Is it wrong?

"a rough calculation of the size, value,etc.,especially , an approximate computation of the probably cost of a piece of work, made by the person undertaking to do the work" Websters.

Just what he said in the first post. What's your point? Are you stating the buyer is not entitled to any reliable information regarding the time,cost, or materials used in his project?

 

Well from what I gather you got yourself between a rock & a hard spot. you didn't state if any agreements were made and written down as in contract. If you did there must have been alot of items overlooked.
If you pull your job & take it to another shop they will probably not warrenty any previous work. You may be # 4 on the current shops priority list & if you move to another shop you go to the bottom. If you put pressure on the current shop you will be getting shabby work or be asked to take it else where. If there should be a screwup or mistake they will say you rushed them. That suburban is a large vehicle & is going to take a heap of time to be done right. It's pretty hard to change horses midstream.
You can't start over with the original shop as deals have been made. How many changes were made during the build so far? Every time a change is made it cost money & time. I don't imagine the current shop wants to renegotiate the deal you both agreed to. It would probably be in both parties best interest to go to lunch/dinner/breakfast & try to come to an agreement on how best to finish the job. Not being privy to both sides it is really hard to give you correct advice. A job gone sour no one benefits. Be a nice & courteous as you can ask the owners advice on how to proceed & explain your postion again as I'm sure you have mentioned it before.
Good luck & keep us informed
B-O-B

 

I guess the lesson is to have a written contract spelling out what is expected from both sides regarding completion time, materials to be used, receipts and progress reports to be given to the customer, payment schedules,how to manage change orders and additional, unforeseen work that needs to be done and a completion date penalty if it's all not done in a timely manner. With references.Strictly business-just like constructing a building. Anyone ever seen such a contract?

If your body shop can't give the information you want, at it's important to you,then no matter how artsy they are, no matter how great the work they eventually turn out, it's probably the wrong shop for you.