Never pay up front? Come on folks, you have to at least pay enough for the craftsman or shop to buy the materials. There are no painters who would agree to paint a car without the customer providing money for the sandpaper, fillers, primers and paint. The same goes for an upholstry shop. You pay for the upholstry materials, padding, hog rings, etc; then the work begins. A down payment covers the materials, the final payment covers the talent and labor.
You can't be serious. I've worked at paint and body shops and the customer wasn't expected to pay for supplies or anything else up front. I'm sorry, but that's a huge stinky load of shit. What kind of business doesn't have an inventory or a way to get it's supplies? Maybe one that operates on the fly. If business is THAT slow, it's probably for a reason. If I drop my OT car off to have work done and the shop wants money to buy the parts and supplies, I'm leaving. In fact, I have NEVER heard of paying up front for anything that was considered a service. Especially car related. That's why those big shops have a gate. So, if a dead beat decides not to pay AFTER the job is done, they can keep his car. Paying for materials up front sounds so stupid, my dogs ashes are laughing.
Bullshit ! This dude isn't a craftsman he's a schister. Any shop you drop your vehicle off at has your car for ransome. Any shop you drop your vehicle off at can get a 30 day line of credit. Any shop you drop your vehicle off at should be able to get you done in 30 days. Schisters can't do the above that's why they need to work in your garage and get paid up front. The exceptions would be extended term projects and then its draws on levels of completion. Try this, on Tuesday ask your boss to front you next weeks pay. Oh and because you need gas, food, soap and beer and a new pack of underwear so you can make it to work. Let me know how that works for you?
2-3 hours a night Mon-Thur for 10 months. That's one hell of a lot of hours. Say 10 hours a week. That's over 400 hours? The guy is done. For whatever reason he's burnt, drunk or who knows? You should always be ahead of the contractor whether it's a craftsman working on your home or a tradesman working on your car. If you have the transmission replaced on a car, you don't pay a dime until it's done. Why would paint and upholstery be different? (If you don't pay, they hold your car on a "mechanics lein"). Once you start paying out more than the work being done, people slow down (or "back burner" you), stop coming around or completely disappear with your $$$. We see it here on the HAMB weekly and it usually has to do with paint and body work. In this case; Get an estimate from another upholsterer (in writing) to finish the job (including the screwed up work). Then have him finish the upholstery. Deduct the amount from your first upholsterer's work order amount. Hope you're ahead of him (you said 60/40). Example; Your original quote was $5000. You've paid out $3000 so far. New estimate to complete is $2500. Total = $5500. Tell the first guy to take a hike (and that he owes YOU $500, and he can take you to small claims if he thinks he can prove you owe him anything).
I threw him out told him to leave all the materials I bought here. I think it looks like shit. Can it be fixed or should I start over.I thought I was a little bit of an ass so I asked what you guys thought of the job and if I was to picky.
If I may, what kinda money are we talking about? 800-1000 or like 3-4k. I don't give a shit about "you agreed on a price, it should be perfect" that some will insist. We all know for the most part, you get what you pay for. AS FAR AS QUALITY, NOT COMPLETION. I have a guy who does interior, pretty cheap but his work is substandard. I am finally at a point where I am willing to pay someone else for better quality. Some builds warrant better quality in the details, and quite frankly, some just need the "that'll work" quality. I am not saying that you're crying and whining, quite the opposite. I just want to know if the quality, if it was completed, would've been on parallel with the cost. I hope I articulated that well and didn't come across like a dick.
you would have never been happy with the job even if it was completed . 2-3 hours a week isn't much time to work on anything . all it does is make the owner impatient with the job and once that happen they find fault with everythign. I suggest you take it to a shop or to the persons place and let them do it without you hovering over it and let them get it done in one swipe .( not to be a dick about it , otherwise your going to nitpick because of this )
Yep. Sounds like a side-jobber. Cut your losses. I used to have a shop that did custom auto glass. If the customer wanted me to do the job, the FIRST requirement was that the car came to me. Drive or trailer, I didn't care. I accepted payment when the job was COMPLETE and everyone was happy. I had to keep a few cars due to non payment, always seemed to get paid as soon as it went up for lien sale. I had more than my fair share of redo's from guys that tried to save a buck and got bit. Good luck. Not saying all side-gigers are bad. But it seems more are bad than good.
I would have about 3250 in it if it were done. I would owe him just over 1000 if complete. I bought a foam kit base and backer for the mg seats the carpet and insulation that wasn't figured in.
Thanks for not taking offence. For that money I would be disappointed in the quality as well. I think he needs to be told he has a week or two to finish and correct it, or get lost. And if he has a problem with that, as others said, get a qoute to finish it and if its more than a thousand let him know he'll be owing you. Not that you'll get anything from him, but it will shut him up and you can move on and take it as a lesson earned. Sorry you have to deal with a guy like that...... There are some guys where you get more than you pay for, but I don't run across them to often.
Here is another picture the pleat is off by1/2 inch on one side both seats are off plus the seat was suppose to have 6 pleats not 7 I let that one slide so I never thought it would be perfect but I wanted it nice.
Yeah cut your losses and get him out of there. I have been burned on more than one occasion by people like this. If he fails to produce a reciept for the 250 you paid for the materials and he raises a stink about it I would tell him to go kick rocks. It does not matter if you paid him 5 bucks or 5,000 bucks a job is a job is a job plain and simple you paid for timely work and you were abondend tell him you have found someone else willing to do the job correctly and to your standards and you no longer have a need or want for him to complete the job since he bolted on you.
when you let him go do not call him back , there was a story several years ago down this way about a situation close to yours were the guy was upset about the work in his car , but would show it anyways but always badmouthed the guy who did the work ( but never mentioned that he didn't pay him the agreed price either) , well finally the word got back to the guy and one day the car went to a show and came home and before he put the car away the interior was slashed to ribbons . the guy called the cops , but the guy in question was somewhere else at the time ( like 200 miles away ) . and also it was made known in court the car was shown at shows .( judge made a comment about that too) later in the years if you asked the guy who did the work if he did it ,he would say no ( with a grin on his face ) , but he wants to thank the person who did .. so be carefull some people are vengful
The 250 was above what he estimated for materials so I thought an honest mistake but I think it was really to cover his gas money for driving. I did tell him If I were painting a car for him and I ran out of paint I wouldn't try to get more money or not paint a fender because I miss calculated. Plus he made the kick and rear panels wrong twice and the material could not be reused.
If you deal with a large shop that has 3 or 4 projects going at the same time then you're right - they do have the basic materials on hand. I deal with shops that do one job at a time. How do you expect them to have every custom color paint that a customer might want on hand? There are thousands of colors they'd have to stock. Likewise interior materials and colors. I know of two local shops that have mostly completed projects that the customer has not yet paid on. They're stuck now with the cars taking up valuable space and having to move them around to make room for ongoing projects. They have no desire to take ownership of these cars; they could never sell them for what they have in them, so they keep hoping the owners will pay up. A small shop just can't and won't deal with that hassle. My car is now in the body/paint shop. My guy is working on my car, no one elses. I paid an up-front flat rate and when it's finished all I have to do is drive it away with no additional surprise payments due. And I monitor his progress on almost a daily basis; he as no problem with my suggesting adjustments or changes as he progresses.
I wrote, "inventory OR way to get supplies" Obviously they can't have EVERY color or stock ALL the material, but what they don't have, they can get. Not being able to get paid upon completion is what all businesses avoid or don't want, but it happens. It's a risk most shops take. That's why so many guys starting out get closed. They don't have the capitol to cover loses that my come up. When you go out to eat, do you order and pay first? Hoping the dinner is cooked right? It's the same thing. On the other end, the restaurant is expecting for you to pay afterwards. If you don't and run out, it's a loss, but it's an excepted risk in business. No one with common sense pays up front for a job, unless it's a long term project, then a deposit shouldn't be a problem. Look at all the threads by guys who paid up front and got burned, when the shop closed and took their car. There's plenty of them. Paying up front, there's a sucker born every minute.
I payed half down to cover the cost of materials. The rest to be paid upon completion added all new guts for the seats and insulation and carpet that's the extra I paid plus for more material that he miss calculated on thought that was more than far and he didn't come threw not paying him the rest of the money.
So many things to learn from this post. I;ve been down this road ans everytime it's been different. First project was some cushions for my vintage travel trailer. Goy a good quote,guy did work out of his house. gave him like 25% down for the material, that didn't seem too bad. What I didn't realize upon one visit was he was like running a day care center for his really little kids. Who were crawling all over my material on his table with sharpies in their hands. They weren't listening too well either.Anyway they turned out ok, a little late but I was happy they were done and got out of there. If you still owe him money you are still in control of the situation. It's when you pay it all up front that you have lost all control. I do a/c work here in Vegas and if I have a new client and we are talking thousands of dollars to do the job Damn straight I'm asking for some money upfront. Especially in this town. If I get burned at least I've got my parts paid for and my jobbers taken care of, Yea I'm screwed on my labor but I'm just out of my time, TillI drive buy anf put a round in his condenser. OH thats just the voices in my head talking again.lol. Just had my model A tudor done here in Vegas and is was the most plesant automotive transactions I've had. Got bids from 2500.00 do it yourself kits to $8500.00. Found a place Edwards upholstry in Hend nv and he did a beautiful job for $4000.00 the quoted price not a penny over looks awesum and just as we discussed. In fact more than we disussed. Thanks Charlie. In fact it was done ahead of schedule.And he started with nothing in the car except some beat up seats. So I guess go with referalsand check around. I would guess a good upholstry guy might be able to make it look presentable. He might not be to happy about it but live and learn. his is why I learned to do my own paint and body work. Is it perfect no but it wasn't when the PROs did it either and its a very rewarding feeling to try and do it yourself.YRUHOT.........Doug
I don't think I was looking for perfection for bottom dollar. I wanted it the way my father did it in 1959 with the help of a few buddies. The seats were not redone in 1959 everything else was sewed on my grandmas sewing machine
Yea, I asked what the deal was in post #22. You probably missed it. A deposit for a big job, sure. On side work or a home job, red flag. That's just me and what I've seen and learned. In the end, it's following your gut. The real question is can you recover when your gut is wrong. In a world of crooks and fly by night businesses, I pay upon completion and inspection and it better be exactly as I requested because it's my hard earned money. Hell, if it's REALLY good, I'll toss in extra and spread the word.
I read the whole thread,looked at all the pictures. I am a trimmer, have been almost 50 years and have an opinion. Your job is not very well done at any point. The amount of work and materials to finish it right and correct all the mistakes will exceed the perceived balance. If you were closer to me I would finish it , or show you how to correct some of it. I see this type of quality at shows cruises and on here a lot. Usually passes inspection by most people. Not me or any trimmer worth their salt.. I try to refrain from comment. Don't pay him and don't let him finish it , there are to many hard feelings by now. sorry for a long response , but I am pretty passionate about my work. Jack
I feel for you. And let me say up front here I'm not bashing all trimmers. A nice job is a wonderful thing and treat every time you open a door. I've only had 2 cars done in full. The first fellow did a nice job but there were "wrinkles" in some of the seat covering, he goofed a little and almost drilled a hole in my trunk lid (he paid for the fix / repaint, a good guy) and there was a surprising amount of small glue bombs to clean up after delivery. He also reversed the color patterns of some of the consoles / panels, just assuming I'd like it that way better. I didn't, so he had to redo them. But I noticed that early on (I made many visits during the work), so it was no real biggie. A 25 percent deposit down and $4500 total for a 4 door seemed more than enough (I didn't get leather and upholstery materials aren't as expensive as paint, eh?) and he worked from his house. The second guy did my truck and did a wonderful job on the seats. He also covered parts I built a piece at a time as I got them done. I don't think I have 1K in it. A third fellow... not so good. I asked for some changes in the truck's seat bottoms and he did a lousy job and charged way more than I expected for "minor repairs." A nice guy, and he was also recommended by a friend. No way I'd go back or recommend him. In both the first jobs, I built all the panels and consoles. The dashes were entirely done with paint, holes cut, gauges and do-dads mounted, chrome done and everything tested. All the interior trim was pre-fit, all the required fasteners worked out and all the wiring was done. Basically all they had to do was cover stuff with the material I selected and do the seats and headliner, if any. Yet... I consider myself very lucky after I hear other stories. While it always takes longer than the estimated delivery date (is that some sort of hot rod disease?), there wasn't too much glue to remove, no scratches in the paint ('cept for that outie in the trunk lid), no wiring was cut, and the glass / regulators / latches were fine. These fellows were local / regional, very easy to work with, and recommended by friends. On the B side, there are some hot dog upholstery guys here who, after a car or two in the magazines, start asking 20K for a 3 window in cloth and have a such an hysterically poor reputation for leaving glue bombs everywhere that first thing you want to ask anyone who has a car done there is if they got all the glue off the crank pulley and tail pipes yet. One high-priced guy is also know for gluing in panels versus using snaps / fasteners, just assuming you will never have to fix broken glass, or work on anything hidden behind them. But he's an artist, evidently, taking pride in his design but seems to have no real idea how a functional auto should be finished. The only real gripe I have with the process in general is that I expect the seats and panels to be trimmed out as well as OEM seats in a new car. Tight, no wrinkles, seams perfect. I didn't think there was a need to even discuss that before the job started, but you live and learn, eh? Some times I wonder where the new guys just starting out get their training, correspondence schools that advertise on match book covers? Do they look at a lot of cars at shows, or just magazines / web shots? Or visit new car dealers?!??! In the hysterical side bar department, a famous racer guy in the area here had a hot rod back in the day and he asked a family member to do his interior. When he got it back, it was green and purple inside. And that's when the family found out he was color blind! No one had the heart to tell him how awful the colors were, despite how well it was done, so the car kept that wacky interior. Do you have to ask your trimmer to show you the results of his latest optometrist visit? Off the soap box, into the crowd... Gary
I'm not a person that wwould pay up front for work but that is water under the bridge. You are going to have to move on eat some money lick your wounds find a real profesional upholstery shop and see if they are willing to go into someone elses work and correct and finish job, this might not be a option and you may have to start from square one. I wish you luck as I know the cost of having upholstery work done as we just had our 57 done and good work comes with cost but we are happy customers with that.I wish you good luck with your situation and let us know how the finished product turns out!!
I agree with you, at that price it surely isn't bottom dollar priced work. I paid 500 to have a front and back seat done. They look like a 3 out of a 10. Pleats don't line up, bunchy on the corners, etc. I feel a can't complain too much. But in your case, you have legitimate reasons to not happy, at all.
Definitely sub-par work. Too bad, that's a tough situation to be in. Too bad you're not closer to Utah, I would recommend someone for you. Call a few shops and see what they will charge you to finish the job. You have some material out of the deal so its not a total waste. Maybe someone can save what's there and finish the rest for you. Good luck!
Tell the shitbag to pick his tools up and don't come back. What a dickwad. If he gives you shit, tell him you will call a lawyer or an ambulance, his call.
How does that even matter?? If the guy was paid to do a job and it sucks well, it sucks. If you don't have a top notch team like Brizio or someone you should be willing to accept and pay for sub-par work??
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