problems with repair shop

[retodd7711]

I need some advice. The first week of April I took my 69 to a repair shop for some work. New clutch and u-joints. Diagnose shifting problems, and install floor pans and rocker panels.
After two weeks of no action I got impatient and talked to owner. The next day they removed tranny,cut off rocker panels.
after two weeks of no action and promises to start tomorrow finish Friday.I pitched a ***** fit. I demanded a schedule and was told it would be done Friday.
As of today it has been 6 1/2 weeks and the put the floor pans in the truck and tacked the edges. I was just there Wed. night and was told Friday would be finished.Today is Friday and my truck still sits.
I have no idea what to do the truck is not driveable or It would be gone.
I don't really know how to reinstall a tranny and if I take the truck there is no guarantee I would gt all my parts back.
I just want my truck back and I can't get dude to finish it. This is a liscensed shop not "some guy's garage.
Please tell me where to go from here

[sjarrett71]

See if you can offer him partial payment to get his rear in gear. I had sort of the same problem with a body shop once and he finally told me he needed money. As soon as I paid him he started working on it.

[WORNBRAKES]

You may have to be a little more patient and wait for them to finnish. Work out a deal with the owner for a discount for your troubles. If he dont make a deal, contact the BBB and tell all your friends about how his shop treated you and he should slowley loose buisness from word of mouth. If you take the truck as is, you will have to trailer it out, hope you get all the parts, and still have to pay them for what they have done. Also each body man does things a little different and it is a pain in the but to finnish a job someone else started.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I don't know about your state,but if it has a consumer protection agency (In Cali it's called "THE B.A.R."--Bureau of Automobile Repair) and just mentioning that you plan to file a complaint with them will get instant attitude adjustments and action.I've been on both sides of this and can tell you that if you have one such agency,you should use it or the threat of using it.

[WorkinLonghorn]

I notice that Tenn. does have one.Here's the link;
http://www.state.tn.us/consumer/ccp.html

[piecesparts]

To a degree, he does have you by the cojones. He has your truck, you have nothing. I would take the opportunity to sit down in his business and not move until he gets perturbed and asks why your there. At that point you tell him that he needs to understand that you are not giving in and that he needs to finish your truck. The "I will have it for you Friday" , doesn't cut it. The I will leave when it is done will get him upset. Come back the next day and do the same, sooner or later he is going to do something.

[albertarose]

I too know from experiance this is not a fun position to be in ..giving him money on top of it may or may not be a good idia .if things are at such a stand still he lost some help or has personal problems ..which any proffesional knows should not be allowed to come to work with you in your lunch box. hopefully you get lots of comments here ..print it off for buddy to read and sit down and talk to him .. otherwise its the trailer.. Hope it gets done soon ...I would ask him the reasons why it sits and give him one more chance to do it in a week ..thats more time than it takes to do the job by 5 days .. I find threats produce bad Karma its not your job to chase him around and get excuses Im leaning towards pulling out and call the BBB or other Feds ..anyway unless you get some real answers soon ..

[BarryB]

Hey Retodd7711, What part of Tn are you from?

[68GMC454]

i would gather up my parts and my truck, and tow it home, and tell him he can kiss his money goodbye,,either that or talk to the BBB, or a lawyer to make sure you get yoru stuff back..

[retodd7711]

I have asked everybody for help and advice and it ranges from be patient to kick his a$$. I have talked to an attorney and he said legal action will take time and big bucks. Probably more than the truck is worth. I am goiing to his shop this morning to deal with this again. I have begged, pleaded, threatened,
offered to help. FRUSTRATING is not the word. There is about a days worth of welding and a day of reassembly to go on the truck. This is embarrassing when my budddies say where is your truck? In the shop Still?

[Sport/Truck]

The last thing you want it a rushed job, and demanding them to get’er done will only get you shotty work.
Well, I say pull your truck out. Try to get everything with it too because if you leave anything he’ll probably tell you to take a hike later. Just be cool when you get it, tell him you need it done sooner than he has time for, and to keep a somewhat good relation with him. You might ask who he thinks can finish it. Then keep in mind that the shops he mentioned my screw you later, so don't use them.

Go around and talk to shops in your area look at there work, and explain your truck is unfinished and see if they will help.
This is where it may get more expensive…because they my find the shortcuts the other shop may have done. Only a reputable shop can determine this. But from what you said about the shop its at now, they are reputable. So hopefully you’ll get the truck before any shortcuts are made.
Good Luck,

s/t

[retodd7711]

I just got back from the shop. The welder doesn't work on Saturday,but they finally ordered a clutch and shift tower. (sloppy shifting can't find gears etc.)
Once again I was promised start Monday finish Friday. My wife and I got into it over this fiasco, not her fault I was frustrated and took anger out on her. Serious butt-kissing for that mistake. I will keep you posted on progress or lack thereof. Any suggestion greatly appreciated

[sleepingbag]

I had a few weeks turn into close to two years on my truck, but the work was perfect and I had to learn that these trucks are always put on the back burner when theres insurance work available for these guys, and if they werent able to take the quick insurance cash then my prices would have skyrocketed. Not really an excuse, but if he had said more then a few weeks for the work I described he would have never got the truck in the first place. Im happy with the truck, tough to wait but it was sweet when done.

[Sport/Truck]

Originally Posted by retodd7711

I just got back from the shop. The welder doesn't work on Saturday,but they finally ordered a clutch and shift tower. (sloppy shifting can't find gears etc.)
Once again I was promised start Monday finish Friday. My wife and I got into it over this fiasco, not her fault I was frustrated and took anger out on her. Serious butt-kissing for that mistake. I will keep you posted on progress or lack thereof. Any suggestion greatly appreciated

Rule #1 = don’t take the trucks problems out on the wife!

We are all hoping this works out for you.
s/t

[BarryB]

So you have talked to the BBB? And they told you to wait. Is there a parking lot near by that isn't his property? I would park a car there with a sign expressing your problems with the shop. Or make a sign on your driver and drive up and down the street in front of his shop. Letting people know he is a crook basically. Freedom Of speech.
Or just suck it up and Pay for what work he has done, so he can't put a mechanics lean againist it. And take your truck out of there.

[EAST SIDE LOW LIFE]

You can always go see the owner and settle your account to date and tow your truck home. There is no way he can force you to leave your truck there. This also may get his attention that the job has dragged on too long and may get him working on it. In any event you would have your truck back.

esll.

[albertarose]

yep stay cool ..sounds like you will have it finished there ..some of the Adive you are getting here is too aggressive in my opinion ,sleepingbag is right and forget the flowers and chocolate you better get down on your knees and giver her some special kisses Holmes!

[retodd7711]

read my post under what did you guys get done this wknd. You'll see I had my tail between my legs for this mistake. I mean this girl let me have a harley a boat and an old truck. OOPS. Maybe Monday we'll see some progress on the old truck

[sleepyboy]

Bro, I can only feel for you. I turned my truck in for a 308 posi rear end and 5 lug rear axles conversion. I found and surveyed the shop that said could do the work; felt right about them doing it; and got a a time line of one week (in San Antonio, Texas). 7 weeks later, my truck never had been looked at or moved! I was calling every week asking about progress; was assured it would just take a little more time; didn't wanna rush them to end up with a crappy job, but ultimately I ended up with the work NOT done and a major case of the ass. Never received a business initiated phone call in that time frame. When I picked up the truck, never got an apology (and thankfully not a bill either). I found Thrash Automotive who also does that type of work; 3 days from my truck hitting his shop, I got what I needed. I also received several phone calls from him in those 3 days telling me of progress, asking me questions about concerns he/I may have; authorizing parts ordering/usage..I have been burned on more than one occasion with BAD service...That is why when I find a good business, I will GLADLY talk it up. A kudos as well to Quality Care in Universal City, Texas (general car repair). I have used them a few times and they have went out of thier way in service, fairness, and price.

[jeffspower]

Taking it to another shop probably won't work out too good. I've worked in shops all my life, owned one for 11 years. Shops HATE working on jobs that someone else tore apart. They take longer just to put together than if doing the whole job, because of missing parts, rechecking any assembly work that has already been done (which usually means tearing stuff back apart) and so on. Due to these issues, the hours to get it done can't be quoted accurately. Time & a stall is held up while the owner tries to find missing parts. So, many shops will charge you however many hours it takes to get it done, and might push it outside until you find the missing parts. That puts you on the back burner again, time is money.

[jeffspower]

I will add that you are probably dealing with a greedy shop. Not necessarily by what they charge, but that they take on too much work because they want their techs to stay buried, and don't want the competition to have any work. Those shops are also famous for lowball quotes to reel you in, only to stick ya for extras and "unforeseen" expenses.

[krue]

Make sure to write a thread on the Review board so members will know who to avoid.

[mfarmer]

I have had my sons truck at the body shop for almost 2 months. They are replacing all of the typical body pieces that rust out. I told them that I understand that these type of jobs are not easy to turn and by no means "easy" money compared to some jobs. We go by every week and check on the progress and there is alway notable progress. I then pay then for their time involve and they continue to work on it in between the "easy jobs". They are doing good work and we expected it to take a few months. This was understood up front and there is no hard feelings. I was just happy to find a place that would do the work and do a good job. Where we are live nobody wants to touch cars that are over 10 years old let alone rust repair. I suggest you tell the the owner you are going to spread the word about his lack of service on your behalf.

Mike,

[jkeady]

I think mfarmer hit it on the head with the "easy jobs" comment. I've only had a car in the shop once, but it went smoothly because it was a very straightforward job that they do 100 times a week (dented rear quarter on my Tbird.) It was very easy to estimate, one guy could do the whole thing, and they knew there weren't going to be any surprises or little things to mess with.

Shops like jobs that they can queue really efficiently- that is, set them up, knock them down, collect the check, and go home at closing time.

That's not to say that what they're doing is fair, but as was said, they kind of have you over a barrel now. From what I've seen, if you're going to be giving most body shops anything beyond "pull the dent, spray the panel", you need to sit down with them, work out a timeline, ask questions like who will do the work, what will the payment timeline be like, etc. Unless they've got every little detail accounted for and on a punch list, it's just going to be pushed down the To Do list because they've got a lot of other jobs up and ready to go.

[timcos]

Ask for the bill, take it somewhere else.

Tim