restoration?Body man won't work on my truck

[rage'nrat638]

Originally Posted by TugOwar

It may be too late for this but let me suggest a different approach.

How about on top of being a customer you also become his friend. I don't know how much time you have or your work schedule but maybe a couple afternoons each week just stop by the shop and if he isn't too busy just hang around and BS with the guy. Maybe take a six pack along. If it's like it is around here mechanics and such usually hang around the shop after work hours and share a few brews with friends.

Don't even bring up your truck right off the bat. Show interest in other projects he may have going, pick his brain about subjects you might have in common (auto's, restorations, etc.) He has undoubtedly gained valuable experience in his trade over the years. Show him respect and treat him like the expert in his field that he is. It's always good to learn from a more experienced person.

Talk about BS that has nothing to do with cars, trucks, etc. You may learn he has had a recent tragedy in his life, loss of a loved one, financial hardship, etc.
Maybe if you have time, volunteer to come by a couple afternoons/evenings and help him put your truck back together, an apprenticeship kind of thing maybe. If it works out you get your truck back, you get to personally witness the craftmanship that goes into it and you may learn something along the way and he gets paid for the job. (although maybe less than agreed if you help him with it.)

I don't know but he was willing to sign an agreement a year ago which means he felt confident in his ability to complete the job, seems to me something changed 5 1/2 months ago and it may be in your best interest to find out what. If it's financial hardship he may decide to burn down his own shop, collect the insurance and skip town. People do desperate things in desperate times.
All the court judgements in the world aren't worth the paper they are written on if you either can't find the guy or he has no money, you can't get blood from a turnip.

Like I say it may be too late, but there it is for whatever it's worth. Good luck.

THERE ARE ALWAY'S GREAT IDEA'S OUT THERE!!!!!!
HATS OFF TO TUGOWAR.....

[rodnok1]

He should have called you and let you know the situation and that it wouldn't be done. As customers we hate not knowing what is going on, when I get into this situation I don't go back. It must be a good shop if you took it there, if you have confidence in his work you might want to wait 60-90 days, then suggest you pay him for only what he has done and you will have the rest done somewhere else, it might motivate him or at least you get the truck back. To be honest I would have expected at least 30-90 days over anyways,most people put things off or take on too much. I would avoid legal action unless you have already paid him a bunch and can't get it back, it's that whole honey or vinegar thing...

[TugOwar]

Originally Posted by rage'nrat638

THERE ARE ALWAY'S GREAT IDEA'S OUT THERE!!!!!!
HATS OFF TO TUGOWAR.....

Thanks,

I figure it's better that way if it works out. The truck is done, a new friend is made and something is learned along the way, about restorations AND about people. Plus, an already over stressed legal system isn't stressed further.

[Iminocca]

Man that IS a tough situation...I don't know about your location but in CA the limit in small claims court is $5,000.00, any thing over that goes to a different court and legal representation is strongly recommended. In Ca there's a state agency called the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) and they can be very effective in settling this kind of dispute. If your state has an equvalent agency, this would be a good place to start.

Forget your insurance, read your policy carefully and you won't find anything covering the situation you're in. Your truck hasn't been stolen (you voluntarily delivered it to him), it hasn't been vandalized (what has been done, you contracted for). If what has happened with your truck isn't a "Named Peril" covered by your policy, the best you're likely to get is cancelled unless you have coverage for breach of contract....At the same time, if something does happen to his shop, your truck would most likely be covered under some type of liability coverage and you would have to make a claim against his policy (if he has one) and collect from his Ins. Co., in CA you cannot collect for damages to someone else's property when this type of claim is filed (your truck burns in his shop, it's your truck and the $ from his Ins. Co. goes to you).

If friendly persuasion doesn't work, and honestly after 5 1/2 months do you really want him working on your truck?? I would see an attorney, one specializing in contracts, before I did anything else. I would not find one that works on a contingency basis, you get what you pay for with attorneys just like anything else and a lawer working on a contingency will take the easiest path to the most money for HIS TIME, not necessarily looking out for your best interests.

I'm not a lawyer or a bodyman, I'm a business owner with some experience regarding contracts and attorneys (I'm a contractor doing insurance repair work) and I find it best to avoid going to court if at all possible. But if you have to go, get the best legal help you can and go all the way. One of the first things I would have a lawyer check into is his assets, if he has nothing, might be better off just going back to his shop with more beer or?.....

[ACES]

After having read this and of course my extensive knowledge having been gained from watching at least a dozen episodes of " The People's Court", I feel compelled to reply.
Unless your contract specifies what should happen if the body man does not fulfill his end of the contract. I do not think that you have a leg to stand on in court.
Of course with the right judge and lawyer, you may do well.

I would show up unannounced, load up the parts and take them somewhere else.

If you have paid him already. I would talk to him first about returning your money, then I would take him to court. Your contract probably would get you that much.

Again, to reinforce my point, I have watched at least a dozen episodes of "The People's Court".

[tphsmith]

this happened to me, truck is a puzzle, i didnt take it apart. now its a full blown challange.. this shop wasnt in Denver NC was it??. well good luck. the shop thaat had my truck when I told him i wanted it back it came back in baggies boxes and panels, all the sheet metal that he did was pure junk and so I had to pay double the price to remove what he did and then pay again to replace correctly. I went belly up on this truck because of this. ran completely out of money. so well its realy slow working on this truck at this point because of this situation.

[hotrodtroy]

Tug, Very wise. Like mom said "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Daves72'GMC, Call or go to the sheriffs dept. and ask the questions. It cant hurt and alot of them have a paralegal on staff to answer these type of questions.

[RON WOODGEARD]

I went through the same thing up in Spokane Washington a lot of years ago..

The amounts in "MOST" small claim courts run well under $10,000. ( It was Only $1500.00 at that time in Washington) And I had paid the guy in full already.

It ran well over the time, I just went in one day and picked the truck ( a 1970 SS Camino) Up. The owner CAN NOT keep you from picking up your property, No matter what you tell him.
I then contacted an Attorney. He wrote the guy a letter, and I received a check in the mail at the Attorneys office. Minus $100.00 for the letter and attorney.
If you contact an attorney and let the guy in on what you're doing, You may not get half of your stuff back.. In otherwords. If it comes to an Attorney, the Attorney will write the guy a letter, Then the guy will tell you to pick a check up along with all of the parts to the truck.. What's going to be missing ?? At that point it's you're word against his about what was and/or was not there when you drove or trailered it in...

These things can really be a pain.. I had another(Bad) paint/body experience also, but nothing as bad as this.

[weasel29gm]

Dave, curious about one thing,if the truck was worth 14K what needed restorin?

[FRENCHBLUE72]

Any luck gettin it done or back in your possesion??????

[guyryan100]

Ok, here's my suggestion.

Go pick up the truck asap. No deal you work out with this guy is going to come out like you hope it will. Get it home, find another shop, or work on it yourself. File a small claim against the guy for $4000 - that's the max for small claims court. Recoup your time and money lost in the deal and move on.

Here's a great web site about small claims court in NC. has been very helpful to me in dealing with a similar situation:

http://www.aoc.state.nc.us/magistrate/small_claims.htm

[Daves72'GMC]

Thank you everyone for your support, I'll be talking to him tomorrow and to see if he has started working on it. I'll keep you all posted on what happends next. Thank you again truck buddies. Dave

[Bobalouie]

I dont know a thing about contracts, so this may be a stupid point, but I would think that if you dont have the contract notorized, it may not stand up in court. It would be your word against his about the authenticity of the contract. To prove it was he who wrote it you would have to have the handwriting analyzed, and I would imagine thats not cheap, plus it is an additional headache.

I am with the other guys. Rent a storage building and go pick up your stuff. If you make him in the least bit angry and let him finish, he may smite you and you wont know it for a year or two down the road.

[FormerMember]

Actually, him accepting the truck is proof of the contract, verbal or written...

[chassispro]

Man that really sucks to hear. I worked for a reputable body shop several years ago. We had a similar experience. The owner was a really nice guy, and really wanted to make everyone happy. But that was his problem, he tried to make everyone happy, he couldn't turn away work. We had so much work, and not enough time to complete it. This was a very reputable shop that turned out some really nice cars. I even tried to talk to the owner and tell him to just explain to the potential customers that we were covered up and could schedule there car when we finished some others. But he was to afraid that they would go somewhere else. I tried to explain to him that with the quality of work we did, that if the customer liked it, that they would wait. Needless to say, he didn't listen, and ended up pissing off allot of people and they went elsewhere. Two years later, he went bankrupt, didn't help that all of his good help got tired of the way he was running the place and left.

BTW, I'm only about 2 hours away from Ashville. If I can be of any help, let me know.

Scott
Chassis Pro

[Dave Reed]

I restore cars. I know what that guy goes through. He was an idiot for signing the contract and he should honor it. That isn't the point.

The point is this: "The squeekiest wheel gets the most grease!" I use this tactic all the time. I would call or stop by every day, maybe with a smile or a scoul, but everyday. " How's my truck? Is it done yet? When will it be? I will call you tomorrow to see what the progress is!" It is cheap and not all that time consuming. Be cheerful and act like an annoying idiot. He will get sick of it soon. He will either give you your truck back or finish it. Either way he will get real tired of your annoying distractions. A lawyer will piss him off.

Not to sound mean, but did you really believe him when he signed that contract? I personally am too cynical and would have laughed at him.

By the way, my boss has a Mercedes that he took in 15 years ago and he still hasn't even touched it yet. ( The owner gets free storage and doesn't care)

[Stryker67]

Hey Dave, sorry to hear you're going through this. A friend of mine does paint and body, and I do sheet metal repair and mechanics. We just finished a truck that had been at 2 different body shops over 3 years. Somebody at one of the shops sand blasted the roof, and attempted to replace the rockers and cab corners. It looked like corky had been given the truck to practice on. Then they left it sit outside for months. Unfortunately most "professional" body shops today don't even know how to repair these wonderful trucks. They only know how to bolt on new pieces and paint as necessary. If you manage to get this truck and any money you gave to this guy back, please consider us for a quality restoration. We have plenty of pics to back up our abilities, and we wouldn't charge anything like a body shop does. Best of luck to you.

[N2TRUX]

Having been the victim of two different shops that lost interest in my project, I suggest you get your truck and go. I don't know what it is with human nature that creates this paradox, but I can assure you it won't get better. Once the shop has lost interest on your project, they almost never get back on it.

Get your truck and contact a lawyer "after" you have everything out of his shop....

[Warbones]

I know it used to be here in ks that even if you win the settlement it was still up to you to collect the money you won if any. Is that pretty simple to do?

[ghetocrewzer]

Talk to the guy first and try to work something out, that is what is wrong with this country now is sue happy people. I understand the guy hasnt been on it for a while, but there may have been some uncontrolable circumstances like lack of good help. Just tell him if he doesnt start workin on it and do the quality work he is known for u are gonna have to contact a lawyer. If he care sbout his rep at all he will get on it and complete the job for you. Also have you paid him any money along to help on his material and labor cost??? He may be broke if it is a small shop and is havin to do insurance work to take in money to work on your project and just keeps gettin deeper in work. Also i understand he has not been workin on it but even if he had it probally wouldnt be done if it is frame up. A busy shop will take longer than a year to do frame up so he shouldnt have signed contract. JUst my opinion on this situation as i own a collision/restoration shop myself, not takin his side cause he is not doin right but if he is by himself it is hard to get them all finished. Maybe you can tell him to make some real progress on it and then he can draw a little money on the job to help out. Just make sure there is substancial progress before givin him anything.

[Yukon Jack]

I'm going through this same ordeal - my truck is just about finished and probably would take half a day to be completed.

Originally Posted by discreet007

"The squeekiest wheel gets the most grease!" I use this tactic all the time. I would call or stop by every day, maybe with a smile or a scoul, but everyday. " How's my truck? Is it done yet? When will it be? I will call you tomorrow to see what the progress is!" It is cheap and not all that time consuming. Be cheerful and act like an annoying idiot. He will get sick of it soon. He will either give you your truck back or finish it. Either way he will get real tired of your annoying distractions.

I tried this approach for about three straight months (truck has been at the body shop now for more than 8 months) and have just about given up at this point. I'm afraid I just need to tell him I'm going to come get my truck on a specific date finished or not and move on. It is so unbelievably frustrating.

[Daves72'GMC]

I talked with him on Friday and told him we need to get the truck done.He said he would start taking the frame apart on Monday and for me to stop by on Friday, so I'll stop by on Friday and see if there is any progress. I'll keep you all updated. Thank you for your support. Dave

[PanelDeland]

I have a ? Was the truck delivered to him disassembled or did he do that part also?If he did your ins. co. is more likely to try to get you some satisfaction.They insured a complete truck,which is worth way more in their eyes than the parts,so they have an intrest in getting the truck reassembled to make it worth what they have it insured for.Otherwise you may just decide to claim it a loss on your ins. and they would be left with a pile of parts.There are laws relating to this somewhere in the state statutes but remember they are open to interpretation since most of our lawmakers are lawyers turned politicians and they may need the work if they lose an election.

[71swb4x4]

Don't wait until Friday to stop in. Stop in on Tuesday, say you were in the area.

[Daves72'GMC]

I stopped by on Friday and the truck hasn't been touched, but he wasn't there and his door was open. He sometimes does this. I put 2 calls into him and he didn't return them and 1 call into him today and hasn't returned it either,so I'll be going over on Monday and telling him to either restore the truck or I'm consulting a lawyer and if that doesn't do anygood, I'll get a hold of a friend of mine which is a magestrate and find out who the best lawyer in town is and sue him.I hate to do it but he's leaving me no choice. I'll let you all know what happends after I talk with him.My engine and trans are ready to go in the frame.I drove the truck in Panldland.What do you think my insurance would say? Thank you. Dave