I have had a couple vehicles painted @ Maaco.
`79 Cutlass.....I did all the prep work, and body work...I dropped off a trim-less car.....and it came out GREAT, not PERFECT, but a $400 paint job on a car that I later sold for nearly $3,000 isn't bad at all!....I drove it a year, and sold it in 2000. To this day, the paint still looks NEW
`87 S-10....again, I did all the prep work, (many hours blocking the doors, and bed sides) removed all the glass, and seperated the plastics so they could be shot with more flexing agent in the paint....this was the BEST job I have seen out of this particular Maaco. No runs, smooth paint...painter did a great job at laying paint.....And the kid I sold it to won a couple car show awards...and it looked pristine until the day he burned it to the ground!
`94 Sable...this was an 'out of my sisters pocket' type of deal, as she is the one that hit my car and caused the damage....well, this one didn't go so well...they did 100% of the work..and the paint match wasn't great (Factory Silver/Purple Pearl) and the body work was HORRIBLE. I could clearly see the sanding swirls in the filler, and they made NO ATTEMPT to hammer & dolly the damage, and apply as little filler as possible. I guesstimate that the filler was about 3/8" thick in 1 spot. Paint Runs on the flat spots, and it just BARELY started to crack on the bumper when we sold it....
Moral of the story: Yes, it's a CHEAP paint job. YES they CAN do a good job. But if you have time to spare, and KNOW what you are doing (or know someone that does)....you are better off getting JUST a Maaco PAINT JOB, and not letting them do their 'cosmolission' magic on it.
Ryan