Another horror story

[jimynick]

As a licenced body man, I get slightly ill when I see what some of the brethren do to people and would offer a wee bit of advice, going forward. DON'T  assume the guy is working on your car, because the money is in the collision end, so- make a point of stopping in weekly to "see how things are coming along". It serves several purposes: 1- the guy now knows you're watching. 2- you won't end up having your car in "paint jail" for months if he's NOT working on it, 3- pay the guy weekly for the work that he's done, 4- have him punch time on the car and take digital photos of everything he did that week, which will give you a record of the cars restoration AND verify that he's not just bondo-ing over stuff, 5- visiting regularly allows you to be involved in decisions on a timely basis when more rot is found (a given) and as to what you can afford. 6- allows you to see the quantity and quality of work going through his shop, which helps you to decide if you've made a good choice of repairer. 7- allows you to form a relation with the shop which helps because if they know you, they won't be so quick to screw you.  Be up front with the guy- if you tell him that you're not in a hurry or to work on it "when you have the time", so as to save money, be prepared to get what you asked for. Having said all the above, most production shops view restoration as a pain in the a$$, so pick a shop that's experienced and committed to restoring your car and hopefully, you won't meet the kind of jerk who screwed you over the last time. Good luck

[nick68]

Did the body guy do good work any way?
Did he fill the holes with putty or repair with metal?

Just thought i would add some clarification. I had already done all the rust repair, so  I kinda know whats underneath the skim coats of body filler. My biggest problem is as you can tell my me signature, " I really hate sanding". That was one reason I farmed this part out. I investigated his previous work and found it to be top notch, the work that he did do was good. he just gave up on it, and went out of business. It does not lessen the blow , but I now understand why old people are cynical, they already have seen a lifetimes way of getting screwed.  I hope some how this is a lesson to all.

[cudaspaz]

It will all come out right in the end.

You don't even want to hear the crap I dealt with with by not one, but two body shops with my car.


Same thing, the sissy could not face me when I picked up my car but he left his Wife there to deal with me and I could not yell or throttle a lady so I just told her that her Husband needs to call me.....never did, but he's now our of business for screwing people over.

[mojavered]

At least he re-located your battery for you!

Sorry to hear that man.  It is amazing how much research really needs to go into something like this.  I once heard a body man say that you need to stop by on a weekly basis and take pictures every time.  If for some reason they do not want you there, time to take it home.  Otherwise, they should be right where they said that they should be.  Good luck on the ride man!

[Intragration]

I had this exact same problem.  Unfortunately, I was an idiot and gave the guy money up front.  He was a friend of a friend and highly recommended, so I wasn't too suspicious.  The job was supposed to be done in 6 weeks.  The first couple weeks, the work proceeded quickly, and I was able to see what was going on.  After this though, I literally started labeling pictures "car moves around shop".  It would just be in different places, but nothing was ever done.  I started riding the guy hard, and he told our mutual friend that my visits were "stressing him out" and not helping the situation.

I cooled it for a while, and started going back a few months later.  This went on for a while, and each time, the car would move, and he'd tell me how I was next, but it never happened.  Then one time, I went to the shop and nobody was there and almost all the cars were gone.  He had moved to a new location, relocated my car, and never told me about it.  This kind of freaked me out, so I told him I was coming with a tow truck.  He said it wasn't ready yet, and I said "I know".  There was another day where I couldn't get in touch with him or anybody there, so I left something like 20 messages on his phone.  These two things inspired him to get started again, but I had to keep riding him to finish it.

I went often enough to know they were doing a good job, this was my big fear, that they would skimp on quality because I was pushing them to do it quickly.  The body man actually sympathized with me, and promised that he would do a good job, despite the shop owner pushing him.  All the guys in the shop were actually pretty cool, couldn't stand the owner, and did fantastic work.  Finally, 18 months later, I got my car back.  The day I went to get it, I went to another storage location with one of the guys from the shop to pick up a couple wheels they had stored outside.  At this location, I saw another car they had been working on since before mine.  It was a '70 Charger R/T.  It had been sanded to bare metal and then stored outside for months.  At first, I thought it was painted orange.  It was the rust over the ENTIRE car.  The poor owner wasn't like me and hadn't been checking on his car.  Never EVER give money up front, and don't ever be afraid to pull your car if you're not happy.  It's not worth the frustration.  There are other reputable guys out there who are willing to do a good job in a timely fashion.

[mopar12372]

wow!!

[Cooter]

Bodyshops are NOT the place to take your "Restoration"...There are Restoration shops out there that will take your car and a bigger chunk of your wallet, but at least this won't happen....

I learned a long time ago, you want it done right, your gonna have to do it yourself...No matter how much you hate whatever, or you tell yourself you aren't a body man...I learned after the first screwing I got from a bodyshop to repair two little rust holes in my '67 plymouth. Body line over the rear wheel lip just disappeared halfway across...$261.00 when your 15 Y/O, mowing yards @ $15.00 Yard no matter the size didn't come as easily as their money did at the body shop...Had two choices 1. Go back and complain and get told to get off the property. 2. Take matters in my on hands and teach myself to do body work..I learned...Anybody can..Have I begun to tire of sanding and filling? Sure, but I also don't go through this type sh*t any longer.

See, body shops will tell you they can do it, promise you the world and take your money. i believe they honestly think they can do it GIVEN ENOUGH TIME....THIS is where most with that car they just can't wait to cruise in, And the body shop begin to have problems....Nobody stops by every two days to check on the progress on their insurance claim...Also, nobody seems to care when the Airbag module wasn't replaced at the time of the repairs and it's on the customer when time to go through State inspection and the Airbag system is disabled cause some adjuster wouldn't replace it...

However, this isn't the case when it comes to "Restoration" of your "Baby"....You stop buy a bodyshop everyday to "Check up" on the progress, guess what's gonna happen...Yep, you and your car will be leaving very soon....Fixed or not....

[Chryco Psycho]

I don't know why but Bodymen are the worst to deal with , maybe the breath in too many chemicals but good ones are impossible to find

[GranCuda1970]

I know one!!! Oldschooler But he is really cranky sometimes that makes him hard to deal with. But I Love his work and he is pretty cool guy when he is not on the downside of his bi-polar.

[joelson6]

all i can say is, get a written contract, GET a written contract, GET A WRITTEN CONTRACT !

no offense but, you gotta be stupid to give any body shop your classic car without getting a contract for the work and price.
when agreements are "by word of mouth", people get screwed over. and you don't have to be a lawyer to figure that one out.
if the body shop owner says, we don't need a  contract, get your car out of there fast.


don't always complain about the owner either. a very close friend i know owns a body shop. some guy brings in a 30's pickup.
it's lowered, chopped and channeled. the truck owner wanted a bunch of things changed on the truck, the body finished and
a custom pearl paint job with a couple murals on it. the truck owner was there all the time. at one point when 2 guys that worked
at the shop quit, the truck owner started coming in every day to "help out with his truck". that was OK with my friend who
owns the shop. the truck got done, painted and the murals were done. then the truck owner started to complain about the
murals a week and a half later, then he started complaining about this and that. next he said he needed to get it to the upholstery
shop the next day. he came and got the truck and now it was gone. my friend that owns the shop was being "nice" to let the
truck go without final payment so the guy could get the interior done. my friend started calling and calling, the truck owner wouldn't
answer. he finally gets in touch with the truck owner and the arguing starts. no now my friend who owns the shop is out 6 grand
and has to sue this guy for it.

BUT ONCE AGAIN, THERE WAS NO WRITTEN CONTRACT.


i'm not a lawyer but i can figure out, don't be stupid with you money and don't trust anyone.