Well, not that I'm a lawyer, and I'm not in NJ, but.. How anyone can leave a large project in a professional body shop with no paperwork is beyond me. Body jobs are never what the estimate originally was, but there has to be a starting point agreed on. Did you get receipts for all payments? PLease say you did, even if it was paid in cash. First things first. Why not ask to see the work, tell him you're not happy, but may have a source for payment money. If he says "It's in storage", tell him you want to go and see the work and your parts. If he cant or wont show you, I would most definately produce the title and cell phone and call the cops in front of him. It's his responsibility to take reasonable care of the car while it's in his possession. If he cant produce it, it's stolen. If he doesnt want to because he moved it, you have every right to know it's whereabouts at all times, and have access to it during normal business hours. I wouldnt go in full head of steam until you can see it, and if possible, use a disposable camera to take pics of it and all the parts. He may come down some but if your grille disappears he wil get the $$ back. After it's seen and documented, then have the lawyer get the writ, and accompany them and the sherriff with a trailer and enough trucks to get every last nut and bolt. Because you'll only have one shot. Once it's safely out of there, you can fight it out. I agree the surprise is BS, but truly, you should have been more "up" on the bill. If you had paid $13K, a comment of "so the balance is like $500 or so, right?" would have made things easier later. I do recommend shops, and do it myself, and I always make sure everybody knows what's going on. You have to. It's fair he get's paid for his work, but it's BS how he handled things. It's also way too common these days with old cars. It's like the shops are afraid to be open and honest when they comment on what the costs will be. I hope it ends up well for you...
