I’d like to pass on some wisdom that seems to be common knowledge to a lot of people; unless you’re new to the classic car hobby.
I was in need of paint and body work to be done to my car, I did a little searching and found a guy who seemed to talk the talk and knew all the buzz words. I looked at a car he was working on and felt I had made the right decision to allow him to make my pride and joy like new.
That’s where it goes horribly wrong. Little things started nawing away at me but having never done anything like this before I was unsure. I’d see things that didn’t seem right but trusted the so called expert. Two and a half months later I’m in his garage with no power (lights had been turned off by the power company) pleading for him to give me my unfinished car because I had had enough. I got my car and what a surprise.
Clear coat so thin that he had burned thru the paint when buffed covered by a piece of tape , runs that could be seen from 5 feet, areas that had not been painted at all,. Pits so deep they could not be repaired, sander marks throughout the car, window trim that could not be put on because of the buildup of filler. Using a clear coat that cost $30 a gallon having hardly no UV protection leaving me with a car that would chalk in months.
Long story short; after $4,000 (“cash” I paid in good faith per the terms of our agreement) I’m left with a car that still needs body work and a fresh paint job.
Everyone that has come to look at the car to give estimates on fixing the botched job says the same thing; “it will cost another $4-5,000 to get this car where it needs to be”. They all know of horror stories where so called body guys have taken on a job and done horrific things to paying customers, leaving them with work to be re-done and feeling of being RAPED.
This is not aimed at the thousands of reputable body guys that make a living doing an honest day’s work, this is aimed at con artist in a little town in Northern Indiana (Pierceton) with a name that sounds like Ron (last name sounds like red, white and _ _ _ _).
Do your home work; ask around before you put the love of your life in harm’s way……
