Literally just got back from picking up my 95 XJR at Maaco after a respray and so far I am really impressed. Pulled it right into the garage as storms are passing through so I haven't had a chance to to a full inspection in the sunlight.

So far I am very pleased. I don't think I would have trusted just any Maaco, but my neighbor uses this particular shop for fleet work and I got a pretty good deal. The factory paint was shot... faded, cracking and I had a pretty good door ding.
Car was sanded, masked, door ding fixed, primed and painted for $900.

I will do a closer inspection tomorrow and take some more pictures.





Before:

 

not bad.

 

Looks sharp! I'd say you got a lotta bang for the buck!

Cheers
DD

 

I got mine done at Maaco as well, my paint was shot and had dings everywhere, luckily someone hit my fender and I got an 3k check. Took it to maaco they did all the dings, new fender, new paint for 2200. The paint job came out great but the only down side its a Single Stage Clear coat paint job. I got it done around 3 years ago. Paint is already starting to fade, not sure if that's normal. Also, I could never garage my car and never had a car cover.

 

Looks great, 95XJRBlack!

I'd always heard bad things about Maaco too, but when our daughter's Altima was hit and one of my wife's co-workers mentioned that her husband worked at Maaco, we decided to give them a try. They repaired two doors, replaced the front air dam and hood (a good salvaged part), both headlamps, and repainted the damaged areas. Afterward, the areas they had repaired looked brand new. All for $1,300.

For an older Jag that was a daily driver rather than a show car, I wouldn't hesitate to consider Maaco (perhaps after viewing some examples of their work).

Cheers,

Don

 

There are pix of another XJR (X308) that on this board that was done at Maaco, but the owner did a lot of the prep work. He was happy with results too.

I've looked more closely at my car since my post and there are some minor overspray issues around sunroof, but VERY minor and easy to rectify. I have to be honest, I was expecting to see some bad orange peel, masking lines, etc... but I don't see any.

The totally exceeded my expectations. The Maaco shop is not the newest or perhaps nicest looking facility, but they clearly have some talented guy working there. I just realized they cleaned up/painted some pretty deep scuffs on bumpers too.

I bought the car for $2500, put on new tires for $700, painted for $900. Now I have a fine looking and driving XJR for just over $4k. All this and just 104K on the clock.

I must be in heaven, man.

 

Yep. JAG heaven!

Well done!

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi

I just looked at your post.... wow It looks great, I'm curious did you have the complete repaint job? . I just repaired my front bumper after a snafu in a parking lot. you can see my posting below with pictures....... my car roof is suffering from "orange peel" on my roof plus some other dings and dents so a complete paint job will be in the near future..... any advice you have would be great.

BigBossRadio in Dallas TX

 

Yes. This is a complete repaint job. Top to bottom, front to back. I would not hesitate recommending the Maaco on Story Rd in Irving. I can't vouch for any other Maaco, but name dropping my neighbor and spending some time during the inspection telling them I am trusting them with my baby yielded great results.

I just remembered that I took a few cellphone pix during the car's prep.

 

That's a great price, especially if you're happy with the quality of work.

I discovered my XJR came with a single stage repaint also. I had it professionally buffed and polished and it looks quite good. Nothing will get a single stage paint job as glossy and a base/clear type, but I'll be keeping my Jag protected with high quality paint sealer, and no automatic car washes.

Congratulations on being the windshield and not the bug when it comes to Jag maintenance!

 

Hi 95xjrblack

Thanks for posting those pics... I just finished repairing my front bumper see attached pics...... , I have serious dents on both LH and RH front fenders that I have to tackle plus a few minor dings. Then prep for paint. I have noticed orange peel on the roof..... So it looks like a full paint job will be needed. I will certainly give the boys on Story Rd a call since they look like they know what they are doing.. I'm in Plano so Irving is an easy option......

Thanks for the Post
BigBossRadio in Dallas

 

Guys/Gals, make sure you ask what Type/Brand etc paint is being used and how it's being applied. Anything looks good upon first inspection even a properly sprayed rattle can. It's the long haul your after, it's ability to stand up to sun, rain, washes, waxing. I can tell you if you go to buy Quality paint for a car (which includes, paint, thinner, hardener, fish eye remover etc) it will run a pretty penny. I'm not saying someone didn't get a quality job done but there's usually a reason MACCO, Eral Shieb, Fact-O-Bake are cheaper. In the industry they are known as "Flip" shops where people take cars to pretty up for sale. Someone already stated their MACCO job is starting to fade 3 years in. That's not a great life expectancy.

 

I think this is a valid comment and something I considered before using Maaco.

I'll never sell this car because it means more to me than it ever will to anybody else. Even so, I could not justify spending the money for a high-end paint job. The other quote I got...and I am NOT KIDDING... was $20,000 from an independent shop in the DFW. The car will stay in my garage 75% of the time and only be driven on weekends and British Car Shows. So I hope I will be able to squeeze out more than 3 years on this paint job.

To be quite honest, a perfect paint job on a car like this seems a bit wrong to me anyway. If my neighbor didn't have an existing relationship with this particular Maaco to help them win my trust, I would have left it as it was.

 

This is always a bit of a dilemma.

The $20,000 quote seems a bit wild. A few years ago a pal of mine spent $5300 for an ultra nice, high grade paint job on his XJ6 so I'm thinking $6000-$7000 would probably do the trick nowadays.

As much as I like my car I'm faced with the question of "A $6000 paint job on car with an ACV of $2500?". I can't do it.

If I was *in love* with car....and if it was a quasi-classic/collectible....that might be a different story.

This is why, when shopping for a used Jag (or any other), cosmetics are SO important.

Cheers
DD

 

Hi 95XJRBLACK

Just to follow up, I fixed my front bumper as per the repair pix..... I'm now working on the serious front LHS panel dent........ I know I'm not going to get the line perfect but close enough that I can live with it, see attached pics...... It's getting ready for primer.... and paint

BigBossRadio in Dallas, TX

 

Hey big boss, I see you're turning into a proper bodywork man!! You will get the line/finish etc. perfect, if you stay at it. Don't be in a hurry to see it finished, 'cos you'll be looking at any imperfections forever!

If you put on primer and it still doesn't look right, rub back, fill where needed, rub, prime etc. etc. You will get there and keep up the good work!

 

My tail light bezels were losing their red coating and looking pretty bad against the car's fresh paint. So I removed them did some careful masking, sanded off the old red paint and resprayed them with Valspar spray paint for plastic surfaces. The color is a bit brighter than factory, but think they turned out pretty nice. Cost under $10 and super easy!

Before:


After:

 

Hi 95XJRBLACK
WOW.... nice job....... You seemed to have nailed it correctly....... back to the factory finish. It looks very sharp.

I'm working on my LHS fender/quarter panel getting out the dents that have bugged me for so long. I ended up removing the complete panel so I could get access to a dent up by the hood and the driver side door. It turned out not to be too difficult to do, since the panel is "bolted on" with 10mm screws,not welded on. It does require the bumper to be removed. I'm attaching some pics here for anyone that wants to know how it's done. Today I will remove and tackle the RHS panel and work on 2 serious dents on that side. Then prep, fill, sand to get ready for primer and paint. see attached pics. Now if I could only figure out what type of primer and paint to use? I'd be in business. So if anyone out there has any ideas on primer and paint I'd love to hear from you.


Thanks for all the help everyone.......
BigBossRadio in Dallas, TX

 

Hi Sogood
Thanks for the encouragement.... The dents were bugging me so I decided to tackle the job and get it done while I worked the "Bumper Issue".

I ended up removing the LHS Panel to get at a dent up by the hood (bonnet) and piller. I did make a small investment in a "Fender Hammer and Dolly" set". I got it for $25. So does that make a "Panel Beater" now? Who knows. There are so many great videos on uTube that show the techniques and details of how to do it. So today I will remove the RHS panel and work on dents there. Then get to prep, Fill, Prime and then Paint. Now if I could figure out the correct primer and paint type to use I'd be in business.

BigBoss in Dallas TX

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by sogood
Is there no stopping this man!!?? Hey bigboss, keep up the good work and thanks for this useful post.

Hi Sogood
Thanks for that. Since I can't seem to "Straighten out myself" I figured I may at least straighten out the front fenders..... Besides it keeps me out of the bars..LOL,,,, See the "devil does make work for idle hands".

I removed the RHS panel yesterday and worked on the 2 nasty dents, see pics here. It took a little effort but managed to get them out and and sanded down to bare metal ready for prep, fill and prime.

BigBoss Dallas TX