Avoid Totally Auto - Clueless / Shoddy Work

[72chargerSE]

To further the point...have you ever purchased one of their "correct" spray paints - or should I say spray 'bombs"...? 'Caus that's exactly what you get - a friggin' bomb.  Its a spray can that clogs, spurts, dribbles, clumps, and does just about ANYTHING BUT SPRAY! That textured argent in a can SUCKS DONKEY. So does their "air cleaner orange", which by the way, I'm not even totally convinced is 100% correct tint. If you ask me, Totally auto has been surpassed by other shops who are light years ahead in quality. ...and the jackass Dave Ferro has been a lead judge at major car shows?   Get a clue dude.... building cars for the hotrod power tour is one thing - certainly not for OEM judging. 

I know LL1 1967 Coronet like a brother 

I still have air cleaner orange dribble all over my driveway from back in 2002 when LL1 1967 Coronet had the can blow up in his face

[MOPARHOUND!]

You can improve the spray bombs performance by soaking the cans in hot tap water until the contents reach the hot water temp. Then shake well. I always do that when I need a spray bomb for a little job as it will start to get funky as it sits on the shelf.

I'll give it a try.  Have some MP spray paint that did the same thing.

[472 R/T SE]

You can improve the spray bombs performance by soaking the cans in hot tap water until the contents reach the hot water temp. Then shake well. I always do that when I need a spray bomb for a little job as it will start to get funky as it sits on the shelf.

That's my little trick before blowing a spray bomb, it's worked every time.

[69_500]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with those guys. I'll keep my opinions to myself on this topic though.

Having done some business with Dave and Totally Auto in the past. No bad deals on my behalf. Just to show the other side of the coin.

[resq302]

I did business with them as I was in the need of the textured black paint for the tail panel of my 69 Charger.  I literally got into an arguement with the secretary on the phone as she was claiming the tail panel on my 69 was supposed to be smooth, not textured.  Told her I had a TSB from Dodge on it STATING it was textured.  Needless to say, that was my first and only purchase from them.

[hotrod98]

I tried to order steering column parts from them earlier this year that they had listed in their ad and they acted like they didn't know what I was talking about. Couldn't figure that one out.

[Shakey]

Sorry to hear that you had a bad experience with those guys. I'll keep my opinions to myself on this topic though.

Having done some business with Dave and Totally Auto in the past. No bad deals on my behalf. Just to show the other side of the coin.

I thought you were going to keep your opinions to yourself?   

Why would you want to keep your opinions to yourself on a message board anyways?  There would not be much activity if we all did that.   

Tell us some stories.   

[Mfr426]

I too had some interesting dealings with them when purchasing the nuts that hold the heater core to the firewall. They are anodized. I bought the AC kit for my AC car and the kit had too few nuts (or the wrong size mixed in with the right size). I cant remember the issue now but I called and the lady argued with me that they were correct. I said nicely "my car has the original AC heater core installed and I still have the original nuts I know that this kit is not correct for an AC car". She said that they were right and I was wrong. Long story short they did send me what I needed but did not admit that their kit was incorrect.

Based on that experience I decided to NOT solicit them anymore. Had they said "Oh, we dont do many AC cars so we'll make note of this for future kits" I would have been impressed.

That was NOT the case.

[Shakey]

She said that they were right and I was wrong. Long story short they did send me what I needed but did not admit that their kit was incorrect.

By them sending you the correct nuts, that itself was an admission of guilt.   

[69_500]

On this subject I will keep my opinions to myself. It seems that some have had bad experiences with them in the past though, I can say that mine were good.

[B5 Charger]

I ordered two cans of their jack grey for $7.00ea.  They sent me two cans of Krylon brand gloss gray.  Never bought anything from them again.

[AKcharger]

I'm not sure but I think they do AMWAY® too 

[Dodge Don]

Those of you that may recall my fiasco with Totally Auto and my brake booster here is an update. Now remember, I sent it to Totally Auto twice....to be rebuilt and plated, had to send it back the second time to be plated since they painted it. The plating came back looking like dull yellow paint. Terrible job.

I sent it off to Booster Dewey explaining the situation. Just got it back. The plating looks fantastic and correct (finally)....Dewey sent me a letter with it letting me know that he tore it apart and tested it....It was okay but not great so he replaced some parts that TA never bothered to and Dewey says it's perfect now. Even sent me the old worn parts he replaced. All for a 1/3 of the price Totally Auto charged.

Moral: If you need a booster restored, go to Booster Dewey

Totally Auto SUCKS!!

[472 R/T SE]

Sure beats holding a sandwich bag out the window to slow you down. 

BD has built quite the top notch reputation and luckily he too is local.

[moparguy01]

One of the customer cars at work the customer brought in some textured argent paint from totally auto. I was less than impressed. I had to go steal a spray tip from another spray can because their clogged up after about 1/3 second, and after that I had to shake up the can every 5-7 seconds to get it to continue spraying. It turned out OK on the part (69 RR taillight bezels, argent paint) but it was WAAAAAY more work than it should have been.

[Charger_Fan]

Sure beats holding a sandwich bag out the window to slow you down. 

Thanks for the update, DD.

[bull]

Don, have you asked for your money back? Not that you'd ever get it from them but it might be worth a try.

[Chargermoneypit]

I just found this thread and thought I would throw my 2 cents in too. The gal that answers the phone is total know it all bich and when I got the over priced, alledgendly correct paint, it sucked. Anyone want to continue to add to this?

[Blakcharger440]

If they are redoing for free then Plating is exspensive & spray bomb is much cheaper. Does not surprise me. My Question is if some are black is it Gloss black, Semi Gloss or Flat. Sounds like question for Roger Gibson? LEON.

Leon, trust me....they do nothing for free. Even after they screwed it up the first time. The Midland Ross unit should be plated not black.

It should be cadmium plated correct?

[b5blue]

Thanks for posting these comments, I WAS thinking of ordering some stuff and will look else where now.......

[RallyeMike]

Well I guess it wasnt just me with the paint cans. I tried the air-cleaner orange and the grille silver and neither one would spray for more than a second or two. I tried every trick in the book to make them work. I keep one can on the shelf to remind me not to buy any more of them.

I'm glad to hear about the Krylon gray sold as the correct jack paint. That's what I used! 

[AKcharger]

Yes!!! a post resurrected from the dead...my favorite!

[Belgium R/T -68]

Well I guess it wasnt just me with the paint cans. I tried the air-cleaner orange and the grille silver and neither one would spray for more than a second or two. I tried every trick in the book to make them work. I keep one can on the shelf to remind me not to buy any more of them.

I'm glad to hear about the Krylon gray sold as the correct jack paint. That's what I used! 

Nice to read, I have 10 new cans that only sprays for a second. Never had this with any cans before or after, such a waste after having them shipped over from the US.

Per

[b5blue]

Bleed the pressure off and remove the paint?     Sorry to hear this Per!   

[Dodge Don]

If they are redoing for free then Plating is exspensive & spray bomb is much cheaper. Does not surprise me. My Question is if some are black is it Gloss black, Semi Gloss or Flat. Sounds like question for Roger Gibson? LEON.

Leon, trust me....they do nothing for free. Even after they screwed it up the first time. The Midland Ross unit should be plated not black.

It should be cadmium plated correct?

Yes.


Can't believe this post crawled out of the grave. It was, in my opionion, Mopar Collectors Guide that kept Totally Autos profile inflatyed. Oh well.....