First off Macco sucks! I used to work as a bodyman there. They (well at least I did) do great prep work, but their paint is cheap crap. They use sherman williams auto paint, which is about bottom line. Also why you can get it for 250. As far as painting goes they really don't care overspray, fisheyes, orange peel, as long as you take the car that's it! I have seen so many people get screwed with a crappy paint job simply because they signed the paper work at the end. Some Tips...Don't rush them! If you want them to do a decent job make sure they know they have all the time they need, tell them to take their time. I'm talking 2-3 weeks even though they say you can have it back in 3-5 days. The value prep service is crap! You can do that yourself with a scotch-brite. Go a step up which is a full sanding, if you want them to prep. Another thing make sure you wait as long as possible b4 you pick up the car. This lets the paint set nice and good. It takes about 60 days for the paint to fully harden which is when you'll really notice the flaws. By waiting a few days after the paint job you can start to see these imperfections when you get the car and make them fix it b4 you sign the paperwork. If you bitch enough they'll wet sand it for you. Make sure you go on a sunny day so you can get a real good look. Most times they wash the car when they know your comming, so make sure the car is dry too as water always makes the paint look good. And if possible get the car painted in the summer, this helps the paint set faster so all those lil pebbles and **** don't mess up your new paint job. And as far a black goes, that's really one of the hardest colors to get right. Most of the time it comes out a dark grey, hard to tell but you'll know. Always pick darker on the color chips. And go for more of blue-tone black rather than just addin black to the base. Another cool addition is Pearl Black w/ purple pearl is one of the sexiest colors on the plant!! IMO!!! If you go to Macco just make sure you don't get screwed.

As for doing the prep yourself don't take it down to the metal then then take it to them. This will only cause a major problem...RUST! it takes about 2hours in 70% humidity for a car to go from shiny silver to dull red. if you go to the metal make sure you prime it or bondo it right away. Priming over rust will cause pitting in your new paint. Also use a decent primer. Urithane is about the best and goes on nice and thick and gives you a good base for blocksanding 2 coats is always more than enough. Lacquer Primer dries fast but is really thin and you can sand through it fast, also takes 3-coats...unless you know how to lay it on thick. If you really want to do the prep work yourself I suggest you take a class at your local community college. 1 or 2 classes and you'll pretty much know the bases of bodywork. Goodluck and have fun!