Always go to a reputable Body shop

Just had to take my car from a guy that believe it or not was recommended He supposedly was a good body man and we paid him at the end of each week we got to 3k paid in cash and i got a little worried. Called around and a real restoration company said that worst case the entire job would have been 4 k finished and he was no where near done.Long story short it is at the restoration company now and they said the work he did was a hack job and we were lucky that they might be able to save the new quarters and re-do everything for 4k to a professionally completed state. So by taking it to a BACK YARD body man i messed myself out o 3 k of our hard earned money. Lesson the pros are not that expensive to do a good guaranteed job... Dont skimp and try to get a deal as i did its not always as good as it first appears

Click to expand...

Just had to take my car from a guy that believe it or not was recommended He supposedly was a good body man and we paid him at the end of each week we got to 3k paid in cash and i got a little worried. Called around and a real restoration company said that worst case the entire job would have been 4 k finished and he was no where near done.Long story short it is at the restoration company now and they said the work he did was a hack job and we were lucky that they might be able to save the new quarters and re-do everything for 4k to a professionally completed state. So by taking it to a BACK YARD body man i messed myself out o 3 k of our hard earned money. Lesson the pros are not that expensive to do a good guaranteed job... Dont skimp and try to get a deal as i did its not always as good as it first appears

Click to expand...

I believe he is liable for the work. You could get your money back if you wanted to.

Click to expand...

Sounds like a good lesson learned, but expensive!

Click to expand...

Did you have a contract with him?

Click to expand...

Take him to small claims court...It does not cost anything...Take plenty picks of your car and grab all the evidence you can...Like am radio lawyer said...Anything over 100 bucks take them in..It is worth it and the time....and even better when they dont show up and you win by default.

Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I've seen much worse. My shop is currently fixing a

$25,000 hack job on an Austin Healey. They lost a bunch of his parts and used cardboard and bondo to fix his rusted floor pans. His brand new paint job also looked 20 years old. Very sad.

Click to expand...

Marc, based upon him requiring you to pay at the end of each week as he progressed and no contract I'm assuming this isn't a large scale licensed body shop. If it is a licensed body shop you have much more recourse to see if you can get some of your money back. Here's what I would do:

(Disclaimer- this is not legal advise, it's just what I would do)

-Have the shop that's currently doing the work give you something in writing what it's costing you (what ever the amount) to undo the work the other guy did, you want them to explain why they needed to redo it.

-Go to that person (shop?) with that information and request your money back. This is always the first step in any grievance process, you first have to explain your reasoning to the person you feels owe you and give them a chance to resolve the matter before going further.

- If the person (shop) tells you to take a flying leap, you need to consider your next action. If it's a licensed shop I would start there, complain to the BBB (assuming he's a member), the agency that issued the shop's license, and any other consumer advocacy agency in your area. Their contact with him may resolve the issue, if not, at least he now has a record of unresolved complaints and you consider the next step...small claims court. I checked in Florida it's a very simple process, here's the link to get you started:

http://www.flcourts.org/gen_public/family/self_help/smallclaims.shtml

The burden is going to be "on you" so there can be pitfalls in taking someone to small claims court. The court is going to want to know what actions you've taken to try and resolve it before bringing it to the court. The more actions you've take to try and resolve it prior to bringing it to the court, the more "receptive" the court will be to your complaints. You have to consider, he may come back and say that you had him take the "short cuts" in quality because you were short of funds and that you pulled the car out of his ship prior to him finishing it, he may even claim you still owe him money. If he sounds more convincing than you, you lose. Since you don't have a written contract of any kind, you have a steep hill to climb, so have your ducks in a row if you chose to go the small claims court route. Depending how it goes the court may make you pay him money.

Jim

Click to expand...

I feel your pain mate, I took my 66 stang coupe to a local panel beater a few years ago and made the fatal mistake of telling him "take your time. I'm in no hurry.." Fark.... it was/is a Cally car no rust, but had a bit of a bingle up the bum some time in it's life, and needed the trunk floor and a quarter panel replaced, it was just crinkled and hammered inside the trunk, and had a heap of bog [you fellas call it Bondo, We Aussie call it Bog, because it's shit, Bog is Aussie slang for crapper/Thunderbox/shitter/toilet] took it to him as a rolling shell, cost me $5K in parts and $5k in labour, and got it back as rolling shell in primer, 14 months later... But he ended up replacing both Quarter panels and all of the trunk flooring, But still $10k later, and I'm back to where I started from, but with a wrinkled free Bum....

Click to expand...

Marc,

Thanks for the warning. I generally mess up body work on my own. I've never learned yet...

Click to expand...

Don't feel bad. I was also ripped off big time. I see you are in Florida. I hope it is not the same shop that butchered my car. I however was taken for a huge amount of money. Parts missing. Pulled my car out before the place went under. 2 years of researching shops did not help. I hope you have a step by step plan written out before any work is done. I will keep my fingers crossed that you have good luck. I myself am learning how to weld. I am not letting my car out of my sight. Keep us all posted on your car.

Click to expand...

Marc,

First sorry you got ripped off - I hate thieves.

But you can't throw all back yard / side job guys under the bus

I have seen nice economical side jobs

I have seen bad expensive shop work

It is that way in all trades from mechanics to home remodelers

Click to expand...

Marc,

First sorry you got ripped off - I hate thieves.

But you can't throw all back yard / side job guys under the bus

I have seen nice economical side jobs

I have seen bad expensive shop work

It is that way in all trades from mechanics to home remodelers

Click to expand...

If a shop is unlicensed there's nothing you can do since the town state etc. has no authority to regulate..What they do is regulate LICENSED shops.. Small claims could be good but even if you win have fun trying to get the cash...Unless the guy has major assets...(You could put a lien on property=more$$$) forget it. What you could do is send him a registered letter saying if he doesn't cut you back your cash within 10 days Your taking him to court..(doesn't mean you have to) & Your going to file a complaint with zoning (zoning is the biggie)..If he's operating a body shop is a residential area...zoning is going to be all over him like a fat rat in a cheese factory..game over for him...Of course before you do that have pictures of his place..cars etc...Most towns will allow you to work on your own stuff..as long as any car you have belongs to you & anything that is not registered has no plates MUST be inside a garage..In essence you could shut him right down..

Click to expand...

Marc,

First sorry you got ripped off - I hate thieves.

But you can't throw all back yard / side job guys under the bus

I have seen nice economical side jobs

I have seen bad expensive shop work

It is that way in all trades from mechanics to home remodelers

Click to expand...