his car. I have photos and the initial estimate and final bill if needed that shows the beautiful work Maaco did (once again) on this one and his autograph proving agreement to our services. Thank you. THE END. One more thing... [redacted] is outside of his mind is he thinks he deserves one penny back and I 100% deny a refund to this con-artist (no disrespect intended of course). Have a nice day.

Review: I received a paint job on 2-7 2011 from Maaco of lancaster on a chrystler town and country 2007 at that time I was told not to wash the vehicle for 4 weeks I did not wash the vehicle . On 9-10 2013 I took the vehicle in to show [redacted] the owner the problem with the clear coat was faided on the roof and hood.. I was then asked if I waxed it every 6 month I told her no. She said they could not honor the warrenty if it wax not waxed every 6 Month. This is not stated in the warrenty. I talked to Mike her husband about 2 weeks before he informed me that the warrenty cover the first 2 years at 100% the 3 year I would have to pay for 25% of the repair. I paid $1000.00 dollars for the paint job. So I agreed to pay 250 for a new paint job. The first price I was given was 179.00 then 279.00 then 320.00 The reason I was given is the price of the paint has increased

I feel I have made a resonable offer. I called several times to resolve this issue to no sucess.

[redacted]Desired Settlement: Paint the Van for 250.00 or give me a check for that amount So I can get it painted some other place