GaryMc

I apologize in advance if this rambles on...

I'm looking for suggestions on what I can do to resolve this problem.


I picked up a set of 15" phone dials for my 944. The original silver paint was well worn and needed refinishing.
I saw this on a website and decided this is what I wanted:



I did some research on different refinishing techniques and I kept getting recommendations from people to go with powder coating.
I searched Kijiji for some powder coating shops, and got 4 estimates.
I chose the second highest estimate, figuring I could save a few bucks and still get a quality job.

His estimate was $600 - I know that's a lot of money to put into 15" phone dials...

I called the shop and spoke with the owner. Seemed like a really nice guy. I asked if I could drop the rims off that day and he said I would need to drop them off at his house, because the shop would be closed by the time I got there. The rims would be ready the next day. Great service.

Dropped them off along with a photo of what I wanted. The owner explained that he had worked for a shop for 14 years and just opened his own shop. Said I could pay with Visa, MasterCard, debit or cash.

On my way to the shop the next day, he called me to provide the address and explained that he didn't have his HST (I think, it was noisy in the car) license yet and could only take cash... so it would be $600 total. This bothered me, but I didn't see the red flags...

Got to his shop and he wasn't finished yet. He was sticking some black pinstriping onto the rims where the silver and black met to hide some bleeding that happened under the tape. His shop wasn't very well lit and the rims looked good. Him and another guy loaded them into my car, I gave him the cash, he gave me more pinstriping and I headed home. Correct, no receipt.

I took the rims into my garage and noticed how the pinstriping was all short bits stuck on very poorly. I peeled the striping off and put new on, as one piece per rim.

The next morning I noticed there was a lot of areas where the black didn't have full coverage and black overspray on the silver.











I contacted the owner and he said he would come out to my house to touch up on the following Monday. I thought this was excellent customer service.

He said he could touch them up mounted, so I went to my mechanic to have my tires moved over to them. My mechanic highly suggested against mounting as they were a terrible job. He showed me all sorts of additional blunders and said the pinstriping wouldn't last more than a week or two.

I took the rims to two other powder coaters and both said they would not do a two tone job on these types of rims (no defined edge for the black to silver transition). One shop suggested an old school hand pinstripe artist could make the transition better.

I complained to the owner and he offered to pick up the rims and completely redo them. And have them mounted and balanced for free.

I was sceptical that what I wanted could be attained, but he assured me it was possible. Said he would pick them up on Monday instead of trying to touch up at my house.

Monday morning, I sent him my address and asked when he would be coming. I had to get to work but my daughter was visiting from China, so she would be home. He said he was aiming for early afternoon as he was going to see a doctor about an ear problem. He never showed up.

Tuesday afternoon he sends me a message saying he would be out Wednesday morning to pick up the rims. He never showed up.

Thursday night I sent him a message asking what was going on. He apologized for being unprofessional and asked if I could meet him partway on Friday. I said ok and asked what time. He said he would touch base with me around 1. He never did.

At 7pm on Friday, I sent him a message saying that I'd had enough and just wanted my money back.

He said he has too many hours into the rims to refund and blamed me for not checking in with him at 1. I was livid.

I told him that all I've received from him is failed commitments and a sloppy job on my rims, and I want a refund. I advised that I would spread his name and bad work on the internet and at car shows and take legal action.

He still won't budge on the refund. Still wants to pick up and redo them, but I just can't trust this guy at all.


Suggestions please!!!

harry454

Union Rim Repair or Leprechaun

GaryMc

Union gave me a very attractive quote for black with polished lips.

But, what can I do to get my $600 back?

Small claims court??

Adamant1971

I can vouch for Union Rim, also Carcones does good work.

I think in your case with this colour scheme, paint would be the way to go. Carcones did a set of speedlines for me a few years ago, painted silver with a polished lip then clear coated, and they where spectacular. And that was $550 (including the centre caps).

theiceman

You paid cash and have no receipts. You are at his mercy. Suck it up and work with him or lose your money and walk away.

You get into an internet war with him and he will post " his side of the story" those things never end well.

996AE

Small claims court.

Judge will make the right decision.

In USA CA small claims you might win but the court doesnt help you collect.

Turbodan

work with him or walk.

wc11

First clue to walk away "said he could only take cash".
Count it as an expensive lesson learned and move on.

Small claims is a he said, she said. 50/50 chance of getting anywhere.

theiceman

The first thing the judge will ask for is the paperwork. Without this the law is on the side of the defendant. That's very shaky ground to go in to I would think.

strathconaman

If your time isn't very valuable, by all means, go to small claims court. You will put dozens of hours into getting a judgment that you will never collect.

Otherwise, I would walk and get one of the reputable refinishers to fix it.

JasonKM

try and get whatever you can and forget about the rest - chalk it up to lesson learned.

Once you get some of the money back, please post who this is