Looking to buy a General Lee? STAY AWAY FROM BK AUTO!! It's almost over!!!

[mikepmcs]

Welcome Brian and Kevin

Hey the good thing is, you found out where that pesky fender shim and AN fitting went to.  See, and you thought they just forgot to put them back in, can't have any left over parts now can we.

[charger Downunder]

You wouldnt get away with that type of work over here in Australia..Your shop would be closed up and you would be out of busines.
Your doing a good job on fixing the car up.

[jb666]

What I'm being told, now, (BY Bondo King) is that I'm being unreasonable... That I'm not being fair, and that Brian "got what he paid for". I can't fathom the thought that someone who sent $55k to a company can be seen as a "cheapskate", but that's the case here, apparently.

this quote really gets me:

What makes me most angry is that you think I intentionally did something. As if I took money for something and then didnt spend the time or money, and instead bought a boat or something else shady. your just flat mistaken. I spent every penny and more on that car, I cant help that it still wasnt enough.

So, this car saw $20k+ in body work? Fiberglassed frame rails? Promises of new rear quarters, but instead GOBS of Bondo?? That's a shop doing what they were paid for??

How about this quote, from a recent message:

I have nothing to be ashamed of because I didnt do anything wrong. We can both agree that the car wasnt built right and we'll both be glad to see it as a real and finished car, but your just wrong to make the argument that I should have paid for what he couldnt and now hold me accountable in the court of public opinion because I am just an easy target. I havent fought back because I dont think I need to, I'll let you say what you want because I think people can hear what you say, and then if they want they can visit me in person and make thier own opinions.


People HAVE gone by there, and they've compared BK Auto to a junkyard, with rusted out corpses sitting in the yard waiting for the next sucker. BK didn't do anything wrong?? From a legal standpoint, building a car that will not pass a safety inspection in ANY state is wrong. But just because he wrote, in his contract "This car should be inspected before it's driven on the road, we could have missed something here or there, please check everything!", that covers you legally and morally?? I think not.

So it all boils down to this........

I really wish you would have called me before buying it, or went and saw the car first, saved us both a headache. I have been in that position myself, and it never feels good, but thats in the past now. I think what you are doing is wrong, not because of what you want to show, but your portrayal in wholey inaccurate and I think anyone who knew the truth would agree.

Had I called them BEFORE they built this car, he would have warned me not to buy it. They built it, but they'd have to tell me to stay away from it. Does this make any sense? Do you see anything on their "restoration web page" that says the car was built wrong? That the owner was being "cheap"? No, it puts the car up on a pedestal and makes it look like a job well done. 

I have not had ONE PERSON approach me, here or in person, and say "Well, it's not THAT bad", or "They are right, the original owner is to blame, he's cheap". No, they hear what BK took to build this car and they can't believe the product that was delivered. It's disgusting..

[PocketThunder]

Wow JB,
the shop you have it at now is doing some amazing work. 

That shop does look pretty nice.  I cant imagine how fast their golf carts go....     

[skip68]

    Well wait just a minute.  BK said a long time ago that this car was inspected and he himself (BK) looked the car over and drove it at 60 mph with no problems and it was safe.     The reason he will let us say what we want is simple, because we are right.    Why don't you fight back BK?      I think in the next week things will get even better for BK.     

[jb666]

   Well wait just a minute.  BK said a long time ago that this car was inspected and he himself (BK) looked the car over and drove it at 60 mph with no problems and it was safe.     The reason he will let us say what we want is simple, because we are right.    Why don't you fight back BK?  How about trying to get us for slander? ? ?       I think in the next week things will get even better for BK.     

GOOD POINT! BK DID say that he personally inspected AND DROVE this vehicle and it was a solid driver.. now he's telling me it was never sold with the intention of it being driven. I'm dizzy...

[Bluestar]

I've followed the entire thread.  $55k + Motor.  I'd say for a build budget of roughly half of the price less motor ($27.5K) a decent shop could buy a pretty darn good roller, clean up the details and add the General Lee flavor.  This would still leave a gross margin of 50% on the car.  From what I've seen, this guy would be lucky to have 1/4 of the sell price into the car which makes for a large gross margin on the job.  From the re-work pictures posted the initial car couldn't have cost more than $3-4K. We know, no new sheetmetal was added unless you count the stuff that made up the shifter mount and the rot patches.

[Ghoste]

Maybe he pays his employees really really really really really really really really really really really good.  The guy doing the welding has to be worth at least 3 or 4 hundred dollars an hour just for the comedy he provides.

[teamroth]

^^ I agree as far as comedy goes, but Butt King is a crook, and he knows it. I am sure his welding guy gets 8 bucks an hour, even the biggest asshole knows those welds are crap. And clearly BK fits that description. Just a thought, if he steals from one, he steals from all....

[jb666]

Maybe he pays his employees really really really really really really really really really really really good.  The guy doing the welding has to be worth at least 3 or 4 hundred dollars an hour just for the comedy he provides.

I have a suggestion for his welders though.. He could probably get a better quality weld if he turned his gas on. 

Somehow, through out all of this, no on here knows what they are talking about and I am the a-hole.. I just don't get it..  BK "knows" the car didn't leave the way it's being shown in the pictures, so they aren't sure who's lying...

I give up!!! I couldn't create this crap if I wanted to!!!

[hemi-hampton]

I'd bet he told his workers it's just a Quicky used car lot $5,000 job so hurry & rush it. Do you really think he'd tell the employers it's a $59,000 job & then tell them they got a week to bondo & paint it while he pays them illegal mexicans $5 bucks a hour

[Ghoste]

It's also very possible that he has a couple of 6 year olds working as body repair people and welders. 

[Steve P.]

I wonder if any of his employees have seen this thread and if so what they think??

I must say I WOULD pay to see all this crap... 


Also I think BK must stand for BURGLAR KING.

[jb666]

I wonder if any of his employees have seen this thread and if so what they think??

I must say I WOULD pay to see all this crap... 


Also I think BK must stand for BURGLAR KING.

Don't feel bad, I am paying to see all this crap.  , but if you'd like, I have PLENTY of spare parts to pass around.. Chuck's getting a nice care package too 

[Steve P.]

I would keep ALL the evidence. Pics. of everything before it's removed as well..

[jb666]

I would keep ALL the evidence. Pics. of everything before it's removed as well..

Oh, I have pictures from the first time it was off the trailer in my driveway until the last phase of the current project.. I have boxes of parts in my garage that came off this car with before/after pictures...

For example, just tonight I was told the car couldn't have been leaking fuel, because "all new gaskets were put into this car sealing the tank perfectly to the filler neck"..

As Jim Carey would say, REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEALLY??





Pictures are worth 1,000 words.

And I have to say, what a nice clean area they cut to put the filler tube through..

[teamroth]

Damn, that's what a 70,000 dollar resto will get you?   
And this guy has the nerve to argue anything? JB I truly feel awful for you, everytime I think it's getting better you scrape off another layer. At least we know after you're through, it will be for real.

[skip68]

One more thing that really takes the cake is that BK  comes on a Charger forum and thinks he knows more than us about Chargers and building them.       Like how much it cost to build a General Lee.      The other thing that pisses me off is this.    BK went and took the time to completely strip this car, blast it, and then not fix it correctly.    And Brian footed the bill.     Why would you waste that time and money?     And if Brian's budget was not enough for this car do to the repairs needed, BK as the seller should have got another car that did not need all that metal work.    BK could have got a solid roller for $5,000-$8,000 and made a nice GL and still made money and a good name.     I know how much money it takes to make a General Lee and it's not that much.        

[jb666]

Damn, that's what a 70,000 dollar resto will get you?   
And this guy has the nerve to argue anything? JB I truly feel awful for you, everytime I think it's getting better you scrape off another layer. At least we know after you're through, it will be for real.

Yeah, it sure will!! I'm getting really excited because I'll FINALLY have the car of my dreams with no worries of the back end falling off while I drive down the road.

The photoshoot happened this morning, at the shop, so later tonight we should be seeing a new group of pictures and a nice write-up...

[WingCharger]

Here is my, I guess personal, opinion:
I personally believe that jb666 GOT SCREWED.
If you were to take out what happened post jb666 buying that car, just think.

BK Auto built a car, that was not only built unsafely, but was built to standards and quality the muffler shop in my town could do better.
Bondo'd frame rails??
Rusting gas tank straps??
If somebody pays somebody else to build a car, and the builder knows its not enough to build a solid, safe car, then tell them, or at least build to the point when the money runs out, and stop. Don't cut corners that could kill somebody, or at very least screw somebody over in the future like what happened to jb666. And then there is the question of BK Auto contradicting themselves several times to try to appear to be innocent.
When it comes to the frame rails, angle iron is cheap, and it could have been boxed to look OK, and still keep the rear end out of the trunk.
The gas tank straps could have been made out of any type of metal stripping.
This, in the end, isn't just somebody getting screwed over, its a question of safety.
What jb666 ended up getting was a rolling project car, with a crate engine.


Just my

[teamroth]

Damn, that's what a 70,000 dollar resto will get you?   
And this guy has the nerve to argue anything? JB I truly feel awful for you, everytime I think it's getting better you scrape off another layer. At least we know after you're through, it will be for real.

Yeah, it sure will!! I'm getting really excited because I'll FINALLY have the car of my dreams with no worries of the back end falling off while I drive down the road.

The photoshoot happened this morning, at the shop, so later tonight we should be seeing a new group of pictures and a nice write-up...

Awesome!! I am very excited for you. I also respect the fact that you are going after these guys. What BK fails to understand is that you're not after the money, which creates a much worse problem for him. I hope they shut him down. That and you getting exactly what you want out of your car.

[skip68]

You hit the nail on the head there Teamroth.    When you have a company like BK that is clearly in the wrong and a victim like JB that can't be bought, You've got a bad problem.     BK is going to be up against a wall and have no choice but to deal this mess.    The 12th hour has past.     This will open BK up to other problems as well.      This guy from BK automotive is super smart isn't he.  I bet that he is sooooo dumb that he has no idea of what's coming.      Chuck...........

[teamroth]

Skip, no doubt about it. JB is dream client, and BK's nightmare. I am just very shocked that they haven't faced legal ramifications prior to this....

Thad

[jb666]

Well, today the rest of the undercarriage (all the way to the front) was seam sealed and undercoated.. You'd NEVER be able to tell frame rails went into this car, not to mention anything else under there. It looks GREAT!!!
This was done using a seam sealer spray gun, to replicate the factory coating:

The shine is the flash:

[Back N Black]

I fully agree that BK did wrong and should be shut down. But every time i see another piece of the mess being unveiled, i can't help but think where is the owner during this build?  did he not see the car after it was blasted?  Was there a written quote on the job? If so, did he not get suspicious when the price kept going up? Did he not stop in unannounced to check  the work that was being done? How could you not see a exhaust pipe roll bar tack welded to the floor?