What do i do?! I think i have hit the WALL!

[IEAT8S]

This is my story guys...

I am the owner of the build thread (XC 4.0ltr Turbo). The build was all going to plan up until a few days ago.

The motor has been sent away and is due back at the start of Jan. The body was collected a couple of weeks ago from the paint shop with the intention of putting the car together over the Xmas break and drop it off to the mechanics for the motor at the starrt of Jan.

Now the problem! The painter has totally ruined my car! Paint runs on the bonnet, not enough paint in some areas, too much filler around the handles that i cant even put my door handles in. Just mistakes and issues everywhere.

I have a budget to stick to and to fork out 7 - 8 k will destroy me!

What do i do? I have all the parts to make a weapon. But the shell is stuffed.

Ive been tossing up to sell the lot and buy myself a coupe or a project already complete, but isnt what i was after. Ive always wanted a xc turbo 6.

I think depression will kick in soon.

[protd]

if it's as bad as you say it is take it back to the shop and get them to repair their mistakes, i know how it feels when shops stuff your car, i had a panel shop try paint my engine bay 4 times in the end i got over it and cut my loses with them..

[Jim Goose]

Always check the car with a fine tooth comb at the shop before you take it home..... raise the issues with the painter, though how long has the car been home before you noticed these problems? You say a couple of weeks?
Why did it take so long to look at it properly?

[IEAT8S]

To be honest it is the first car that i have had painted properly. And it is my fault that i did not spot these issues straight away. But the day it came out of the oven i was just over the moon that colour was on the car. As i was putting bits and pieces on the car i started noticing little things here and there. The list just got too big.

The painter is a whole different can of worms. He is real dodgy and i wouldnt trust my car with them again. He even has the nerve to ask for more cash off me because he under quoted the price of the job in the first place. The money that i coughed up is as good as gone!

[Kryton]

Doesnt matter how long its been at home.
The job that you paid for wasnt done properly.
Any decent panel beater would know it isnt done properly, and id say he already knew this but was hoping youd just put up with it and say nothing.
Put it back on the trailer, take back to the shop and leave it there till its done properly.
Some of the rubbish panel work ive seen leave shops recently is appalling.
I really dont know how a "professional" could be happy letting poor quality work leave his shop.

[protd]

as much as you don't want to take it back you have no other option at this stage, if he refuses to fix it you get a independent assesor in and you take legal action, getting upset and saying you don't want to go back is not a option, the only way to get anything done is take the car back and demand it to be repaired, if you have a written quote he has no leg to stand on to charge you more money..

[svo supporter]

Firstly, the shell isn't stuffed, from your description. Take it back to the painter, point out the problems and get him to fix them.

Unfortunately, there are stories like yours cropping up all the time. Rogue tradesman ripping innocient poeple like you off all the time.

Good luck and don't loose sight of the end goal.

[mik]

i would be taking photos of the faults !! before doing anything.

[Donny]

How much was the paint and panel job? Was it done at a professional place or in a back yard or is it just a 1 man show in a smaller factory shed??

If you think the guys dodgy, theres not a lot of point taking the car back there. Do you really think he will do any better the second time around?
He may actually do it worse, or fill it up full of more bog...

If you paid 1 or 2 grand for the work, then its a case of you got what you paid for, if you paid 10k or more, then Id definently be onto them for some kind of restitution..

[IEAT8S]

The hole job set me back $3500. The reason the car wont be going back is that i have no faith in the job, IF he even repairs the car. I know what i got quoted and paid is low but this guy has a business. No back yard jobs. I didnt expect a show room paint job but just a good job.

[Auslandau]

Feel for you on this one ... been there and done that. Very hard decisions to make but I would try and persist with the original bloke and see what can be done. Discuss it as calmly as you can and see if it can be resolved. If he has any credentials at all owning his own business he must see the errors and rectify them.

If this does not work and he doesn't want to help I would cut my losses and go and see someone else. $3500 while painful shouldn't be the death of the rebuild .... I could have saved myself 12 months of waiting, and just thrown $10,000 on my first paint job down the toilet and watch it flush away (No recourse when the painter is in jail!)

Unfortunately to clean up someones mess means more money to spend to get it back to a state where they can start again but if he hasn't bogged the crap out of it, it might not be as bad as you think. Runs can be removed.

Also it doesn't matter when you noticed these things ..... my paint collapsed after 12 months with the still wet bog under the paint work .... and do not blame yourself for getting dodgy work done! Many people get burnt who know a hell of a lot more than me and they still mange to find the aholes out there

[IEAT8S]

The main issues are on the hanging panels. I.E Guards, doors and bonnet. So im hoping the repair bill wont be that bad. Its just the fact that this bloke is supposed to be a professional and look at the stuff that gets served up! Insane!

I wish i could report him to someone!

[Auslandau]

You can try legal but it is more trouble and expensive than its worth in these cases. 'Winning' is very expensive and never go legal on principle. You get more sympathy if your $50.00 bike from Kmart falls to pieces. There is really no where else to go. If it was an insurance job no probs but with private work there is just too much trust expected from the customer.

If it is only paint runs and parts where the paint is thin or 'dry' speak to him and see what he can do. Go as far as you can with him until he says no. Then go ballistic ........

[jixel 78]

I dont envy panel shops doing up old bangers. I just wont give myself or them the headaches any more. I`m in the middle of an XC at the moment, theyre painful to get straight even with a killer shell. The only way to satisfaction is to overcapitalize on it by getting someone else to do it(thousands of hours, and tens of thousands of dollars, and copious whinging, a narcissistic excercise) or to do it yourself. I know I know its hard. But the end result is the goal, and no blaming. Panel shops just dont make any money out of this stuff.

[Auslandau]

Originally Posted by jixel 78

I dont envy panel shops doing up old bangers. I just wont give myself or them the headaches any more. I`m in the middle of an XC at the moment, theyre painful to get straight even with a killer shell. The only way to satisfaction is to overcapitalize on it by getting someone else to do it(thousands of hours, and tens of thousands of dollars, and copious whinging, a narcissistic excercise) or to do it yourself. I know I know its hard. But the end result is the goal, and no blaming. Panel shops just dont make any money out of this stuff.

So the panel shops that do not have the patience, expertise or balls to do it have 2 options. Say no or quote appropriately ..........

[Elks]

Don't give up.

Ask for the repairs see what result you get. If not just put it back together, faults and all and drive it and enjoy it.

$3500 for paint is quite economical. So at the risk of sounding cruel you get what you pay for. I I know this as I paid $4,000 for a job and wish I had waited and paid $10k. (Assuming you a better job would result).

A 4.0T in an XC would be super cool. Don't let a little thing like paint runs stop you. You can always get them fixed later.

[IEAT8S]

Im sure people have been in my place before... It's just life shattering! Ive lost all motivation and i know i sell up. I will 100% regret it! I think i just need to soldier through it and put a few more hours and dollars into it.

[IEAT8S]

Originally Posted by jixel 78

I dont envy panel shops doing up old bangers. I just wont give myself or them the headaches any more. I`m in the middle of an XC at the moment, theyre painful to get straight even with a killer shell. The only way to satisfaction is to overcapitalize on it by getting someone else to do it(thousands of hours, and tens of thousands of dollars, and copious whinging, a narcissistic excercise) or to do it yourself. I know I know its hard. But the end result is the goal, and no blaming. Panel shops just dont make any money out of this stuff.

This is a fair comment. But! When i gave them the car I was expecting a $3500 paint job not a garage job that i could have done myself. I was expecting some pride in their work. But as you say half way through he job they realised they weren't gona make any money off me so they half assed the rest, taking short cuts just to get the car out of the shop. They why he tried to get an extra $1400 out of me.

[Iggypoppin']

Name and shame mate. Also go back, demand he fix it or refund you a portion of the cash, not good enough that the job isn't up to standards and he needs to come to the party.

[Donny]

In that $3500 job was that just for painting or was that body work, rust, straightening, priming and prep etc??
What exactly did you commission him to do? What state was the shell in before hand??

Theres a lot of shonks around in the PB business, and its hard enough to get a good one, let alone someone who will actually have a go at one..
Theres some good places too, but most of these will basically say it will cost what it costs us to do with what we find when we get started.
When you ask these places for quotes, some will give you a ball park figure, but say its conditional to what ever else they find or see as they go, and some will say what I said above (it'll cost whatever it costs) or say if you want a number, they give you a number, a huge one or some will even say to try other places as their too busy, aka they dont need your business or dont do budget specials..

[JG65TE]

throw up some pics of whats wrong ? . i agree with namin n shaming. I am sick n tired of people gettin ripped by "reputable" businesses doin half jobs on people pride and joys.

[IEAT8S]

The job was for rust repair paint and straighten. Ill get some photos up soon. The problems probs wont show up on the screen though. There small defects but alot of them.

[raptorv8]

Sounds like you got what you paid for

[Iggypoppin']

I'm of the opinion that panel shops that do resto work should quote a rough figure(a guide quote if you will) and then update the customer on any cost that will go over the guide. So for example if a panel beater quotes 4,000 and realizes it will cost closer to 6,000 to adequately finish, they should ring up and tell the customer straight away and seek permission to keep working, rather than doing the work and surprising the customer at the end when they pick up the car. That way if the customer wants to, they can pull the pin on the resto if they so choose.

[Donny]

I have to agree with raptor, at 3.5k for rust repairs, straighten and paint you got a lot for your 3.5k.

Now dont get me wrong, Im not defending the place that did the job, but I could easily see 1k - 1.5k just in materials like paints, thinners, sanding stuff, fillers, masking tape and papers etc etc..
Panel places charge you a rate to do panel beating and a dearer rate for painting, so you have your rust cut out at x dollars an hour and then any paint applied, inc etch, primers, guide coats, more primers, and colour at y dollars an hour. (usually about 50% more than panelbeating costs)

I also agree with the post above, panel shops should at least quote a base figure or ball park figure, subject to finding any further issues and if the work progresses cost wise beyond that, then the "quote" should be ammended to cover what extra comes up and the panel place needs to convey this immediatly to the cars owner to make it totally clear whats happening before going further on the car, and ultimatly its then upto the owner if their prepared to pay the extra or come get the car..

[gcg2503]

$3500 is less than what I am paying to have paint applied on my car. Unsure what you expected for so little money to be honest.

Did the $3500 include materials?

[jixel 78]

The big money resto cars arent for fun.They quite simply make anybody involved upset at some stage. There is no such thing as an appropriate quote on an old poobox like an old Falcon. Dont go looking for blood from a 3500 dollar paintjob. Learn from it, and move on. I couldnt think of anything worse than someone wanting the world on a budget, fair dinkum. Leave the budget panel shops put bread on the table. They paint white Camrys and touch up dinged Crumpledores for Allianz and RAC, and pay off the mortgage. Turbo XC projects dont.

[svo supporter]

Regardless of the cost, what has been done is pathetic. Seriously, it's been written that the PB can't even bog properly. The op stated, he can't get his door handles in, because there is too much bog there.

I don't care how cheap the job is, you only need half a brain to be able to bog a bloody car up, so things fit properly.

As for paint. Again, how hard is it to be able to put a coat of jam on a car, so it's even????? Only take half a brain to do that.

Sure, not to many shops want to work on ol' snot boxes and yeah you get what you paid for, but even if you pay crap dollars, you should at least expect to be able to fit your parts back on the car and not see through the paint.

[max_torq]

Maybe for the $1400 he wants, you can get him to rectify the faults, just make sure he does the work to satisfaction before you pay him. As others have mentioned it may not be an excessive price to pay if the outcome is reasonable.

[IEAT8S]

^^^ Exactly! SVO supporter

I agree with everyone saying that "you get what you pay for". But i was not expecting the crap that was delivered to me. I would have preferred them pull out half way and say its going to cost too much or its too hard. It wouldve saved a lot of time and money. This panel and srpay work took almost 6 moths. So they werent rushed.