Technical Botched dangerous suspension 34 ford axle/coilovers

Post #144 is right on the money.

Although it may be infuriating the pursuit of suing someone can be an expensive and emotional black hole. Finding a shop or expert who wants to get involved let alone lawyers fees coupled with the time involved all add up. You may get your money back but will never get the time back.

Find a shop who fix it and move ahead.

 

Removed before finished?
Ball is probably in the court of the shop. The shop could simply say the. car was in an unfinished mock up stage before removal by the customer.
Even as bad as it looks.
I was an expert for a court case once. I could not comment on quality. In this case I had to demonstrate to the court and jury that the car had been repaired.
Car was sold and not disclosed as being repaired.
Simply posting a pic of unfinished poor work isn’t much good without the context of labor and parts charged. And/or without specific agreements and desired outcomes.
What did you ask the shop to do
What did the shop say they would do
What was charged vs what was done

 

This is going to get uglier

 

During the shops trading hours ??? Otherwise, you are not supposed to be there.......

 

I am not a lawyer, which is why I have lot of friends. But if I were, I would council the OP to stop trying his case on the internet and delete this thread. But, like I said, I am not a lawyer, I am not the OP and I am certainly not the repair shop. So... That's all I have to say about that.

 

...... and that would be very sound advice. Gee, maybe you should think about becoming a lawyer.....

 

Don't do it!

 

This is the key right here. It doesn't matter if a customer even requests work to be done in a substandard fashion, a professional fabricator would have to refuse to do it when it involves parts of a car, like the suspension, that involve the safe operation. If it comes down to who to believe, you or the psuedo-fabricator that butchered up the car, IMO a judge would believe you after viewing photos of that hack job. Anyone that would perform work like that is of obvious shady character, not to be trusted.

 

The law doesn’t work like we think
The work stinks.
You have to prove what was done
What was said would be done
What this particular shop didn’t do
What was changed vs what was performed.
We still don’t know what was spent.

a large lawsuit a few years back involving a shop was lost before it started. The business advertised they repaired cars “better than the factory”. That is no longer their slogan.
The tech stated he “didn’t get paid to fix it correctly” in court.
Documentation of the repair order stated otherwise.
A before repair condition, expectations promised by the shop, documentation of work performed were established before quality of work was.

 

Might be best for the OP to just file in small claims. Issue will be documentation of how it currently is, then spend more $$ to have it done correctly. Then file in small claims the $$ he’s out to repair the first job.
Worst case is he pays twice and loses his small claims case.
But, a lawyer can consume a 10k bill pretty quickly, so at the end of it all, OP winds up paying more to get it right now with a real shop and moves on.
Best case he is able to recover some $$ from small claims.

 

I've been following this thread and feel the need to jump in here. In my former life I spent more time than I'd like to admit as an expert providing testimony on structural issues concerning commercial buildings along with authoring many opinions on the same. After retirement I opened a small shop and still build some cars on spec. In short, I've been on both sides of the fence here. In my opinion, the guys who advised you to lick your wounds and find somebody to straighten that mess out were spot on.

If you are lucky this matter could zip through the courts in 3-5 years and if you are successful in securing a judgement good luck in collecting. In that time period you will be paying your attorney, staff, experts and court fees up front with no guarantee of success in the end. The costs of seeking compensation could easily exceed what it would cost to make your car right.

It is also extremely difficult to find a qualified expert to write and opinion on your car. I would seek an automotive engineer for that task but if he is called to testify he had better be able to back up anything he testifies to and expect to be torn to pieces by the defence if he doesn't know modified vehicles inside and out and has the credentials to prove it. Having a friend who is willing to expound the terrible workmanship will not cut it before the court.

I'm not an attorney and I would follow your councils' advice. That's what you're paying him for. I'm only passing along the opinion of someone who has been there. Just for my own curiosity I'd love to know how much you actually paid for this mess and get a look at your paperwork. Until then it's just he said, she said there's usually two sides to every story and it usually involves money.

In Pa,. which I know you're not in, you possibly could have some success in the small claims court format but once again you had better have your ducks in order. Hope you get this sorted out and get on the road in short order. It doesn't look like too tough a fix in reality.

Good luck in resolving this and put it behind you. Most car guys are honest to a fault and will be glad to jump in and help'

 

A receipt for parts and labor would help the HAMB court render a verdict.
Plus before pics.

 

I went on Traffic jams website and their social media. I can see why the OP took his car there. They look like a very substantial and well organized shop. I'd love to hear their side of the story and again, non of my business, but my curiosity is up as to the paperwork.

 

In the 70's my mother sent me a cartoon of a mechanic talking to a customer, "It'll cost you $100 to make it run like new, $300 to make it run like it should."

 

I saw a cartoon where two people were fighting over a cow while the two lawyers were milking it for all that it was worth.

 

What you need to do is put the car on a trailer and take it to 2 or 3 reputable shops and get an estimate to fix the problems that were created by the shop in question. Several written estimates will either comfirm or deny your claim as to the damage done and to what extent.
If it gets to court, the judge will like to see actual written evidence and not two people flapping their lips at each other.

 

If you did go to small claims court, couldn't you show a copy of "How to Build Traditional Hotrods" and one of them HP books on suspensions and how to make your car handle, or similar?
You could compare the photos of the hacked up frame to the books' images of the proper way to attach shocks.

 

I was involved with something similar when I worked at the hot rod shop. A Judge does not care to read a couple books about how to actually do this. They are just concerned with the facts and documentation of the transaction at hand. Who said what, who fucked who

 

Judge Judy.

 

Some where in all these responses was a reference to a “bolt on kit” from one of the very reputable suppliers that have referenced here. It sounds like it’s time to jack up the car remove all of the items installed, grind off everything that’s no longer needed and install one of these “kits”.
You’re very lucky there was no accident and you have a car that has been upgraded by so many that know what to do and they are making such kits available.
I’d bite the bullet and go to work and forget the past. It is over and done.
At 79 I’m still doing 100% of what is needed on my 50’s car because it’s easier for me than trying to get someone to do it. Good reputable shops even in SoCal are backed up for years. Good luck.

 

Yes, at this point this is a small claims court case. What is needed besides the photographic evidence is a couple of estimates of what it will take to correct the problems, and one of the other shop owners/managers to testify in court. I see all these posts about lawyers, there are no lawyers in small claims court. I've gone through this myself when I worked in the heavy equipment business for customer's failure to pay. IMO the photos posted to this thread are sufficient in themselves to show willful negligence on the side of the shop that did the work. A reasonable judge is going to look at those photos and understand immediately what he's working with. Especially with the information that the guy has threatened the OP. Another shop owner willing to speak up in court will seal the deal. IMO it's pretty much a slam dunk. As someone else posted earlier, collecting can be a different story. You can bet this guy will stall and pull every trick in the book to avoid payment.

 

there was a shop here locally where people brought their cars in, paid a bunch of money up front and didn't even get the whole car back if they got anything at all.

I did some bodywork on some of one victims parts. I didn't know who he was and ended up selling them on Craigslist a few years later. happens more than people think.

 

Just as a bit of an update

I have been in communication with three shops, two of which were recommended to me from this website

I'm gonna have them come up with a course of action as well as recommendations

As to what is needed to repair the vehicle properly and correct any unsafe work

I'm sure everyone can respect the fact I will not post the detailed receipt right now

Also I have received a lot of people that thanked me for "outing" The shop that did the work

And I do understand the importance is not to throw people under the bus but it is to create awareness

I'm very grateful for the knowledge and support from the hamb

I really wish I would have came here first but I felt good about the shop and they looked professional


I'm looking forward sometime this fall to starting a new trend

On correcting the butchery that was done
hopefully the cross member Can be salvaged

I probably would like to just take the car back to what it had

Someone posted that maybe the shop owner was trying to fix something it wasn't broken
I kind of feel like that's what happened

So , i'm probably just gonna take it back till what it had originally with the buggy spring

 

I think your thought on letting the shops quote options is an excellent way to go. They may be able to give you a better rear suspension than the buggy spring for reasonable money.

 

So what were the three shops you are talking with about your situation?

 

Has someone here looked at the car in person? That may be a good option, have someone with build experience lay their eyeballs on it.

 

Been trying to ignore this mess. It keeps coming back.
If I was your Pop I would ( Honest, just me ) say.
"Forget that Rat Bastard. Get her fixed and safe."

 

Some advice a lawyer friend gave me that I have used:
Layout your complaint and what you want done. In detail, but brief.
Take it to a law office and have them convert it to legalese
on their letter head. requesting a response.
Send by registered mail to that person that they have to sign for.
She said 90% of folks who know they are in the wrong will cave.
Think I paid $300.00 for the service. And yes they responded in 2 days.

 

^^^^This. I had a dispute with a builder on a house at the beach years ago, a letter from my attorney and the issue was rectified. All it cost me was a good bottle of Scotch, as memory serves it was Glenlivet aged in sherry barrels for 15 years. As single malts go, not bad but it doesn't mix with coke all that well.