i have been seriously considering a maaco paint job for my civic i plan on having them paint the whole car and not just sections i dont see any point of me spending a couple grand on a nice paint job since i only paid 700 for the car. Would they do a 'decent' job do you guys think.

Paint is only as good as as the money you put into. Now with macco if you do some of the prep work and do some of the masking, and keep the same color it will come out the way you want it decent. I would say go with them, but do some work ahead of time for better results...

Jeremy

Yeah that is what ive heard is that you need to do some prep work and tape off what you dont want painted because they just spray everything. However the only raw pieces on the car are the hood and bumper.

Set a goal is the best advice I can give you. If you want it to turn out good you are gonn have to drop some money to get there. I am sure that Mike K will tell you the the same thing.

Spray the whole car and just use an ice scraper to clear the windows and headlights. Now thats one of a kind!

Since the Civic is just going to be your beater, I wouldn't dump much into paint. Escpecially if it gets dinged or scratched a few weeks after it's painted, cause they you feel defeated. I would just pull it into the garage and mask it off. You could sand the old paint if you had time and want it to be a smoother finish. It's up to you, but I would stay cheap.