Bad experience with person repairing car.

D

DreamNshadow

New member
The car that was repaired was a 2005 Titanium Grey Metallic Miata. The car was hit by a deer in the rear quarter panel so the person I call was someone who would go to my house and repair the car. I wanted it done with paintless dent removal tools but he tells me then only way he can fix my car was pull out the dent (holes) and repaint the panel for 450$. Being desperate, I agreed.



A week later, car is done, so much orange peel! Also, if I look at a certain angle, I can see the outline of the bondo! Is this normal? He tells me that he will buff the paint. I don't think this will get it out. He didn't even put back some of the bolts of the inner panel. I've called him and he's saying he's always busy and that I shouldn't rush him because the buffing he's doing is voluntary! He told me the first day he promises that the panel will look like the rest of the car, and now he's saying I'm lucky he's doing the buffing work for free?!



I've already paid him the first day in cash, and there was no paper work, only witnesses. I know, I know... I'm stupid. Is there anything I can do that will fix this? Any help will be greatly appreciated... I'll try to take pics later...
 
DreamNshadow said:
Is there anything I can do that will fix this?
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Not unless you know someone that's good at convincing others to do things if you know what I mean. About the only recourse you really have is to make sure you tell every possible soul you know how bad of a ripoff artist he is.
 
I'm sorry to say that unless you know someone paying up front is just a bad idea. The main reason somebody wants to be compensated up front is to cover the cost of materials. Often this means that the person's credit isn't good enough to get the materials on a signature. Reputable body shops do this all day long and pay the bill every couple of weeks or monthly. This of course doesn't mean the person isn't capable of doing quality work but it's a red light. In a situation like this the materials would be roughly 25% of the total (body work is all about labor). When working on the low down only pay for the materials up front. Unfortunately he has your money and without a contract there's not a thing you can do other than go through legal remedies it probably isn't worth this unless it's a matter of principals. I'm sure you already know this but if you can tell where the Bondo is no buffer will save the job, period. A good body shop may have cost you twice as much but then you get what you pay for. Lesson learned the cheapest bidder often spells trouble. Sorry.
 
Yeah, I guess this is ANOTHER expensive mistake for me (i'm 21). I really love this car, which is why I'm so bummed now. I'll try to make the best of it. :aww:



The guy was supposed to be at my house to buff the paint this morning, but of course didn't show up. Just curious though, could I do this myself?



Picture_207.jpg
 
wow tha looks likw spray paint . . . .



450 for dent repair and panal blending is awefully cheap . . .



if that was my car i would take it to a professional body shop with a good rep, and not feel to bad about paying some more cash to get it done right, or at least have them give you another oppinion.



as far as the idiot that repainted your car, if he is holding a legetimate buisness, send a complaint to the better buisness bureau . . . .
 
The thing is, I thought that if I could afford it, might as well just pay for it myself so my insurance wouldn't go up. Would it be too late to go to the insurance now?



I still have pictures of the damage if insurance needs to see it I guess.
 
fdizzle said:
as far as the idiot that repainted your car, if he is holding a legetimate buisness, send a complaint to the better buisness bureau . . . .
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That only works if they're a member of the BBB.



Since most of the end results show the owner re-doing the work somewhere else, he might wanna give wetsanding the top clear a try first.
 
Here is how to repair it.... find a good body shop and tell them your story. Maybe someone will feel sorry for you and cut you a deal. You gambled and lost. Sorry but this was a cheap lesson.
 
Wow, looks like crap. I don't think you have any hope except to redo it.



fdizzle said:
wow tha looks likw spray paint .

450 for dent repair and panal blending is awefully cheap . . .
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Is it? A deer comitted suicide on my drivers side front fender on my old car about 2 years ago. I bought a fender off ebay, took it to the body shop and had it primed and everything that would be on the inside painted and clear coated, and then brought it home, installed it myself, and took it back and they painted, cleared and blended the outside.



They did an incredible job, less orange peel than any other panel, paint match was exact. And they were extremely kind (even buffed the oxidation out of my headlights). the paint only cost me ~300 if I remember correctly, and the fender was 35 bucks (lol).



www.draddy.org/Taurus/taurus.JPG (sorry, only picture I have of that side)



It can be done, but go somewhere people recomend...I wouldn't have called a guy that does house calls... and as soon as he said he was going to drill it I would have told him to leave. and when he said 450 I would have shot him.



look into doing it the way I did it.... it really was an easy process and I was very happy with the outcome expecially price wise.. (I know a great body shop in north GA if anyone body needs one) :dance
 
I would find out if he is a member of the BBB, if so then you can file a complaint and hope he does something about it. My guess is he doesn't care. The work he did was poor, at best, and he should be ashamed to screw you over like that.



After the BBB, check with your insurance and then have a reliable shop fix it for you.



Greg
 
Thanks guys for all your help. I should have tried to get it done by paintless dent removal shops, but he told me it couldn't be done that way. Well, I guess I'll go to a better shop and maybe they can rework the bondo. I don't want to replace the whole fender because some of it is welded to the car from factory.



BTW, I saw him hammering a chizzel on the other side of the panel, is this normal or was he separating the welded metal?
 
get him back over and take pics of him doing the work on your car, then threaten to sue if he doesnt make it right or give you your money back, but get pics of him touching the car....pictures speak 1000's of words - worth a shot
 
DreamNshadow said:
Well, I guess I'll go to a better shop and maybe they can rework the bondo. I don't want to replace the whole fender because some of it is welded to the car from factory.



BTW, I saw him hammering a chizzel on the other side of the panel, is this normal or was he separating the welded metal?
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So you want job #2 to be half assed also? Go for it, 3rd time will be the charm! :xyxthumbs



You don't happen to live in the DC metro area do you? These guy have been scamming people with their mobile body shops for a long time, they go around putting business cards on cars and advertise on Craig's List.
 
So reworking the bondo by a pro is still bad? I was only worried about replacing the whole panel because a shop might not weld the fender into the car back right. Fender replacement is the way to go then huh? I would not mind wasting my 450$ learning a lesson, as long as I get my car back perfect.
 
"The bitterness of poor quality work remains long after the sweetness of low price"

Author unknown.
 
You might have to file in small claims court if he fails to rectify the shoddy work. My brother had to do just that on his truck.



How did you find this shop? Were you just looking for a low price? If so, that is the wrong approach to paint and body work. 99 times out of 100, low price means crappy work when it comes to refinishing cars.
 
Yeah, I made a big mistake trying to find the best price. I know that now.



What do you guys think I should do to get the car perfect? New fender?
 
Worry about finding a quality shop/body guy and let them make the assessment what it will take to do the job right.
 
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