taylor15

I will agree that in the end the seller will have a kick *** car that will likely last him a very long time with good car. Maybe a nice wax job and some plastdip on the wheels (b/c paint is for rich folk) and he'll have a car that I would be envious of.

ZX9RCAM

FIFY

Imo000

As I said before, let's wait and see what it will take to get this car on the road and in proper condition. What shape is the rest of the drivetrain, will the $12K cover the replacement of all the coolant hose and flushing, etc? Let's wait people!

I've been flipping cars as a hobby to supplement my real car hobby and seen many things that sellers claim when they try to sell their non runners or cars that "only need...". What happened on BAT is a good example of too many assumptions. First assumption was to believe what the seller wrote.

taylor15

Slakker

Well put.

Flat6 Innovations

I screwed up and made an assumption as well, when I stated the 12K price as being the worst possible figure.

So whatever it ends up at, the price will still be 12K. No "shell games' around here. When I make a statement, I stick to it, till Hell freezes over.

It doesn't matter what the engine needs, all that will come out of the buyer's pocket is 12K. That said, he hasn't "reminded" me of what I said, and didn't bind me to do this. I made that statement, and he bid on the car with that figurer as a worst case, so thats all it will cost him- even if it costs me double that figure.

When I commit, I commit. I don't run this place like a modern business, where bait, and switch are to be expected.

Imo000

Very admirable as it would have been completely understandable that the $12K was only going to cover the longblock and nothing more. I'm sure most people that work on cars took it that way.

Flat6 Innovations

Probably so, but I didn't make a disclaimer about what it covered. Thats my fault.

Like my dad always told me "even a fish wouldn't get in trouble if he kept his mouth shut"

At the end of the day all I will gain from this one is more data for my M96 research, about what happened, why, and how it impacted the service of the engine.

That's the priceless information for a guy like me. Its what gave me the upper hand, and its how I have kept it.

02Z06

X2. Very respectable.

ZX9RCAM

+996

dblvanos

I started a business solely out of anger over a bait and switch. It was the smugness in the way he delivered the increase to me. $100.00 more, his justification was it "took him more time than he expected" That little interaction is one of my few Julia Roberts BIG MISTAKE moments. I have not ran the guy totally out of business, but I have made his struggle real.

I get cranky from interactions with people in both my business, some days I feel like I am the only one left who eats it to be on the side of doing the right thing. Happy to see you doing the right thing.

The difference between a winner and a loser is a winner does what a loser does not want to do.

Imo000

The data is worth it's weight in gold. I don't imagine opportunities like this come around too often.

Flat6 Innovations

I have always done business like this, no matter what. It is the main reason that I hate business, though. I hate selling things. I hate people putting a price tag on minutes of life. On top of all of that, I hate money.

That said, just this week I had a huge fight on my hands, and this time I was the customer, not the vendor. Seldom do I buy anything, seldom do I pay people to do anything for me. Whether its building a shop, or a car, or fixing a pipe, or slaughtering an animal I have raised to put food on the table, I do it myself. Why? Because that way the only person that can disappoint me, is me.

So... back in January I took my German Army Kubel (VW Thing) to a local body shop for work to be done. The Army had patched up a coup of body repairs, and I wanted it to be perfect, so I took it to a guy that I went to High School with, who's been around paint and body as long as I have been around engines. He recently started his own business, so I decided to patronize him.

He gives me an estimate for 80 hours of labor, and I felt that was fair to address the issues, and re- spray the entire vehicle in the proper army colors.

The whole time we are working together he doesn't give me any updates about labor hours, and when I asked him he says "I'll make sure you get the best deal, for the best quality of work, plus a discount".

The work was finished last week, and he sends me an invoice for 262.5 hours of labor, and no discounted rates!

I completely, and totally lost my mind. I came unglued! He never gave me any updates after the estimate, and then he sends me the list of labor hours, and guess what? All but 38.5 of his hours as detailed on the invoice were covered in the 80 hour invoice, which included descriptions, and photos of the problem areas. He was trying to charge me for his lack of estimating proficiency, coupled to his slow *** employees milking the clock.

I went through the entire invoice, then line by line I dismembered it. I then agreed to pay him for the 38.5 additional hours, which were justified as additional work, in my opinion. I then shared with him the details of the Georgia Motor Vehicle Repair Act, which stated clearly what he had done wrong. He was also able to see that the 100.00 per day that he was trying to charge me for storage wasn't legal, as we were in a bonafide dispute during the storage period.

Long story short, after my 5,000 word email, my attorney and I went to inspect the completed vehicle. My attorney pulled him aside and showed him the result of the last 3 court cases that were settled on a similar topic, and let's just say that the guy gobbled up my offer.

I was completely ready to take that jackass to court and spend whatever was required to win. I have been doing business for 27 years, and have NEVER entered a court room, or had any dispute with a customer that we could not settle between ourselves during that time. When this guy tried to do this to me, I was so angry, because its exactly what we kill ourselves and lose money all the time not to do to our customers.

So, I picked up the Kubel yesterday, and I have to admit, he did a great job. I still ended up with 12K in the job, instead of 7,100.00, as estimated, but thats a hell of a lot better than the 18,000.00 that he tried to charge me!



We often make someone's final invoice before we ever start the project. 90% of those invoices never change, the other 10% change because the blown up engine was more blown up than we expected, and the changes were required, or because someone adds an option to the build themselves.

gnat

Not that I expected you to be wrong with your guess about what it needed, but the way you run your business was a key factor in making that car worth picking up. You have a solid rep for both standing behind your product and by your word. If I was the new owner I wouldn't expect there to be no overages, but I also know I could trust you to not give me a call that goes "surprise, your car is in pieces and it's now going to be double the original estimate".

You've also reiterated why many of us respect you as much as we do. Hopefully it turns on the lightbulb for at least a few.

wildbilly32

What I hear from the above is ETHICS.

Unfortunately not a common thing to witness these days.

Kudos to Jake!