sayow

So my newly acquired 1996 LS 400 is my first Lexus ever and as I have stated in previous post, despite also owning a Jaguar S Type and a Corvette Z06, I have fallen in love with the LS despite it being much older and with almost 3 times the miles!

That being said, the Lexus although a one owner is not exactly in mint condition. While my love for the ride and feel has me looking for another LS 400 with low miles to pamper, I have decided to go ahead and spend a little money (that I will never get back I know) on the car.

It is at my mechanics right now getting the following:

- New timing belt, water pump, tensioners, idlers
- New ECT sensor
- New lower control arms
- New plugged power steering pump (ACV delete)
- New alternator
- New hood shocks

For a car with 244k miles on it that $1,000 plus of work is almost what I paid for the car but now it should be running a like a top as I do not (cross fingers) have any other issues mechanically or electronically.

So now I turn to the cosmetics, something I said I would not even mess with as a daily driver while I buy a newer LS for pampering.

BUT I am already in this deep and I just happened to run across what I think is a couple of GREAT deals.

First, my leather seats are split at the seams and a little worn but not too bad. Had a franchise owner from fibrenew come out and tell me that they could make the seats look brand new for $300!

Sign me up!

Now to the paint. Onyx Black with several spots of clear coat peeling (deck lid, both front quarters), bumper faded, three small dings and a decent double scratch about 18 inches long along the passenger door.

Went to Maaco on a lark and they told me that they could repair the damage, paint and clearcoat, two stage for 1250 normally but that until December 15 they are doing 50% off any paint and body work... WHAT?

That's right $625 for a two stage paint job and minor repair!

Further if I did not want the two stage, instead opting for a single stage poly urethane with clear coat in the paint (similar to GS?) that the price drops to 850... 425 after 50% discount!

Seems too good to be true? yes.
Will the prep suck? certainly.
Could it be worse than my clear coat peeling, faded and scratched $1,200 LS now? NO!

I generally agree with the lack of quality regarding their work, but 425-625 on a car that is definitely NOT worth a 3k paint job, how could I go wrong?

Can anyone tell me why I should not pull the trigger? Understanding that there is NO WAY I would put 2 or 3k into paint on this car. It is either spend 4-600 with Maaco or leave it dinged, scratched and peeling.

Side note
I spoke to my mechanic who also paints cars A LOT. I told him about this deal with the caveat that "I know Maaco sucks" and he said actually that their paint is top notch, but their bad rep comes from the "walmart" style of quantity over quality to make money and that hurts there prep "which is 75% of a good paint job".

He also said, if they only painted cars like mine, they would have a great rep but some people get high end/expensive cars done there who will not be satisfied. He told me if it was his car, he would do the same thing and said the price was great.

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

Honestly, for 1/5th of the cost of a traditional paintjob, let alone an actual LS400 paintjob... I'd say go for it. Hell, maybe even do a unique color if you're feeling crazy, but you should probably stick to two stage. Somewhere deep down, I feel that it would work out better for you in the end. Also, one word - MONOTONE.

sayow

Definitely not changing color, that's a nightmare and almost always looks worse than sticking to original.

I will post pictures before and after if and when i ever get posting rights

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

Well, you could just create a Photobucket account, like me, and just upload there, then link them to the forum via [IMG][/IMG] tags. Wild question, but did you ever think about doing any mods?

sayow

No mods. In fact I hate mods with a passion, with the exception of wheels and tires

Original stock always looks nicer... especially radios and I don't want to mod an LS for performance.

PureDrifter

iTrader: (10)

IF you do the prep yourself properly and mask the car yourself THEN you just MAY actually get something that doesn't look like complete crap out of it

xyzzy_dude

I agree that stock radio looks much nicer and is very well integrated, especially in the LS400. But this is the 21st century and I gotta have bluetooth and ipod integration. At some point function trumps form, so for that reason I went against my "no mods" rule (I agree with you completely on this) and finally caved and put in an aftermarket radio this summer after having owned my LS400 for almost 12 years. It was either that or get a more modern car

It's a very easy mod to do, the only annoyance is that it requires purchase of a $300 multiplexer adapter from BeatSonic to make most aftermarket head units compatible with the factory amp.

OKSTANCE

after seeing all the good and bad on zilvia - it seems like the 75% is prep is pretty accurate
ive seen guys with 2yr paint jobs that still look great
others complained and nit picked their fancy $2-500 paintjobs to death

if you are realistic with your preparations and expectations - you cant go wrong at that price IMO.
i dont see a single reason why you should spend more than 500 to paint our old daily commuters

RA40

iTrader: (6)

An option is to take it to the local tech-community college body shop. Long ago mom had a Ford Galaxy painted by them. Wasn't perfect though more than passable as a daily driver. Sold the car after 3 years and the paint for a car that had been left out was in great shape. As well, it was a near complete shoot, door jambs, trunk, and portions of the engine compartment were done.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

i say go for it, for reasons you already stated. i've had an old beater of a car painted by one-day paint with one-stage (similar to maaco, took 3 days in actuality) and the car still shines 5 years later! the car was black which helps hide a lot of over spray and sub-par masking. since your car is black as well, the outcome should not be too bad!

if you can afford the extra cash, why not go two-stage?

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

You could do this, but it's probably a little far fetched.

sayow

Update:

Car is getting dropped off at Maaco tonight. I wanted to get the TBelt and Pump done beforehand just because of Murphy's law but I went ahead and ordered the Aisin kit which takes 5-7 days and I already had my appointment.

Getting the following from Maaco:

There top of the line paint job (do not remember name) but its two stage, separate clear coat, 5 year warranty.

Added the two color charge to keep it factory (top black onyx, bottom dark silver)

Repairing 2 minor dents and 2 rather large 18-24" deep scratches on passenger rear door

Grinding down all surface rust spots (from paint chips, no serious rust)

They are painting my door columns which had peeled and are now chrome (looks odd)

Total 1,055.00

I am taking pictures tonight for the before and after and will post once my the site lets me.

Sc0pe

iTrader: (1)

Awww, I was hoping you'd go monotone But I'm definitely looking forward to before/after pictures! You should be able to post pictures here... otherwise, just upload to a photo upload site and link to them using the [IMG][/IMG] tags.

96blksc300

I work in the paint and body business... Maaco actually has some of the best painters in the industry. The downfall as stated is in there prep and mask work, but also the material they use. Hense the short term warranty. A great paint job can be had if the car is prepped before hand and quality materials are sourced (Dupont,ppg,sikkens,ect..) Been done many times with outstanding results. I see no issue with you plan.

sayow

I have verified that the Maaco where my car is getting work, uses Dupont.