stuck in bodyshop hell

[BigBlockSam]

hey guys
  look at my poor ounce mighty charger r/t   
my friend opened up a new bodyshop, he's a killer body man. he begged me to let him do my charger, i would give him a  small down payment, that would help him get the shop rolling and people would see the classic car being done and would bring him more bussiness. my car needed most of the rear metal replaced because of rust. it's a matching #s r/t. so i wanted to restore it rite. he said it would take 4 to 5 months to do. i would give him all the parts needed. i went out and bought everything it needed over $3000 in sheetmetal, bumpers, elmblems and other things.
he started the car and i guessed it worked. he got busy right away. now he's got my car for 14 months. all the metal work is done the back looks straight. now he's to busy to work on it. he says when he gets some time he will finish it.   
  the way i'm looking at it, it's indoor for the winter. if  by the spring it's not at least 3/4 done should i take it out of there or should i wait any longer? man i'm frustrated. i brought him a running driving car and look at it now.   

[ScottW]

Man that's a major bummer, so close and still so far away. I was in a similar position once with a '69 I was restoring. I ended up selling it as a "basket case". I sure hope you fare better.

[Todd Wilson]

There will be no wine before its time!



Todd

[hotrod98]

Rene,
He needs a big sign out front that says:     "We promise fast service no matter how long it takes."

[BigBlackDodge]

Remind him that he wanted to do the car to begin with................and 14 months is way to long to be without your Charger. Remind him of the upfront money to get things rolling.........they're rolling now........finish the car. AT this current rate it won't be finished for another couple of years............ridciulous.

You are WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY more patient than I'd be.

BBD

[greenpigs]

14 months is way to long, & if he has time to get to it is crap. I would have the car removed since most of the hard work is done.  Plus I would take off the Christmas card list.

[BigBlockSam]

I would take off the Christmas card list 

i had a meeting with him and his partner a month  ago and brought out all those  pionts. that was a hell of a meeting, they looked like two deer caught in thre headlights.   they assured me that they were gonna finish the car. they haven't touched the car since . i'm treating it like they are storing the car for the winter for me. i don't have space in my garage for it. when spring comes is when the shit will hit the fan again . i've given them $3000 and want to get my moneys  worth before i take it. frustrating. fustrating, frustrating. Rene

[BigBlockSam]

thanks for the advice Mark your rite on . i gave them the altimadem last time we talked. one way or another that car will get done.
  the last two cars i did, i did in my yard but this car needed alot of welding. i'm not that great at that yet. but i'm getting better.
when i did the 39 i put an add in the paper for a good body man. several called me. i explained the job and that i have all the tools. hired a guy took 2 months  and we finished the car. he went back to his country with some cash in his pocket and i got my car done and learned alot. thats what i would do if i have to bring the car home. i'm giving my so called friend one more chance to do the rite thing. Rene

[Silver R/T]

sounds like a story of a bad friend, ure not the first ure not the last

[Troy]

This story sounds eerily familiar. I know there's at least one other person here who went through the exact same situation (loaning money for startup costs and not getting a finished car). Here's the deal as I see it: $3,000 is cheap so some leeway should be given BUT you should still expect the car in a reasonable amount of time. If you do not already have anything in writing then do it now. Make him give you a firm commitment and detail what you expect and the consequences. The last thing you really want is a ticked off body man or one in a hurry so explain it in a way that is good for everyone involved.

Unfortunately, I have had money "issues" with three different friends in the last year so you'd think I would learn at some point.

Troy

[blackcharger]

Getting a time frame for your car from a body shop is like meeting your wife somewhere. Add 20 minutes to the time she tells you, and you'll still be waiting.
I had a "friend" who did my '68 Charger. Aside from never finishing the work he said he's do, everywhere he touched the car with his mig it rusted thru.
I've heard enough of these body shop/friends horro stories, I'll leave my road runner in primer forever.
Dave

[41husk]

I think it is hard to have a friend as an employee,  It is hard to remain friends both feel the other is unfair or unapreciated.  I think if you are going to hire someone to do the work, make it someone with a good reputation and tell them exactly what you want done, terms like "I just want a good driver" or "it should be in show condition", your definition of a driver or show car may differ greatly from your body guy.  I have found most of the shops with a real good rep won't committ to price until they get under the paint and filler.  I have gotte estimates that vary from 1-4K.  For example one guy said he could do my Challenger for 6-10K I told him if you can make it 6k we will talk he said it cost 1k to have it beed blasted to bare metal.  If I have that done he can look at the car and give a much closer estimate.  the last advice always ask for examples of jobs they have done and talk to the people who paid for the work.  I would also be leary of any example of work the body man has done on his own vehicle.  this is to often not an example of his typical work.

[Telvis]

We should start a club! I had the same thing happen a few years ago with my Challenger. Mybody guy (a friend) had my car and kept making promises but no progress. I finally took the car back and sold it. I have had the same problem with another body guy and my Charger. It seems to be a common theme around here. It's hard to find a good reliable body guy. I wish you luck.

[BrianShaughnessy]

Been there, done that.

Same old story...  same old song and dance.

You're not the first, won't be the last.   

Feel free to add more cliche's as necessary.

[69_500]

Is that the same car your making into the Daytona clone? Or is this another charger?

Its hard to hear some stories of people taking a lot longer to do a car than once stated especially when they are supposed to be a friend of yours. I have heard many stories just like that from people around here about the "friends" body shops that they have around here.

['CUDA360]

I too wish you luck.

14 months is not alot of time in bodyshop years. I have a buddy who has been strung along for more then 5 years and the 'CUDA looks the same to me.

Bodywork is hard and even if you have your own shop it's easier to keep taking in more work then to work on something you already got paid for. The car in the pic looks like it is not that far from being done but my guess is if your friend put in an extra hour or two a day it would be done in no time

I do my own but I'm no Boyd Coddington

[4402tuff4u]

Rene, my body shop did not give me delivery date. He gave me everything else in writting - price, what he was going to do, what parts he was going to put together, dismantle, assemble, etc... Basically I got a price with a specific scope of work, but no dlivery date! I asked him many times for him to give me a delivery/completion date and he said he would not do that because he does not want to rush the job just to meet a date and also he does not want to disapoint the client by not meeting a certain date. He said when it's done you will be very happy with it. So I still went with him, took the risk of not knowing when my car was going to be done. So far he doing a great job but taking a long time. I stop by on a weekly basis. As a matter of fact, he encourages me to stop by and look, take photos and ask questions. The one thing that helps is that we set a three payment plan 1/3 down, 1/3 at the middle and 1/3 at the end. His incentive is to finish it so that he can get his money.

If I was you, I would keep it at the same shop and just come up with certain short term goals for you body shop to meet. The last thing you want to do is rush him. You might want to give him an incentive , say if your done by "X" date, you'll get an additional $$$.  $ 3,000 is a very good price!

[hemi68charger]

hey guys
  look at my poor ounce mighty charger r/t   
my friend opened up a new bodyshop, he's a killer body man. he begged me to let him do my charger, i would give him a  small down payment, that would help him get the shop rolling and people would see the classic car being done and would bring him more bussiness. my car needed most of the rear metal replaced because of rust. it's a matching #s r/t. so i wanted to restore it rite. he said it would take 4 to 5 months to do. i would give him all the parts needed. i went out and bought everything it needed over $3000 in sheetmetal, bumpers, elmblems and other things.
he started the car and i guessed it worked. he got busy right away. now he's got my car for 14 months. all the metal work is done the back looks straight. now he's to busy to work on it. he says when he gets some time he will finish it.   
  the way i'm looking at it, it's indoor for the winter. if  by the spring it's not at least 3/4 done should i take it out of there or should i wait any longer? man i'm frustrated. i brought him a running driving car and look at it now.   

Dude.. I'm in the exact same boat. But, I've been waiting for for bloody years and still no paint. Same scenero. I gace him $4000 up front to help start his business and then it started to boom. Well, four years later I don't have my '68 Hemi Charger R/T back..
He's a great guy and a friend, but man, I want to get my '68 going or I'm going to lose TOTAL interest in it and sell it......

Troy

[69_500]

You better not sell that HEMI 68 Troy. I mean man, you've been all excited about getting it out of the body shop for the past 3 years that I know of. Think of how much enjoyment you'll have once it is completed.

[67_Dodge_Charger]

That is too bad about the long wait and still no car.   

A local speed/body is allowing the customer to work in the shop.   The customer tries to be a jack of all trades and the shop owner repairs the mistakes.   It keeps the car owner busy and allows the bodyman to spend more time on other projects.   Novelty idea except there needs to be an out for the customer and bodyman.

Good Luck with your arbitration.

-Robert

[BigBlockSam]

hey guys
  i think it's kinda late to get things on paper. since i will most likely be pulling it out of there in the spring.   i had set time lines on three differant occasions , they have all pasted.
  this is a 68r/t all matching #'s with a 6 pack on it, runs great .   i am building a Dayton replica out of a 69 se. i was smart about that one. i'm doing it myself with alittle help from my friends. i'm renting a spot in another friends shop and doing the work there. the work is going slow on that one too. i'm to busy with work rite now to work on the daytona.   
  i pride myself on finishing what i start, so this car will be finished one way or another. most of the tough stuff is done and i have all the parts to finish it . looks like i'm gonna be busy when spring comes. Rene

[hemi68charger]

You better not sell that HEMI 68 Troy. I mean man, you've been all excited about getting it out of the body shop for the past 3 years that I know of. Think of how much enjoyment you'll have once it is completed.

Na,, I'll never sell it.. The only thing I'll do is try and use it as trading stock for a Daytona... I figure a completely restored beautiful LL1 '68 Hemi Charger R/T would be worth at the very least a Daytona project if not a done 440 car..........  The only way I'll sell it is if all three parties involved are committed to deals..........

Troy