Paintjob went wrong - Need advice - Pic Heavy

He said he underbid the job and was going to loose money.
That's only one way to make some of it up. Look around and you can see others.
Being short on paint as in the trunk and hood, but seeing solvent pops kinda makes you wonder how far he thinned what paint he had to spread it just a little farther.

Tube of seam sealler costs some money and smoothing it to presentable in a eye level rain gutter takes time.
Skip both of those and he made up some more money.

Metal finish the patches takes time and plenty of it.
"Tacky-patchy & wacky-packy with dura-glassy" not so much, he made up some more of his losses.

 

I agree, this is a legal matter if the contract states what kind of finish/condition was expected. You do have a claim in the issue over the roof, there's no denying that. However, don't expect a full refund because he did do work on the vehicle and the judge will recognize that.

I went through a similar issue with a hack that worked on my house. Luckilly, there were a few things that saved my butt and helped me get my money back. First we had a well-written contract and when he said something that wasn't on it, I had him write it on the contract and hand-sign it. Next, he had a business license, this gave me a place to complain to and those license places don't take any guff. After the demand letter from my atty (my wife) netted us nothing, I submitted a similar affidavit to them and they got to see everything from text messages to phone records (he said I never called or gave him opportunity to fix), which leads me to the last thing that really helped, I documented EVERYTHING.

Call/write to the BBB, the licensing agency, the A.G.'s office where they accept such complaints. All these things are out there for the consumer.

Sorry if this is all a little messy, this topic cranks me up.

 

Like a couple of others have stated your communicating with the guy and if he is a half ass pro he doesn't want bad publicity. Make your list of complaints and approach him with a time line set in stone and if he is willing to correct all the bad areas then its a go and if now its small claims court on the double.

 

how much was charged

 

I hold a judgement against a defendant that was issued in 1992, that included a 10% per annum interest rate (compounded) until paid. 20 years of accrual makes the dollar amount significant. I still have nothing to show for it, nor will I. But I "won."

OP, sorry to hear your story. I don't want to wax nostalgic about the "good ole' days," but it seems our collective integrity is going down the toilet. What happened to doing what you said you would do, honestly and reasonably?

 

Try to keep it out of court!
I would offer a compromise, say to him, fix two of the largest & most noticable screw ups, I'll pay for the supplies and get him to agree to correct them to your satisfaction. He won't be happy, you still won't be happy, but that's why it's called a compromise!
Chalk it up to a learning experience.

 

Seems the shop owner is DONE,,he is a no show, no call to give you a heads up. Maybe you could find someone who could touch up the bad areas but there are so many a recoat would likely be easier. All depends how flush you are....it could be driven and looks great from a distance. Take your time to search out a reputable shop or do it yourself...I won't bother with body shops at all after having paint fall off a trunk lid 30 years ago and the douchebag would not fix it even though i had left the trunk lid behind...kept getting the same old song and dance about how busy he is and how i got a good deal...

 

Having been in the contracting business for over thirty years I have dealt with my share of court cases, both small claims and superior court. I agree the paint job and prep look like shit. If you haven't paid him yet then don't! You can turn it all over to a lawyer and let it wind it's way thru court, in the end you may get a judgement, he will say he has no money and he will be put on a payment plan. You might get a few Payments but then they stop so it's back to court again. Quite frankly it's not worth it. Whatever you do, do NOT give him the car back to fix again.
Looks like the car needs to be stripped and redone, I feel bad for you, I have been in the same situation and finally just did it myself. I am not a pro painter but I get better at it every time. You should have no qualms whatsoever about posting this jokers name, business live and die on word of mouth and showing pics and just telling the truth to anybody who asks is OK.
The big part is just letting go and moving on and not letting it sour your love of the car. Good luck brother!
.

 

court, you have a contract and pics, i personally wouldnt do anything to the car until the matter is settled. that way if the court wants some one else to see the car in person they can.

 

Unfortunately paint job horror stories are becoming the norm rather then the exception, I personally know of rodders who experienced two year paint jobs and others who received sub par quality. Most body shops would rather replace a Toyota Corolla fender then get involved in a custom paint job. The last paint job I had done was by a one man backyard paint shop. He only worked on one car at a time and he got paid when the job was done.
I believe the paint job rip off's are contributing to more and more primered and patina cars that are out there. You don't have to have an expensive paint job to have fun. There's a lot to be said for primered cars.

 

Court victory and resultant judgement does not come with a guarantee, or guaranty of fulfilment, nor will the court act as a guarantor in any form.

GUARANTEE (noun):

1) Something that assures a particular outcome or condition: ‘Lack of interest is a guarantee of failure.’ 2a) A promise or an assurance, especially one given in writing, that attests to the quality or durability of a product or service. 2b) A pledge that something will be performed in a specified manner. 3a) A guaranty by which one person assumes responsibility for paying another's debts or fulfilling another's responsibilities. 3b) A guaranty for the execution, completion, or existence of something. 4. A guarantor __________________________

GUARANTY (noun): 1. An agreement by which one person assumes the responsibility of assuring payment or fulfillment of another's debts or obligations. 2a) Something given as security for the execution, completion, or existence of something else. 2b) The act of providing such security. 3a) A guarantee, as for a product or service: a new refrigerator still under guaranty. 3b) A guarantee to perform something in a specified way. 4) A guarantee serving to assure a particular outcome or condition. 5) A guarantor.

Court will cost you both money no question.
The difference is, (and this happens every day) the looser files BK. Pays no judgement and rolls his attorney's fees into the BK and it costs him nothing to prolong your anguish.
If that happens you get three pieces of paper. One your attorney's bill, second is your judgement properly filed by the court, third is a notice that your judgement was placed into BK by the defendant. You also still need to fix your car.

You'll be much better off trying to settle with the guy.

Your negotiating power with him will come from you having something he wants or doesn't want unleashed.

 

Thats why I am self taught...I can live with my own mistakes and screw ups, butpaying cash for someone elses screw ups really sucks. Take him to court if you really have to ,use the cash to try and do it yourself?

 

I'm really sorry for what you have gone through. I've been there, twice and it sucks. Nothing is more stressful and irritating than paying a "professional" to do a job only to have it all fall apart.

I think you have good documentation and I would not do anything else to the car until this is "resolved."

If I may make a few suggestions:

Look for a book by Nolo Press entitled " How to win in small claims court" or something like that.

Many local public libraries offer a program such as "Lawyers in the Library" where you can go for a free 30 minute consultation.

Go on Yelp and write a thoroughly documented review. Keep within their guidelines so it isn't deleted.

Go to Craigslist and post your experience in the rant and rave and the auto sections.

Check to see if TN has some sort of state oversight of repair facilities. In CA it's called the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR).

Good luck and hang in there.

BTW, love the car and the color choice.

 

There's your problem. Quality work takes time, and you rushed them. 6 weeks is a ridiculous expectation for what you wanted done. My father's Chevelle has been in the body shop for 8 months and is just now ready to be sprayed. It's not unusual for top notch paint jobs to take a year or longer. You basically asked for a full body restoration in what amounts to a quick respray time frame.

 

I dont think I rushed him there bud, I didnt set the timeframe, HE did. I told him what I wanted done, he said it will take me 6 weeks. I let him have it for 6 months before I bitched at all about it taking to long. That is all in the thread if you read it all.

 

i'll go ahead and ask again...

what did you pay for the work you received?

 

As professional painter I have to say that is very poor workmanship. All of the raised and cracking areas happen when a acrylic one part glazing putty is used and then the buffing wheel heats the layers. The glazing putty is then heated to point it shrinks and/or bubbles up. The rusted areas are only going to get worse it really is like cancer, it needs to be gotten rid of and then treated so it doesn't come back. That rust will continue to grow and bubble the paint off.

I can not believe using the excuse of running out of paint. That's like McDonald's giving you a bun and saying they ran out of hamburger. We all know a paint job is only as good as the final prep I see very poor workmanship in the prep work I would guess that the panels are wavy from poor block sanding as well. Those pin holes were there at final prep and just ignored.

I have seen this kind of work before I think it is from lack of experience and
knowledge. The one thing I do know is it will take a ton of work to right his wrongs.
I would take him to small claims to get your money back. If you would like me to go picture to picture and give you my opinion of what I see is wrong PM me.

 

The reason I mentioned small claims court is because it doesn't cost much. You do not need a lawyer. All that adds to cost. You want it quick and simple. You have a signed contract and you have pictures. That's why I said don't wait . . go for it now or forever hold your peace

 

You got screwed. When I lived in Indiana, I worked for a guy like that. His only interest was getting cars in the shop and a nice down payment. He always gave completely ridiculous promises of when the job would be done, etc. He ended up running out of money and I had a tough time getting my paychecks. He was such a schmoozer. A complete BSer.
I'm thinking small claims court for you, since he seems to be avoiding you.
Tom

 

Man, sucks to have something like this happen. It seems to pretty much boil down to the painters fault, mainly for not calling you when he stripped the car and found lots of additional things that were gonna cost him over what he quoted. A simple phone call asking you to come down and see it would have probably solved the issues that you wound up with.

Good luck on getting the whole thing resolved.
A little communication sure goes a long way in preventing problems.

 

Very poor work, but that's the problem when these guys get your car in there shop. If you refuse to pay then they lein your car. Sucks to have your car treated like crap. Money refund, because it will all have to be redone or court.

 

does this guy have a shop or does he work in his backyard? a junior high kid could do that good or better

 

It certainly sucks this happened to you. I know the many defects will drive you crazy since its your car and you know it well. If it were me I would try to negotiate for at least a partial refund so you can fix the bigger screw ups, and drive it for a few years to gauge whether it's Worth it to you to put more money into a full repaint

 

No offense but after getting burned the first time you maybe should have put in a little more research into what a complete repaint and body work should cost you and how long it should take. I agree with you that he should have fullfilled the contract but had you done some homework before hand you would probably have realized that what he was offering was too good to be true and you would have looked else where. Cheap and fast are never a good combination.

 

Take him to court and sue him, get the judgement against him and follow up on it. Put a lien on his tools, property, whatever. It's bullshit that this guy can't live up to a contract, it's unprofessional and it shouldn't be tolerated. YOU WERE WISE ENOUGH TO WRITE A CONTRACT IN CASE THIS HAPPENED, NOW FOLLOW UP ON IT!

 

I'm sorry to see that.

Like you said, it seems to be a 10 footer instead of a show car that you paid for.

My 2 cents-BBB is paid off, yelp is also-you pay to suppress the bad reviews monthly and it's decently expensive, just sue in small claims because you feel its the right thing to do, not that you expect to get any money.

It's one thing to get a judgment, and another to ever see a dime of it. I think it's worth fighting the good fight if you think you'll win.

 

I dont take offense to this, I know most here are trying to offer honest advice and opinions. I dont know how much more looking into the guy I could have done. I visited his shop twice to look and work being done. I called 3 references he gave me, all of which were older guys that have had multiple cars done there, and one guy drove his 30's car up there for me to see. Talked to the business next door who said everyone around here says he does good work, he is always busy. I know what other shops would charge, I talked to many. Some twice as much, some slightly more, some I laughed at. I knew it was it would not be perfect and would have flaws, but as many here have said, either myself (never done it) or the high school neighbor could have done about as good. I didnt expect perfect, I expected a decent paintjob that would last me many years, not flaky, bubbly, spider cracks, pinholes, paint over rust, etc.. that will not give me years of good service.

I simply cannot get over the fact that he said sunday afternoon "I will call you when Im on the way", and I have still not heard from him since.

 

We still don't know how much you paid,right?

Anyone that would give a package price for that type of work (restoration)
is not a profesional at restoration.

I charge by the hour.

 

I guess my question would be how much the other guys paid and how long they waited?

For me the biggest red flag is a guy who is "always busy" saying he can do a complete in 6 weeks. Regardless of price this screams I am going to have to cut corners to even meet my deadline or I am so desperate for business I will say anything to get it.

It sucks man you want to trust a guys word and it is like a kick in the balls when he doesn't live up to it. I hope things work out for you.

 

I know its killing everyone, I have $4000 in this job. Just please dont start with you got what you paid for, because I didnt. I dont disagree to be perfect, showcar, it would cost twice that. Thats not what we were doing here.