[teacher]

Originally Posted by husker boxster

+1 on staying as far away from Maaco as possible.

The reason they're cheap is because they cut BIG corners on the prep work. They spend little time sanding the existing surface. The paint sticks but in a few short years big chucks of paint are falling off because of the lack of proper sanding / prep. Plus I don't think they're big on doing spot repairs - they want to paint your whole car and price it to entice you to do that. I think the reason is they don't want to mix their paint to exact specs for your car (remember the line in their ads about choosing from over 2xx of their Embassidor colors?). If they paint the whole car, the color can be slightly off but who knows? If you require a spot repair, they have to be more exact with the color and they don't want to be.

When people ask me where to take a car to be repaired, I always steer them to a collision repair shop rather than the dealer. Think about the revenue producing areas of a dealership. I bet they are:

1. New car sales
2. Used car sales
3. Service
4. Body shop

Chances are the monies divvied out to run these cost centers probably fall in line with the amt of revenue they generate. So the dealership's body shop is sucking hind tit. Think they'll have the best technicians? In general, the collision repair shop will be better than a dealer's body shop and they have to be because that's how they make a living.

Even if you decide not to fix your bumper cover, do your homework now. Ask around and see who your friends recommend. Contact your Porsche club and ask them. Check them out in person and see what their shop looks like. It's better to have an idea now who you'd take your car to than to have to make a decision in 30 sec when the tow truck driver asks you where to take your beloved Boxster.

p.s. nice car!