Happy Thanksgiving But Feeling Helpless......

[Mr Imax]

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and I am at a loss as to what to do. I have never encountered nor have been in a situation like this so I am not quite sure as to what to do. My car is being held hostage!

Well not really but for those of you on here that have read my posts my car is at a "Restoration Specialist" on the west coast of Florida, it has been there for two months, 8 weeks today to be exact. Originally it went there to have the motor swapped out. While there it was decided that the car would be painted as well.

Well one thing led to another and here we are 8 weeks later and my car is well in pieces and is no closer to being finished then when I spoke with the guy a month ago. I was told yesterday that possibly by Christmas maybe New Years it would be done. I was told that this was no problem to take care of since the get go and had I been told that it would take 3 months to do I would have never left my car there, hell had I been told a month I wouldn't have. But I did!

Anyone have any suggestions as to my options? Any suggestions would be appreciated........

Joe
http://my73challenger.wordpress.com/

[Cooter]

Please don't take this the wrong way.....But...

8 weeks for an engine swap and a paint job? and your already impatient? You really have no idea how much time this stuff takes do ya?

When are you guys gonna reallize that these shops need to still make money while your "baby" is there and just because it's YOUR baby, doesn't mean it's the only one there? We have a few at he shop right now that think along these lines....One guy with a '69 Chevelle SS 396 car came in the other day and totally went the f*ck off about how we hadn't gotten to his blower motor yet and if you've ever done one of these in a GM car, you'll know you have to remove the entire inner fender from the car in order to even SEE it...

The car was dropped off with the ever popular statement..."No hurry, just get to it when you can"...

Now lemme translate that into what it really means to the customer....
"No hurry, I'm only saying this in order to seem "ok", when in fact, I think my sh*t is the only one in your shop and even though I'm spending only $250.00, I think you should drop everything your doing on that $2500.00 Engine job on the Lexus in the bay and only work on my sh*t..If I see any other cars being worked on before mine, I'm coming up here and raise holy hell and take my sh*t as you didn't keep your word".....If you guys can't do the work yourselves, expect this type of treatment from the cheaper shops in town..Nobody's gonna perform miracles on your sh*t in record time....Just because you've been without your car for three months or whatever and are getting impatient, doesn't mean some shops at fault...There is a flip side to this and there are shady shops taking people's money, but You guys know what I'm referring to here....If they say it will be 1 month...This REALLY means expect at least 5 months....Don't like this? Then, by all means, grab a wrench, body filler spreader, welder, and get at it yourself...

[brads70]

Keep your chin up!  Christmas is only a month away?  Are you supplying the parts for the engine swap? Often it's the little parts that hold things up? Maybe parts are an issue? If someone is not familiar with were to go and get parts, even sourcing parts takes a lot of time!
  If the car needs very little in regards to body work and he has all the parts for the engine swap , then ya after 8 weeks I'd be a little "anxious " too? That being said, there is no such thing as no body work required on a 40 year old car? Surprises surface when you disassemble parts etc...?
Often with our cars....one thing leads to another? Meaning, after I replace/fix one part then the one next to it looks like crap so I replace that, then......on and on it goes! Trust me I know this first hand!
As long as you don't get the feeling this is a scam, I'd try and be patient?
Just my 2 cents.....?
Brad

[tommyg29]

 
an engine swap and a paint job, depending on how detailed, can take months and months, and from my experience shops seem to overpromise as far as time goes. Happens almost every time.
Stay patient and just visit the shop as often as possible without pissing them off.

[Mr Imax]

Sorry if it seems like I am ungrateful for all that I have, just looking for a place to vent, God Knows the wife doesn't want to hear about it! Thanks all for the replies, I guess it's a case of wanting what I want when I want it! Like wanting Detroit to win on Thanksgiving but watching it slowly slip away! Unfortunately that's one of my shortcomings and I realize that's something I need to work on.

I have decided to leave it as it is and count my blessings that he's doing it the way he is rather then like the person who sprayed all that expand-a-foam into the car and bondoed everything up. So I'll step down off of my soapbox now and be THANKFUL for all that I have. I am truly blessed for even having this opportunity. A year and a half ago I was laying in a hospital bed unable to walk, wondering what the future held for me and my family. I have to remember to Not Sweat The Small Stuff! Because It's All Small Stuff! Thanks for the reminder........

Perhaps it's better that the shop is not closer!

[Cooter]

This is not to say that all is well after dude has promised you a job for over a year and hasn't done ANYTHING....Even I move faster than that....But only after a month, I'd give it a little more time and see what he has gotten done in say another two months...

[wagesofsin]

still looking for the h/ac box?
i may have one id part with for free.
lemme know.
im in sarasota