Cost of a single-color paint job?

Cant say I have. Didnt even know they would use 2 stage.

Yeah their "top of the line" 2 stage job usually runs $1000-1200 or so for the basics. I got a similar job done at a similar paint shop and while it's not perfect, it's not bad either. There are a few specks of dirt here and there with a small defect or two every other panel, but there's no way in hell I'd pay another $5k+ to make those defects disappear. I'm about 3 or 4 years into daily driving it and the clear is holding up just fine with seasonal waxing. The original single stage job I got on it 10+ years ago was faded badly by this time.

I've always heard that Maaco's most expensive paint job is actually pretty decent as long as you do all the body work yourself but I've never seen one up close.