Cactus

Sorry for the long post but it looks like this may go into legal action! My Aerokit 1B sideskirts keep separating from the body and they are indeed from Gert so they are not reps. Anyway........

So the story begins in April when I go to Jeff Schompert at Horsepower Enterprises in Lancaster, PA and tell him I want the front bumper resprayed, license plate holes filled, and sideskirts removed, repainted, and refitted. I express my concerns with paint matching and having this type of work done to my car and he embraces me with open arms. "Matching paint is what we do every day!" He gives me an estimate of $1160. So a week later I get a phone call from Jeff telling me they can't get a paint match and for me to stop in. I stop in and we all stand around looking at parts that don't match and basically looking at me asking what they should do? I tell them this is what they do and they are committed now so call me when you get it done. A week later they call me to pick the completed car up and send me the invoice of $1548......$388 over the estimate to which Jeff responds."sorry I forgot to add the paint to the estimate." I knew all along I would get charged for their resprays even though they kept telling me how they were "eating" all the extra paint and labor costs. So I pick the car up and the paint looks great but the fit and finish is not perfect especially on the sideskirt fitment. 1.5 months later the sideskirts are separating from the body so I take the car back and Jeff is mad at me because I wasn't happy with the way they fit them in the first place. There was a visible gap between the body and sideskirt that would be obvious to pretty much any normal human being that knows anything about cars and they then spend another 7.5 hours on it and charge me $38 for supplies. I am not happy handing them any more money at this point and Jeff asks me how much money I expect them to "eat" on this car. I express to him once again how he assured me the job would be no problem so he then hands me off o the owner Jeff Arnold. I pay the $38 thinking this would be the last time I have to deal with them. 10 days later the drivers side sideskirt pops away from the body. Fast forward a month or so and I finally get back in to meet with Jeff Arnold and Dave Benner and they come up with taking the drivers side off once again and starting over. Jeff Arnold then informs me I would be looking at 5 hours labor and they would once again discount their labor. I am shocked that they want to keep charging me and he says under the circumstances this is an "oddball" problem and they can't keep putting money into my car. I leave frustrated and unsure what to do. What are your thoughts on this and what action I should take next?
Here are 2 pictures that are not the best but you can see the problem.......

AOW162435

I'm not sure how small claims court works within the Amish community, but you may wish to look into that. I seem to remember there being a maximum of allowed damages for such a claim.

The fact that these clowns 'forgot' to add paint to their original estimate is simply ridiculous. They claim to be a paint/body shop!


Andreas

simpsoap

+1. How exactly does a body shop, that does paint work all day, forget to add paint to an estimate?

I honestly think that they should fix the issue on their dollar, but it looks as if that isn't going to happen.

I'd say find another body shop, but then again, that's more money out of your pocket. Good luck Cactus - keep us updated!

Andy

KMASS993

How is the paint between the two sticking? Didn't they take them off to paint? If they are going to charge you, go somewhere else and make sure you stick it to them on this board and anywhere else you can (after you get it fixed so they don't phone other shops) I am having the same thing done right now and would be pissed. Honest body shop men will tell you they can't or won't do something as they would rather have their reputation than your dollar. The other option is to possibly get some expandable plastic rivets drill holes in the original rocker.

GeorgeK

Remove car from their premises.
Don't give them any more money, seeing it won't solve the problem. Ever.

The start looking for a real solution, not a wallet drainage operation.

Cactus

If I pursue legal action it would be just to recoup costs to get this fixed somewhere else. I should add pain and suffering since they don't really seem to care anymore.

ble2011

I'm with Kmassed002. I can’t believe they would have painted them while they were on the vehicle. That would be the first sign that there may be a problem. I feel for you because you never know how well a body shop is until after the work is performed. I would remove it from their shop and let them know (nicely) how much I was dissatisfied with their work. Then take some time to calm down before taking it elsewhere.

Cactus

They did not paint them on the vehicle. The paint coming off is due to the adhesive. So now it is not only a refitting issue but there will be paint involved.

DC from Cape Cod

Pick up car, get attorney, follow his advice.

TMc993

Cactus,

This type of thing can just suck the fun out of what should be a pleasurable process.

1 - I think you should just walk away from the body shop. They clearly are not going to help you out and any work done under duress is going to be second rate at best.

2 - I would be concerned as to the cause of the pieces separating. If the skirts are factory pieces and the body hasn't been bent and the fit is right before the adhesive is applied, then why are the pieces separating from the body once they are attached?

3 - Find a shop that can give you references regarding similar work and have a detailed conversation going in about a drive-out price for the job (Drive-out prices, by definition, include everything).

4 - Carefully document the appearance of the body before the car goes into the shop, then carefully document it after the job is complete.

5 - Then decide if you want to take action against the other clowns and use your documentation as your evidence that they misrepresented their skill set.

Good luck...

kjr914

Cactus,
I went through something like this.... Body shop painted poorly, tried to return it to me like that (really, polar silver has blobs of blue paint in it? ...hmmm, I don't think so!), then body shop says "we'll have to paint a bunch more to get the match right"....um, WTF????? Dumbly, I footed the bill for that (stupid, stupid).

Stand your ground and don't pay any more. I'm baffled by a "professional" that F's up a job and thinks YOU should pay more to cover his mistake.

Good luck getting the Cactusmobile back in shape. Perhaps this would help, being that its Friday...

boulderbobo

Cactus, Sorry to hear about this. This is a a perfect example of why I don't let many folks work on my car.

If this were my car, I would not let these guys ever touch my car again. Based on your story these guys are sleaze *****.

There are plenty of good shops out there that can do this work correctly.

Do whatever you can to get your money back.

Sorry again, and good luck with getting the work done right.

Bob-

No HTwo O

Sorry to hear about this Cactus. Who recommended this shop?

Get your car out of there, and find another. Ask the owner for a refund in exchange for; not bashing their name, keeping your mouth shut, and not hiring an attorney. Maybe he'll make it easy for you to "go away".

If you decide to go the legal route, I can't see how you'll come out ahead financially. Plus you'll go through more frustration. Cut your losses, and start again.

You are loosing out on the precious driving season when your car is sitting in the shop.

JimPA

I'm sorry to hear about your problems. Small claims court in PA is good for claims up to $8000. If you get a lawyer involved to sue them, as attractive as that seems right now, you'll be lucky to break even financially when it's all said and done. It will also take much longer than you can imagine. AMHIK.

You've received solid advice about recovering your car and getting it fixed properly by a business that has done this type of work successfully. I'm one county east of you and wish I could recommend a good shop but I can't.

gonzilla

Dude. Hello? You need wood screws. Like this:



OK, all kidding aside, I agree with pretty much everyone else. Take your car far away from them. It sucks because you're already in with them for $$$, but my instinct tells me if you stick with them you'll be out more money and not any happier.