Maaco Collision Repair & Auto Painting

The paint job was fine but… they rendered my car totally undrivable and I had to have it towed to a repair shop. I had a Mazda RX-​8 at the time, which due to its rotary engine cannot be repeatedly started and stopped without the engine becoming flooded, especially in the cold weather. I got a call from Dennis while they were performing service and they said the car was having trouble starting and kept getting worse. I told them about the flooding issue and that they should let it idle for a good ten minutes at least before turning it off. He said yeah, they know, and that they have been doing that. Later, got another call saying the car is ready and to come get it! So I happily go and see that the work has been completed to my satisfaction. Get in and try to start it and it doesn’t start. Ask them why and they say «we told you!» when really they had only said it was getting worse and never said that it flat-​out wouldn’t start.
We spent all day there dealing with this nonsense. First we tried to start it by cranking it forever (which sometimes works). Didn’t work. We tell the shop we aren’t paying until we’re able to drive the car away. The owner Bill says no, we need to pay him. He also swore that his employees know about rotary engines and that they let it idle properly. So we say we will call a tow truck to come get it. He threatens to LOCK IT IN THE GARAGE AND CALL THE COPS ON US, even though his shop is responsible for the issue. On top of that, he said he would «CHARGE US RENT» for keeping it locked up there. He also got extremely defensive and yelled in our faces that we are accusing him of being a liar.
Next, he said he’d have his employee change our spark plugs «free of charge» and because he is so nice and wants to help us, and «guaranteed» that would fix the issue. He went to Auto Zone and came back with the spark plugs, and the work began. An hour later it was done. He showed us the old plugs and said «look, these are clearly bad» when they clearly looked perfectly fine. We tried starting it and it didn’t work.
Finally, after arguing with Bill because he suddenly accepted «cash only», we charged it to a credit card so we could potentially dispute it later, and called a tow truck to move it to another shop. All the while he told his employee «take notes of everything because we might take this to court». Luckily the tow truck was covered by insurance, but the other shop charged me ~$ 150 for the fix, and confirmed that the problem was caused by Maaco’s negligence.
Thanks to these monkeys I lost a whole day and $ 150. I can’t believe they’d be willing to flat-​out lie to their customers and waste their time like that. They could have just admitted fault, offered to make it better by knocking a little off of our bill, and everyone would have been on their way.
UPDATE: I called the number left by Maaco in the comment below. After being asked to repeat this entire review to the representative on the other end, I was told I’d get a call back from a U.S. based rep. I got the call a couple days later, and was told my comments were received and I’d get another call from this Maaco store regarding the experience. The call never came, and that was well over a month ago. I’ve tried calling the U.S.-based rep back a few times and they never answer. Whoever monitors the Maaco Unilocal account who left the below comment also didn’t respond to a message I sent to them regarding this. So even though Maaco initiated the process of «adderssing and resolving» my concerns, they only wasted more of my time. It looks like corporate Maaco is just as inclined to waste your time as this store is! STEER CLEAR!!!

Do not take your car here to be painted. They made fake promises. The owner/​manager is rude beyond belief and lies about time turnaround, color matching and work done. Prob the worst place to take your car to be painted in town. Also his staff really don’t seem to like him and know he lies to customers and then keeps your car hostage! I was told two to three days and he had my car for a week and a half. The paint on the hood was down extremely poorly it started to come off within a few months. It seems like he didn’t use a primer or do the job correctly. Two yr’s later its coming off in big patches. I will update review with pics.

Poor work, and super late. My vehicle was promised on the 9^th and got it on the 25^th, and very poorly done. Never going back.

They stink. I went in to get my bumper and turn light replaced after I became friends with a pole. They said it would cost 120.00 to me that was fine. They would call me in a week once parts came in for me to come in and get it fixed I waited for the phone call that never came! I tried calling them and no one answered and I tried numerous times. So I figured they don’t want customers or money so I will go elsewhere. Plus the guy I talked to was a chauvinist in regards to women he talked to me like I was an idiot.

For the price, the result is excellent. Had 2 cars painted, one $ 999 base/​clear, one $ 699 urethane with integrated clear coat. From 5 – 10 feet they both look new. Understand other shops charge 2−5x higher. So… when you look closely and see some orange peel, high/​lows, dust specs, fisheyes, other minor defects… focus on the savings and how nice the car looks. Re. bodywork. if you want every possible dent fixed this statement must get into the quote or it will not be done. Likely they will list some dents and then later they will find more. Their bodywork is not expensive get them fixed. DO NOT wash or even rinse off car for 5−6wks– I rinsed the base/​clear and then used bathroom towel to gently dry off. rinsing did not remove grit which towel then ground into the paint in huge swirls. Had to buy a orbital buffer and compound to get rid of swirls. Also DO NOT use claybar… ever. claybar picks up grit and likewise just grinds it into finish. I did this to urethane/​ICC and it left deep scratches. buffer/​compound almost didn’t take out. DO NOT ever use hose water to rinse or dry immediately (after 6wks) with SOFT towel after washing with car soap… will leave horrible water/​mineral spots that are near impossible to remove. DO consider applying 5 star shine… teflon coating… dirt, ice, snow (on windows too) just falls off. protects against sun damage. lasts 3−5yrs. super shiny. Like a 5 yr wax job ($ 70). I will certainly use Maaco again.

On Black Friday, someone dented my SUV in a parking lot and didn’t leave a note. Since I had just bought my vehicle a few months ago, I was mad as heck. Not wanting to drive around with a ding and scrape marks in my passenger door, I went to Maaco in Reno and spoke to Bill, one of the owners. His quote was close to what I had guesstimated and, since my insurance deductible was more than the quote, I paid for the repair myself. Bill said the job would take 3 days. The job was completed on time (actually, it was finished several hours earlier than scheduled) and the repair work was excellent. You cannot even tell there was a dent and they matched the paint perfectly.
Additionally, because I didn’t have a second vehicle & didn’t know anyone with whom I could get a ride back to Stead, Bill not only found me a cheap rental car, he arranged a ride for me to the rental car agency. After the repair was completed, Bill gave me a ride to the shop after I dropped off the rental car. What excellent customer service!

I brought my 96 Volvo in to be painted here. I bought it at a bargain because the previous owner had left it parked in the sun for extended period of time and this had caused almost all the paint on the hood to disappear and a good portion along the roof and quarter panels.
This required body work due to the fact there was nothing for the new paint to attach to. I went in, got a quick quote on a Monday. I worked with Dennis, a supervisor. Very polite and friendly.
Brought it back in on Wednesday afternoon and had it back the next Monday. Fantastic guys to work with. Excellent warranty. Definitely not the old Maaco Reno has had to deal with before. These new owners are fantastic.

I understand these are new owners. I must compliment them on every aspect of their operation. I first met Dennis who gave me all the options on fixing a pretty bad ding on the rocker panel of my car. His «dent» guy looked at it and estimated the time it would take to correct. I told him, I am not that fussy; he looked me straight in the eye and said «but I am, and it needs to be perfect.» The other owner, Bill, took the time to help me understand why I should fix the issue because I had exposed metal which could start rusting, causing a more extensive repair in time. I appreciated his input. They never put on the «hard sell.» They were honest and thorough in their assessment. The price was not in my budget, but they had a coupon I could use which made it easier for me. The work and paint repair are «perfect» and I am so happy. Everyone I came in contact with was helpful and courteous. The work was completed on time and as promised. I am a very satisfied customer and highly recommend this shop. Mary Davis

I took my wife’s 2003 Mustang to MAACO for some body work and a complete paint job.
They did a great job for a great price. I recommend Gerry and his staff for any body repairs and/​or painting. Instead of bitching about what some companys do wrong, why not complement the ones that do. things well?

I have a compact car and I took it to Gerry over eight year ago. I wax the car two times a year and I store it outside with a soft cover all year. It still looks great.

Maaco did a good job for a very good price. They were courteous, prompt and efficient. The truck was bright, clean and ready when I arrived.
Couldn’t ask for much more for the price.

I just picked up my daughter’s car from Maaco’s Auto Painting in Reno. It was the WORST paint job I have ever seen. I have had many cars painted, ranging from a $ 39.95 Miracle job to $ 10,000 custom jobs. This paint job cost me over $ 1,000 so I didn’t expect the quality of a custom paint job but hoped it would at least equal the Miracle quality. When I picked the car up it was covered with a thick layer of dust, I was called the afternoon before so it wasn’t as though I let the car sit for weeks. The dust should have set off an alarm that they were trying to cover up the flaws. I was told to rinse the car off with cold water and not wash it for six weeks. When I rinsed it off the orange peel became apparent, I am aware that some orange peel is acceptable but this car has the surface quality of a basket ball. There is almost no shine in the paint. When I called the owner, Jerry Tomac, I was told that he looked at the car as it came out of the booth and he thought it looked fine, that all paint jobs will have orange peel, that his truck has orange peel. He was not willing to remedy the situation by giving a discount or rebate for a color sand or polish, nor would he do it himself. When I told him of the several areas where masking tape had not been removed he said «well there is a lot of tape on a paint job and sometimes it is missed». When I told him that all the rubber parts that had been masked still had tape residue, he had no comment. I am inclined to believe that Maaco has never heard the term Quality Control. If their Quality Control passed this car it is obvious how low their standards are.
The (somewhat) saving grace of Maaco is that I received a call from Maaco Headquarters after I had sent an email voicing my displeasure. The person that I spoke with told me that he had spoken with the owner of the Reno shop and had been told that he felt the job had been of «Maaco quality». And though I was told that they were sorry that I was unhappy with the work but they wouldn’t offer any discount either.
To sum it up I am extremely unhappy with the quality and service that I received. I will never consider using a Maaco’s shop again, nor would I recommend it to anyone. If I could offer zero stars I would.