Body man head aches
 

Well I had a bad day and I just needed to vent a little bit and I don't drink Coors Light. I am supposed to be going to pick up my 67 next weekend 6 months late. To make a long story short I have had to head my body man off from half a$$ing stuff the entire time. It has been a night mare. So I am sitting there thinking about it today and I just get a bad feeling so I text him and told him that if he didnt take the bed off and sand the back of the cab and the head board and put it in primer along with fixing the the hole in the cab floor from the old standard tranny I was going to be really upset. Oh yeah I forget to mention every time I call him he wont answer the phone. He lives in Vernon and I live in Lubbock. So after I send the text he calls me and trips out on me. Well to save the details after a few choice words to each other the call didnt go very well. The call ended with him telling me he was going to push it outside and for me to come get it and bring him the rest of what I owed. I dont think I am going to pay him another red cent what would you guys do???? I have allready paid the guy 900 and was supposed to owe him another 500 when done. I know I broke my own rule to never pay anything until the job was done. :waah:

Re: Body man head aches
 

If the job didn't get done, then the final price would still be negotiable in my mind. If your talking about a few hundred, it may be worth it to just agree to a deal, pay it and take the truck to be finished by a more reliable shop.

Re: Body man head aches
 

Been there buddy. Paid a guy up front, but he had too many irons in the fire and never got around to my car. Won my case in small claims court, but couldn't collect. After a few years I sicked a collection agency on him and finally got around half of my money back. Better than nothing. I'll never pay upfront for body and paint work again. I hope you can get your money back, but I really hope you can get it out of there before he tries to hold on to it until you pay him more.

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He knows better then to try to do that. Not saying I am a bad a$$ or anything but he knows better. I havent been this mad in a long time. I told him today I dont want his money. I just want my truck back like we agreed to it. He has done more than 900 worth of work so I really have the upper hand. Sad thing about this whole deal is he is a hell of a body man.

Re: Body man head aches
 

I don't know how much of a body man he is having never seen his work but to me he is more of a body boy since he doesn't keep the schedule he promised.

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I wonder 6 months late, what did this guy agree to do when you dropped off your truck? You say he is good but he halfa$$es things? Did he agree to remove the bed & sand/prime the back of the cab before or after agreeing on a price. I understand you are mad, but other than taking foreeeeever has he done what you originally asked ? Just my .02 I know how some projects start simple & then get very complex (hidden rust, extra parts). One other thought was he working on your truck for an extra 6 mo. ,waiting on parts, or making excuses. Good luck with your problem, please let us know the outcome, & some pictures of what the guy did do.

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i think the thing to do is go make a deal with him and pick your truck up//you're in a no win type of deal and since he's told you it's ready for you to pickup he can legally start charging you per day for storage //if you owe pay and get it home

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He was making excuses. He did even start on it until December and I dropped it off in July. Yeah all of this was agreed to in advance. I told him when I dropped it off I was in no real hurry for it but I had to have it by Jan. I was very clear about that. I had all his parts to him plus 500 before I ever took him the truck

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I don't understand these posts....Why pay for something that is not done? My buddy has a small body shop and I help him with his projects quite a bit. I keep telling him he charges to little for the work he does (he is retired, but does it on the side for extra income). Anyhow, he rarely charges anyone money up front....well except on complete paint jobs. He is currently doing a complete repaint (fixing dents and rust too) on a 69 Bonneville convertible, he did ask the customer for $500 up front to cover materials and will collect the balance when it is done...He did this job for $2900! This includes most of the materials.

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I have never paid anyone up front, deposit or anything period. If a company or guy needs my money to do the job then it means that he could be a fly by so with that on mind the security for the person is that they have my car,motorcycle or boat as colateral. If I am having work done in any of my properties I tell them very clear hey Bud I called you and I am not going anywhere if they dont want to work on my stuff without a deposit then I wont do business with them. My dad always told me that a prepaid musician does not play a good show.

I would suggest go pay the man what you owe him and get your truck out of there. I think the mistake that you made was telling him you are not in a hurry in my opinion..Good luck and if you need some backup fly me out to texas and Big Al will go with you to get your bucket back..:lol:

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Sounds to me like you should have picked it up before he started it.

You made a deal. He didn't follow through from the begining.

Go pick it up. Call it even. He doesn't deserve the rest.

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Go get the truck, take pictures of what he didn't finish, go get an estimate on what it would take to have the rest of the truck done, get the receipt from how much you've already paid him, and don't look back. If he tries to take you to court for the rest of the money, you'll have your ducks in a row and legs to stand on.

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I think you guys are right. The funny thing is I have a buddy with a 68 Camaro. He had a bunch of motor work done and paid the guy up front in full and after a year and a bunch of headaches the guy never did come through. The whole time I gave him all kinds of hell about paying the guy up front. I am hearing it from him now lol. Thanks Al I might take you up on that.

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[QUOTE=big_al_71;3324494]I have never paid anyone up front, deposit or anything period. QUOTE]

This is rule number 1, 2, and 3. Otherwise, this is exactly what will happen when you go to a body shop. Most places have too many irons in the fire as previously pointed out. But they will always have time to take money from you up front.

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Can you PM me his info? That's not too far and I could use a body guy in the future to do some of the things I won't want to mess with.

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With what you have said, my suggestion is to go get your truck. You may be able to reason with this guy about what has NOT been completed so you don't have to pay him the rest of the money, or let him know if he refuses to let the truck go without payment that you will do (like someone else suggested) get a couple of estimates on what he did not complete and take him to court. But remind him if you have to go that route it may cost him more than what you owe him. (may cost you a lot also, preparing to take someone to court cant be easy) If you cant talk to him and come up with a good solution, you may want to leave & either talk to a lawyer or ask the local sheriff for advise, usually when people get angry things just get worse. GOOD LUCK AND BE SAFE.

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Thanks man. My father in law is an attorney so I get free legal council. I think he will just let my truck go. From his tone I think he knows he doesnt have a leg to stand on. It is just irritating that I have to find some one to finish his work instead of just doing what he said he was going to do. I am really just tired of being disappointed in people.

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Did you get anything in writing on the scope of work to be done? Is there a signed contract? It's sad but true, you can't do business on someones word these days.

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Nope the guy was a long time "friend" of mine. Didnt think I needed a contract

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Sounds like the old saying "Friends & Business" don't mix. I has the same problem with a friend. A year later I was just glad to get my truck the hell out of there. And sadly the friendship is no longer. Good luck!

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same here... I have a project coming up and a good guy is hard to find...

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I found another guy who does amazing work and he doesnt know me from Adam. I just hoping when I take it to him to paint he wont have it for three years

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In your post you mentioned you paid him 900 and then wa suppose to pay the rest (500) WHEN YOU PICKED IT UP? I am not trying to insult anyone but this is why he is half way doing things. 1400 is way too cheap for body work and you did not mention if it included paint. I suspect the guy figured this out once he got into it. Save your money go to a reputeable shop be clear on what it is you want be willing to pay for it and be patience. This will save you alot of headache and money having things redone. IMHO

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Nope this was just to put it into primer. I had it sand blasted bought all materials and parts. Truck didnt have a dent in it. He had to replace rockers and lower door skins. The 1400 was labor only and like I said the truck didnt have a dent in it

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That is still cheap.... at least for here in Ga.