The Dodge Challenger Message Board

I have a restoration thread going in the members prodjects section on my dad's 73 Challenger Rallye. I live in Iowa and the car is in Ohio.(half way across the country)

The story of how the car got there is a long one and I think I explained it in the other thread. To make a long story short...the shop that is working on the car agreed to stick to the estimated price that they quoted me for the work. They are going to have more money into the car than what I was quoted but are still just billing me for the quoted amount. The price we agreed on has been paid in full already. I paid my last bill at the beginning of May.

Origonally the car was supposed to be done and back to me in late April. There showroom was moved to another location in early March so work on my car got pushed back about a month. I should have had it back in late May. Since the estimated price was conciderably OFF, the restoration manager said that he was going to finish the car himself on his own time so that he could have his guys work on other customer cars. I said that was fine with me as long as the car was done right.

The last pictures I recieved was on May 5th. The cars bodywork was done and was very close to being in primer. That was 6 weeks ago. I know the shop is doing me a huge favor by sticking to their estimate but how long should I just say..."There's no hurry, I just want the car done right." I e-mailed them 2 weeks ago and the manager said he is battling a bad back and hasn't been able to work on it as much as he would like to. I'm getting impatient waiting for the car to get back.

I need advise on when to start pressuring him to really get it done. I know the guy and I know he WON'T sacrifice the quality just to get it done sooner so that is not an issue. I'm just tired of waiting.

Burdar, the time frames you are talking about are still very small by resto shop standards -really only a matter of weeks. There are many stories of paint and panel places (over here, and i am sure over there as well) taking TWICE and three times as long as they were supposed to, to finish a car. Often things on the car go missing, it gets damaged, puchied into a corner and half forgotton, many excuses they give, the list is long. Over here, it is a trade full of crooks and bastards. From what you described, i think your car is in very good honest hands. Also, i have found, no matter how honest the shop or repairer is, if they get paid the full amount for a big job, almost ALWAYS, work slows down. It must be a inbuilt pyschological thing, the incentive to keep going is gone (the money) and teh only thing left to drive them is moral obligation. If they are still dragging the chain after 3 months, then i would start jumping up and down, but for a full car resto, it sounds about normal to me. That's only my opinion and from my own experience though!!

I kind of thought that the work might slow down a little but he always said that he tried for a 3 month turnaround time on bodywork. If it hadn't been for the showroom being moved he would have been close to that.

They are just doing the bodywork and paint. I'm doing the rest myself. He said he though he had about 200 hours left in it. That was 6 weeks ago. I've been pushed around by bodyshops before and I thought it was because I was trying to be too nice. I don't want to become a push-over but I don't like people thinking I'm an A$$ either.

How can I let him know I really want the car back without constantlly calling and asking about it.

It's too bad the shop and your car are so far away. Otherwise just showing up twice a week might give them the idea that you are on it, want it done correctly, and your impatience.

Since that's not the case maybe they will reimburse some of the money back to get it out of the shop so everyone can move on. Just a thought from the peanut gallery. Good luck!

Jon wrote:It's too bad the shop and your car are so far away. Otherwise just showing up twice a week might give them the idea that you are on it, want it done correctly, and your impatience.

Since that's not the case maybe they will reimburse some of the money back to get it out of the shop so everyone can move on. Just a thought from the peanut gallery. Good luck!

You mean it's too much to ask to get it done right and quick?

I'm afraid so. Car resto is never straight forward and panel shops usually never get things done in the time they say. That's how it is. Something almost always gets in the way, and they never just exclusively work on one car at a time, unless you were paying them very big bucks or were rich and famous.

Goldenblack440 wrote:I'm afraid so. Car resto is never straight forward and panel shops usually never get things done in the time they say. That's how it is. Something almost always gets in the way, and they never just exclusively work on one car at a time, unless you were paying them very big bucks or were rich and famous.

Accually I was joking. I want it done right and am willing to wait until it is. But really...who wouldn't be impatient when a car they have wanted to restore for almost their entire life was that close to being home. It has been six weeks and I am pretty sure nothing has gotten done in that time. I just want them to be making progress. Not just giving me a bunch of excuses why they havn't gotten anything else done.

Sorry, didn't realise you were joking. I know where you're coming from. But welcome to the world of body shop repairers! Sounds like what they do down here. But I do think you have picked the right people. Honesty is everything. If i completely trusted the business to do a good job, look after my car, not let things go missing or get lost and not scam the hours or final price (all of which happens with at least 1 in 3 panel shops where i am from) then i would not mind waiting a little but longer. I think the long distance between you and them doesn't help much though. I am sure they know this and may have relaxed at times. Thats human nature too unfortunately, same as what i said before: paying someone in full before the job is finished.

hey guys i do all my own panel & paint & it always takes longer than expected but i hear ya a professional outfit should be making steady progress even if its slow
cheers ian