bad thoughts.....REAL BAD THOUGHT'S....GRRRRRRR

We have a shop around here that is notorius for not finishing projects. It blows my mind that people still bring him new ones in there to work on. They sit for months with nothing done to ANY of them. This guy doesn't even do collision either. I have NEVER known him to finish a project. I do know 4 people that have pulled their projects and been*****ed dry.

I also have a buddy that has a shop and does good work. He only works on a few cars at a time and will turn away work if he knows he doesn't have time to do it. He has finished many of the above guys cars. Good work is not cheap though (40-50 bucks an hour), but would you go to work for free?

I also have a friend that builds at least one car every year and he usually starts with total junk. His cars are far from perfect underneath and have some putty in them (there aren't many out there that don't in my opinion, everyone just lies about it). Most people make fun of him, but when they see him DRIVING yet another car while theirs is sitting in a shop with someone still working on it, they start to practically beg him to work on theirs. He could easily open his own shop but doesn't want the hassle of dealing with people. I know of at least 4 good paying jobs he could work on right now, but won't. I am glad I have him helping me for beer though!

 

I didnt read through all the replys BUT I wana add that there was a post a while back dealing with something like this.

MODERNBEAT had the best example of how to do business with a body shop... Develop a relationship... bill out for time as you go. TIME + MATERIALS etc etc etc... it was good guidelines and not to far off of how I handle doing customer jobs.

The sole reason I went to school for Auto Body was b/c I got ripped on some body work I paid dearly for... pop rivits and bondo instead of the promised welded patch panels and body work "done right".... paid for it doing the job for the man... CARRY OUT BOY.

Think how many bags of grocries I carried out thinking sweet dreams... my cars in good hands only to get*****ed. I found out when I tried to fit the skirts that he put in the trunk... just guess?

Now I bill out just like above where the customer can take it at anytime b/c were always paid up... before this I tried everything... and I would get*****ed on getting paid... but the pay as you go works the BEST.

there are good shops out there. yours wasnt one of them.

Chalk it up as a big lesson, I agree Judge Judy would side with YOU, not that shop.

 

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FWIW, I am out 42,000.00 cash money,just in LABOR, over 3 years,not counting the ORIGINAL money,my truck is in pieces,still not painted and needs MORE work to get it done.

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Holy*****!

Depending on your tax bracket, $42k is equal to $60 to $75,000 in salary. Which means you went to work for a year (maybe more or maybe less) in order to pay for this fiasco. I'd be pissed, too.

 

Morrisman...Eat*****...Scrapen...I don't like to get into pissin contests as they just seem to grow legs and cause hard feelings..I think what you should do is sit down and try to go over each invoice and document the disscusions you have had with the shop owner, or the person you dealt with and just how many hrs of labor you feel you you have cheated on..and how much of the work that may have to be redone ,,have another qualified shop look at the workmanship that has been done and what needs to be done to correct what has been poorly done ..have that person give that information in writing..ask if they would be willing to give evidence in court and sue the previous guy for overcharging,poor workmanship.. and doing unathorized work....I have been on both sides of this story and I am not taking sides ..I have just found there are two sides to every story...I run a small shop and we do restoration..and rod work and I have been burned by some people who wanted or thought they they should get more and it seemed like we were the bad guys if you only listned to their story and I think it can be unfair to somebody when you don't get both sides or all of the evidence...if things are as you say I would gather all the information and work orders put your case together, go see a lawyer and maybe this guy if he feels or knows he stuck it to yah..he may be willing to return some of your money once he realizes you are gonna seek dammages...I for one would never give an estimate on restoration work or custom work..other than time and materials ...and usualy we always have an understanding with the customer ..we bill at the end of the month..on this type of work, I expect the customer to come in we go over the work to-date and the hours if there is any disagreement we either resolve there at that time and move on..if they are not happy we can either get our expectations or missunderstood instruction cleared up..I also usauly reqest my custmer give me instructions on what he wants in writing just so as we are both on the same page...these projects often get way over budget and lots of hard feelings are caused by either a missunderstanding or other things and money runs out and sometimes it really isn't anybodys fault it just happens..so I wasn't defending the shop or faulting you..your initial post just didn't have enough information to take sides ..it just appeared as another disgruntled guy whose project got into way more money than he realized and it was the builders fault..I been down that road before and it can be hell to defend your self against rummers and people bad mouthing you because of somthing that is their fault....I appolize if I came down on you..Like I said with the initial information posted..it sounded more like a rant than a docmented case of poor workmanship and poor business pratices on the shops part...I at the very least would take all my evidence to a lawyer and see if he thinks you got a case...this is a good post and a good lesson for all to learn by..ecept for a few like morrisman who just runs off at the mouth with no real input that can be taken as contructive or helpful...Say on a side note I have been down that way to a car show I can't quite remember the town.. it was called the Heavenly Fifties car show it was at the PPG plant employees rec hall and run by a local car club I remember Alan Willison was the president of the club...I think it Greenville or somthing like that it was a couple of years ago we did a couple of local shows around that area It was on a labor day we-end...We had a great time and they treated us Canadians like kings took us all over and really showed us a good time..the even did an article on my wife and I and had a picture of my car in the Mansfield paper.real decent folks and we go again sometime ...So if you Know Alan and Paula willison...Say hi for me and good luck on your troubles and best of luck on getting your project to where you want it.....Fatchuk

 

Fatchuck,
As any and all can see, you immediately and abusively sprang to the defence of the body shop, because, hey, what a surprise, YOU have a body shop, so SKR8PN MUST be in the wrong as he is just a dumb customer, and all bodymen KNOW the customer is always wrong?

You admit you didn't know all the facts about the 'case' so what's wrong with this picture hey???:

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if your doing it on a budget do it yerself and quit*****in whinning.

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if you gotta pay somebody to do what you can't do...then get a loan ..but don't whine cause it cost more than you thought

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I don't like******** matches either, but you sure come on strong for a peaceful kinda guy.

 

Fatchuck..That would a town called Crestline Ohio. it is about 10 miles west of Mansfield. And I know your Mr Willison. Mopar gearhead forever!
You know,I have had a couple of days to look at stuff,think about stuff and try to get over this anger. I have decided I don't hate the fellow that did this. Actually I feel sorry for him. Something put enough pressure on him to make him do this*****. Greed? Bills? Health? Who Knows. But at this point, the only thing I can do is set back,take a break and try to figure out where to go and what to do next. After 4 years of this*****,it is getting old. My wife is getting REAL tired of all the********* as well. This truck isn't worth ruining our relationship over.
I think my next move,is too just take it one step at a time and see how far I can get. I have had a chat or two with a couple of my good friends and,no matter what or how things were done,we can change it or fix it or whatever. It just isn't worth losing my health over. I have decided that no matter WHAT else I find wrong,or screwed up or broken. I'm not going to let it get to me again. Period. People get screwed over every day. Some a lot worse than I did,some not as bad,but***** still happens. Am I all happy,happy? No
Am I still angry? Yup,just a bit. But all I can do about it is move on and try to get this thing on the road. They can take everything away from you,but your dreams and your memories.......

 

Scrapen:: At least you got a good attitude.. sorry about runnin off at the mouth..first reaction to a short post...That's right it was Crestline ..and Alan was driving a a 46 dodge coupe..red with flames...He was a heck of a host ..like I said him and his club treated us like we was royalty..as a matter of fact that's pretty much been all my experiences at every function to do with Car guys at any of the shows or car things we go to in America....If you run into Alan say hello from fatchuk...I will never forget his hospitality...and friendship...and tell him about the Hamb...My wife won a huge Santa bear in a raffle at the show and I won a trophy for driving the furthest ..I ain't into billet and show..so I don't normally care much about trophys but I got this one on the fireplace...mostly cause of the people I met while in Crestline.....best of luck with your project...fatchuk