Advice needed

[D.L.]

So I sent my truck off for a full frame off restomod build and it came back in less than satisfactory condition- Paint chips and blemishes, windows not rolling down, doors not latching or unlatching, rearend was narrowed incorrectly/ crooked so has a death wobble at 50mph and the list goes on and on. Just lots of things wrong. Do I have any kind of legal recourse? Anybody ever dealt with something like this? To muddy the waters worse the shop is out of state. I have tried calling a couple of civil attorneys in his state with no returned calls. I know this is not the place to be looking for legal advice but just wondering if anyone has dealt with anything like this before. Thanks

[dmjlambert]

Did you gave the shop a fix list and give them a chance to fix the various things that are incorrect?

[HIGHWAY BY THE SEA]

Originally Posted by dmjlambert

Did you gave the shop a fix list and give them a chance to fix the various things that are incorrect?

X2

You should give the one who messed it up the chance to make it right first. Should he fail to make it right, have an attorney send him a letter.

[cornerstone]

I agree with dmjlambert, plus did you have any sort of written agreement on the scope of work?

[treveiger]

Unless you have a written contract stating exactly what was expected it will be hard to prove exactly what was agreed on. Did you give them the full amount of price before checking out your truck? Unfortunately it's a pain to get someone to correct the issue unless you have a contract in writing or they didn't get the full amount of money yet.

[Grumpy old man]

If you "sent it off" and didn't inspect/ test drive before "getting it back " and already paid in full ? I'd say your chances of getting corrections after the fact are slim at best . Why send it out of state ? why no inspection for fit and finish before you accepted it back ? Did you go to the shop while they were working on it ? On a "full frame off resto mod build" you should have made multiple un announced visits to their shop just to see how things were progressing and the quality of the work already done . Hiring an attorney to send a letter will have little results if any at all . If your in here asking for advice ...Well , You probably already realize your just going to have to find someone else to fix whatever is wrong with it . It will cost less than opening an out of state lawsuit that may require multiple visits to wherever you sent it and any good attorney will tell you it's a loosing battle . Never provide final payment until your happy with the work performed ,Be it on a restoration or building a house final payment means just that ...Final.

[cypressbog]

Doesn't sound like it's going to be a happy ending for you.

[cleszkie]

You didn't send it to Misfit Garage by any chance did you?

[El Dorado Jim]

I hope you can get them to take care of it, but it doesnt look good, they obviously do shoddy work

[my67c20]

Well you came to the right place, if you wanted to hear, what you did not want to hear. The good news is you also came to the right place to engage in a wonderful group of people that will help. I suggest posting pictures of the issues so others on the forum can offer suggestions on how to resolve the issues. Some of the resolutions may be found by searching the forum. Also offer some background on your experience, skills, etc, as this helps us to know who we are dealing working with. Also welcome to the board

[jeffahart]

You are out of sight and out of mind. Show up to the shop with the truck. Show up in the morning and spend the day. Things always go different face to face. You will either get results or know you need to move on to the next step. When I have issues, I try to show my face. It's easier to communicate that way.

I would really be cool with him/them and try to get them to perform up to their good name... if they have one.

On calling lawyers, and lawsuits. My guess is you've never been down that road or we would be reading the word Attorney after a legal victory. My advise is leave the attorney word out of any and all of your correspondence written and verbal. Nobody likes to be threatened with a suit, that is just about the ugliest thing a business owner can hear. Businesses get ruined by lawsuits, attorney and lawsuit are not words to use lightly.

Being face to face with the business will help to ground you and you will do better, I am certain.


Hold more tightly to your hard earned bucks and make certain of what you're paying for! A quote from Albert Einstein. "The only source of knowledge is experience."

Good luck!


j

[B. W.]

I agree wit Jeffahart completely. I'm on the other side of the workbench, I do quality work that I stand behind & do my best to make the customer happy. With that said, if a customer says the word "attorney" then we're done talking.

[toolboxchev]

Originally Posted by my67c20

Well you came to the right place, if you wanted to hear, what you did not want to hear. The good news is you also came to the right place to engage in a wonderful group of people that will help. I suggest posting pictures of the issues so others on the forum can offer suggestions on how to resolve the issues. Some of the resolutions may be found by searching the forum. Also offer some background on your experience, skills, etc, as this helps us to know who we are dealing working with. Also welcome to the board

Well you again came to the right place after the fact. X2 on the pics. Public at large will give you a good idea if the job is a chop shop special.

We can pick things apart pretty quick around here, keep in mind there is everything to 110% factory restored original, to just keep it going repairs done.

[D.L.]

Round 1 of pics. Paint chips everywhere. Wet sanding thru the paint in 3 places. Small bubbles and rust spots popping thru on cab. 4 link out of square by an inch which was causing death wobble and now have leaks at axle seals and diff yoke. Nuts missing washers on the front crossmember, hand tightened nuts on the cups holding ball joints on upper A-arms. 3 of 8 engine mount bolts missing. Fuel line fittings at tank hand tight. Hacked wiring job. Welded bed braces in After paint. Almost every brake fitting is leaking. The list goes on and on. So for those saying give him a chance to fix it... not gonna happen

[D.L.]

Round 2... sure I missed something

[davepl]

I'm no expert, and an attorney might have better advice, but at this point I think "legal recourse" is going to be expensive, time consuming, and ineffective.

If it were me, and you have any kind of relationship with the shop left, here's what I'd do. Make a REASONABLE prioritized list of the things you want/need fixed. Then talk to them, and ask which ones they'll cover as workmanship and which ones they consider "new work" that you should pay out of pocket. That's hard to argue with, I think.

Now they could be totally unreasonable and say "it is what it is", but I'd start with "How do we work this out in a way that's fair to BOTH parties"?

[my67c20]

Comments from an outsider looking in. What was your original scope of work? It appears to be bag it, LS motor and paint it.

Now my thoughts. Paint work, I would take it to a local painter with a good reputation and get their feedback on what it would cost. Hopefully you have the paint mix and since its new should match up pretty good. Now you at least have a cost to go back to the original guy and maybe get a refund, or get a mediator involved and apply some legal pressure.

Missing washers and wrong electrical terminal sizes, i would just go front to back and clean that stuff up myself. Keep receipts and log time maybe you got some litigation reference stuff there.

How the geometry is affected because of bagging, not my area of expertise, but I can say from reading others posts, it is not easy. However, I would seek a local expert and get their feedback. Might be simple and not cost a lot, but at least you have proof of costs and can add it to the litigation

[D.L.]

Scope of work was a complete frame off... ended up being all new sheetmetal except for cab. The passenger rear wheel is 1" closer to front than the driver side and he built the 4 link that is not adjustable with heim joints. Missing washers are on bolts that hold the front crossmember onto the truck

[my67c20]

No real excuse for some of the paint issues. Anyone with pride in their workmanship would not have allowed that to leave the shop. What kind of time frame did this take? Changes to the 4 link, again speak to a local shop and see what it would cost to correct. Doing these trucks, or anything else is not cheap. Not sure what you paid, but did you shop around for a good shop? Did you check references? Not saying you did anything wrong, but we do not know all the details. Best thing is to document and put together some costs. Maybe attempt to speak to the original shop and see what can be worked out, unless you are totally over them.

[franken]

Well, the too short ball joint bolts due to the thicj control arm, no washer and a nylock on the orange slotted bit (I assume is part of the 4-link) indicate a failure after a few miles.
Rust bubbles on fresh paint? The cab wasn't stripped and prepped.
That's pretty bad.

[treveiger]

Judging from the pictures it looks like you were looking for a high quality restoration and not "just get it running and looking good type". If that's what you asked for then it's certainly what you didn't get. Trying to sue someone across state lines is a pain to say the least. I'd try to talk to them and see what they say about it. If they are a reputable shop they will honor their work and realize bad publicity travels like wild fire. Being as a restoration business is usually kept busy by recommendations and good reports of their work I'd like to think they want to keep their customers happy.

[Mr_Rich]

Not being an expert in this situation but still having an opinion after witnessing some sloppy work I'd suggest going to another shop that has a high quality reputation and can document all the deficiencies that need to be fixed. Whatever it costs for the second shop to fix the deficiencies I'd imagine would make your lawsuit, if you chose to take it that far. It's going to have to be fixed regardless and you've lost confidence with that first outfit for sure.

[D.L.]

Originally Posted by franken

Well, the too short ball joint bolts due to the thicj control arm, no washer and a nylock on the orange slotted bit (I assume is part of the 4-link) indicate a failure after a few miles.
Rust bubbles on fresh paint? The cab wasn't stripped and prepped.
That's pretty bad.

The bubbles are in the area where the drip rail was shaved. The rust spot is not at a bubble just on the pillar by the windshield like theres a small crack in the paint and its coming thru.

[Troy Sr]

Originally Posted by cleszkie

You didn't send it to Misfit Garage by any chance did you?

Ahhh Ha ha ha ha ha!!!!! Now that's funny I don't care who you are!!!!

[D.L.]

Originally Posted by my67c20

No real excuse for some of the paint issues. Anyone with pride in their workmanship would not have allowed that to leave the shop. What kind of time frame did this take? Changes to the 4 link, again speak to a local shop and see what it would cost to correct. Doing these trucks, or anything else is not cheap. Not sure what you paid, but did you shop around for a good shop? Did you check references? Not saying you did anything wrong, but we do not know all the details. Best thing is to document and put together some costs. Maybe attempt to speak to the original shop and see what can be worked out, unless you are totally over them.

Took about 10 months overall with the last 4 being putting it back to together. I messed up bad by not checking references I was fooled by his social media reputation and didnt check with previous customers until after I started having problems. I now know that the previous 2 builds have had a lot of problems also and in hindsight I realize that I never see customers bragging about his work only himself....