I have a car at a body shop and it hasn't been TOUCHED in monthes, is almost 2 monthes overdue from the promised date, and is being used as a workbench. He has had the car now since october. All the body guy did was remove the front and rear bumpers, trim, and lights, and do a little grinding on the roof. I had already had it all apart and put it back together with all new fasteners so there was zero rust to deal with for him to take it back apart. 8 hours work, tops on the car...if you had never done it before and were being slow. Am I being unreasonable? I want to go to the shop, tell him I want all the parts I PAID FOR and are itemized on my work order (parts which I am sure he doesn't have) and pick up my car. I will eat the grand I gave him for labour to start. It seems that there are few good honest body men out there these days. If I was in the same country as a Hamb'r body man I would bring it there. I have four other cars that need paint....
You should learn how to mix thinner and base...stir it with a paint stick and spray it thru a paint gun....LOL Or, shake the primer rattle can till the rat rod comes out.....
You are not being unreasonable. These horror stories abound, there are lots of guys out there who take on more than they can do. There are a lot on drugs who don't do any work. You may end up paying less by paying more at a reputable shop.
actually, after reading all the comments on the other post about this, it seems the general rule of thumb when dealing with body shops and painters is.........pay for everything up front, wait forever, never ask when it might be done, stop in weekly with more money and fully expect to wait at least three to four years for a completed job. After all, YOU DO WANT a quality job, right?
I think some painters (and upholstery guys)are exposed to too many dangerous chemicals,making it impossible to tell time.LOL You want a good job?They expect you to"accept"unprofessional business practises.Ask on here for abetter shop,there are lots of Ont. HAMB'rs who should be able to steer you to a good shop.
I sniff glue.... regularary.....bwaaa ha haaaa.... But really...it does **** to get an estimate on time and $$$ and get jacked around. The best thing to do is get a word of mouth recommendation from multiple people who've used a guy... Also...NEVER tell a guy "no hurry". I told my radiator guy that on a boil and core job and it's been 4 months...LOL
I would mail him a letter asking him to respond with a schedule to complete your project. If the schedule he sends back is unreasonable, then go retrieve your car. If he's already collected money for work not done, then ask for a refund. If he refuses...you'll have a piece of paper that has him acknowledging that he's behind schedule, which you could use in small-claims court.
I gave him about half up front to get him started...and he has done jack. He was a friends buddy, and that friend is royally pissed at him. He keeps giving me excuses, but I nailed him at his shop one day and he says it will be done in two to three weeks. Should I wait these last few weeks? Or just show up with the cops and pick up my car, and the parts or the refund he owes me for the parts.
VERY good advice duece! I have heard it before, I need money for materials and all that BS. I am trusting them with my car which is worth a lot more than the materials that he will have on the line. He has your car, so he knows he will get paid, why should you pay him anything up front? It seems like, when you pay them anything up front, it gives them permission to drag around. Next time, ask when the paint guy can get to your car, ask how long it will take to get the car finished up, tell him you will pick the car up within a day of being notified of it being ready, and tell him you will pay the full amount in cash WHEN you pick the car up. If that seems like to much trouble for him, go elsewhere. If he has your money upfront you are SOL, he has you by the balls!!!
I NEVER take money up front--but I must admit, I am behind schedule on the current project in the Shop.Spending 4 days in Hospital with a Collapsed Lung and a couple of weeks to get back up to speed didn`t help.....I am always su****ious of someone bidding a job--especially when the Car is in Primer or painted....X Ray vision is not my thing....
there is no excuse for that ****. Car as a workbench? WTF. I never TAKE money up front when I do anything to a car. Not even for materials. It makes me think "damn I better get this done so I can pay the mortgage". I worked at a shop and my boss was a deadbeat, but I had enough sidework coming in I made plenty of cash and didnt care. But he had at least two cars there for 3 years, that werent any better when I left. I would wait the couple weeks he says he needs, and if not done by then, then I would take the car. Hold him to it to the day, no more stalling.
Yes I definately agree with the"no Hurry".If you say that every time a quick insurance job comes in ,your car will be pushed further and further back. The no hurry should be while he is working on the car,not while it is sitting in the back corner of his shop.
He had a date for it to be done. March 14th... I have an itemized bill with $1100 in parts billed to me that I am pretty sure he has not bought. I have never seen them. This is why I am doing the 49' myself.
(Ya know forget the first part of what I said it wasn't necessary. I'm just being an *** today.) I think before I would eat the grand I would try and light a fire under him. Don't just storm in there and say gime my stuff back now if you haven't given him a chance to make good on it yet.
I can understand a painter wanting a 1/3 payment up front for materials etc. especially if the "car" is barely worth the price of the paint job. Some talk about painters on drugs... Are they shooting the new deadly Urethanes without proper personal protection? That skeleton is going to come out of the closet soon, the sooner the better. I suspect a lot of painters are getting poisoned the same way hat makers used to unknowingly get poisoned by Mercury a centurie or so ago. Remember "The Mad Hatter" from Alice in Wonderland? Mercury poisoning makes a person seem mad/crazy and disoriented shortly before it kills them. This guy could be truely ailing. Still, (unless it's just someone's buddy shooting your car in his garage,) you deserve professional work from a "professional".
One thing to remember though is there are hundreds of cars painted every week and the owners are pleased. You only hear about the disgruntled ones. (And most of them have a legit beef) I wouldn't take the grand as a loss without the parts.
I know a painter that tried that same **** with a guy.. the guy kept giving him money and he kept working on other **** and his own **** instead of the car he needed to work on. The owner of the car finally got pissed got a trailer and 4 guys and went to the shop. They loaded the car which was outside rusting then they went in. They started loading everything up out of the paint cabinet and sanpaper cabinet. The painter called the cops and they came. The car owner produced cancelled checks for materials and the cop told the painter there was nothing he could do because the man payed for the **** and it was obvious it wasnt used therefore he was en***led to it Well he didnt get any money back but the painter had to fix the car he had in the shop that he just fixed after they kicked the door in again! Go get your stuff and maybe take the police. If he cant produce what looks like a grand of parts and materials sue the ****er.. Dave
ding ding ding! we have a winnah! and get this...I OWN a body shop. I have the customers buy thier own parts. (it doesn't save me any time or money to do it- or them for that matter) no mixing system in house (yet)- reduces overhead costs-which means I don't have to justify a materials cost for anything other than tape, paper, and sandpaper. only when certian stages are completed will I ask for a draw-bodywork (if any) primer , finish coat and so on. then after it is all said and done, I schedule the final cut and buff- because doing it immediately after the paint is dry is rushing the job. I let it cure. so far, the only hard part has been getting folks to come in when scheduled for the final buff and detail.
Most body shops make their money off of minor accident repairs on new cars,that they can just bolt on aftermarket parts....I've seen this so many times. You bring in an old car, it's on the back burner....those insurance companies are paying to get those import cars in and out of their...so they don't have ot keep paying for rental cars.....There's no money for most shops to bother with old cars...that's just the way it is. Good luck
If you have anything that makes you wonder if you can trust his judgement, I would quietly and politely rescue as many of my parts as I could, and check for other shops with good reputations. Rescuing your parts is more important than winning an argument.
so...you only had to spend $1100 for parts and another grand for labor to learn the very important lesson that you need to do your own body/paint work if you actually want to get it done. I'd say it's a bargain. You learned.
Well, I am giving him the couple of weeks he promised and going over there every day to see if he has even touched it. The guy is obviously a liar and I don't trust him at all. At the end of those two weeks I am showing up with a trailer, my ownership on the car, the itemized bill he has given me, and the police. I am going to get my car, and either my money back or the parts. Otherwise I am charging him with fraud and suing his *** for all the money he owes me. I already have spoken to the police (its easy when you dad is one) and that is what they reccomended.
After the wagon was at the painters for longer than promised,,I decided to start another project,,,,HRP
Reminds me of what happened to a co-worker. He's into the Ricer car thing, and another co-worker and a buddie of his that used to own a body shop (out of business due to bad workmanship) talked him into letting them finish the bodywork and paint the car. At first, they said it would take about 2 weeks and cost $600, if he bought the materials. Seemed every day they wanted more for the job bevcause they neede shop supplies like filters and strainers for the guns, and sandpaper and other stuff that they should have had as shop supplies. Then they went and used filler, primer, and samdpaper that the HE paid for to do another car, when they were supposed to be working on HIS car. Then there was the pearl that was to put in the paint. They mixed it in the paint, but it's buried in the lower layers, so it doesn't even show up. Then there's all of the runs and orange peel in the finish that they refuse to take care of. The job ended up costing around $1800. Pretty ****ty way to treat a guy. I've seen other exaples of their work, most of them have mismatched panels and the paint is so thin that you can see the primer. I do better work, and I'll admit that I'm not that good. Now the car has spots where the paint's coming off, and where they "gl***ed in" the body kit is starting to crack. I say "glased in" because they used Bondo to mount it instead of actually usin fibergl***.
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