Is There An Honest Auto/Body/Painter In SoCal?

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ocdart

ocdart

Inland Mopars Car Club
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I'm just about ready to rattle-can my '69 Dart due to dishonest Auto/Body/Paint experiences.
Like everybody else I want the best job but can't afford to pay $15,000 or more for a good paint job...and I don't have the knowledge, time or location to paint it myself.
I'm now looking for a painter for the 5th time...
* Shop #1 - Small "old school" painter who quoted me a really good price and did some exceptional work from what I had seen. I paid him for my paint, but then had to wait about a year (my fault, not his) to get the car ready for paint. When ready I went to his shop only to find it closed, he was gone with my paint. Never heard a word from him.
* Shop #2 - Met a painter at a car show in the Palm Springs area who did outstanding work and had just opened his own shop. Got a tour of his shop and a decent quote for the work I wanted done. Scheduled to take my Dart in to his shop in about six months when he would have an opening. When time to take it in I tried calling but no answer. Drove down to his shop, doors locked but saw stuff inside through the windows. Called and finally got an answer. He'd moved out of state due to some funky regulations he was complaining about. At least I wasn't out any money.
* Shop #3 - Recommended by one of my car club buddies and I'd seen the type of work he'd done on several cars. He was in process of buying the shop he was working at and I was going to be his first customer. My Dart was in his shop for just over one year. He never finished the body work and wouldn't give me a completion date. Turned out he was way over his head and didn't have a clue on how to manage a business. I pulled my car out of his shop about two weeks before he went out of business.
* Shop #4 - Again, recommended by several. My Dart has now been there just over one year and now he tells me he's throwing in the towel because he's buried with all of the guaranteed insurance collision work that's coming in. He fixed all of the bad body work done by shop #3 but there's still a little bit more to finish up. He claims he has somebody that will finish my Dart for what I still owe him (shop #4) for the finished job - but I've never met this guy and don't know anything about his work.

So far, I'm out about $6000 over the four shops and still don't have a car with completely finished bodywork. I've got the remaining budget from what Shop #4 wanted for the work to finish the body work and paint with base/clear, and don't want to have to pay a penny more.
This has taken just about all the fun out of my dream Dart build.
 
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What's the rest of your budget? And what repair work is left... rust, dents and dings, final straightening?
 
ocdart said:
I'm just about ready to rattle-can my '69 Dart due to dishonest Auto/Body/Paint experiences.
Like everybody else I want the best job but can't afford to pay $15,000 or more for a good paint job...and I don't have the knowledge, time or location to paint it myself.
I'm now looking for a painter for the 5th time...
* Shop #1 - Small "old school" painter who quoted me a really good price and did some exceptional work from what I had seen. I paid him for my paint, but then had to wait about a year (my fault, not his) to get the car ready for paint. When ready I went to his shop only to find it closed, he was gone with my paint. Never heard a word from him.
* Shop #2 - Met a painter at a car show in the Palm Springs area who did outstanding work and had just opened his own shop. Got a tour of his shop and a decent quote for the work I wanted done. Scheduled to take my Dart in to his shop in about six months when he would have an opening. When time to take it in I tried calling but no answer. Drove down to his shop, doors locked but saw stuff inside through the windows. Called and finally got an answer. He'd moved out of state due to some funky regulations he was complaining about. At least I wasn't out any money.
* Shop #3 - Recommended by one of my car club buddies and I'd seen the type of work he'd done on several cars. He was in process of buying the shop he was working at and I was going to be his first customer. My Dart was in his shop for just over one year. He never finished the body work and wouldn't give me a completion date. Turned out he was way over his head and didn't have a clue on how to manage a business. I pulled my car out of his shop about two weeks before he went out of business.
* Shop #4 - Again, recommended by several. My Dart has now been there just over one year and now he tells me he's throwing in the towel because he's buried with all of the guaranteed insurance collision work that's coming in. He fixed all of the bad body work done by shop #3 but there's still a little bit more to finish up. He claims he has somebody that will finish my Dart for what I still owe him (shop #4) for the finished job - but I've never met this guy and don't know anything about his work.

So far, I'm out about $6000 over the four shops and still don't have a car with completely finished bodywork. I've got the remaining budget from what Shop #4 wanted for the complete job and don't want to have to pay a penny more.
This has taken just about all the fun out of my dream Dart build.
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Wow,...! I’m basically going through a very similar situation her in South Carolina.

90% epoxy primes and three years.

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You say “Like everybody else I want the best job but can't afford to pay $15,000 or more for a good paint job...”
So, do you want the BEST job, or do you want A GOOD PAINT JOB (using your words)? A jump from “good” to “best” can be huge, just like the amount of extra time and expense it takes one of us to turn a 14 second car into a 13 second car. It’s not incremental, it’s more logarithmic.
The shop I work at does not work on older cars, but when we get a car that’s been keyed, let’s say, that needs a complete refinish, consider this. A few hours of sanding and feathering out scratches and painting the whole car with PPG would run about $5000 to $7000 depending on the size or the car and number of doors. Customer gets a lifetime warranty and they look great. Is it an Oakland Roadster Show quality, or, like you say, “BEST” job? Honestly, no. It has light peel in the clear coat, just like a factory finish does. If you look real hard, you might find a couple flaws. Would I be proud to have this result on my car? Hell yea!
What exactly are your expectations? I gotta think there’s a good handful of shops in SoCal capable of giving you a really good job that have a successful track record and maybe some good Yelp scores down there.
 
ocdart said:
I'm just about ready to rattle-can my '69 Dart due to dishonest Auto/Body/Paint experiences.
Like everybody else I want the best job but can't afford to pay $15,000 or more for a good paint job...and I don't have the knowledge, time or location to paint it myself.
I'm now looking for a painter for the 5th time...
* Shop #1 - Small "old school" painter who quoted me a really good price and did some exceptional work from what I had seen. I paid him for my paint, but then had to wait about a year (my fault, not his) to get the car ready for paint. When ready I went to his shop only to find it closed, he was gone with my paint. Never heard a word from him.
* Shop #2 - Met a painter at a car show in the Palm Springs area who did outstanding work and had just opened his own shop. Got a tour of his shop and a decent quote for the work I wanted done. Scheduled to take my Dart in to his shop in about six months when he would have an opening. When time to take it in I tried calling but no answer. Drove down to his shop, doors locked but saw stuff inside through the windows. Called and finally got an answer. He'd moved out of state due to some funky regulations he was complaining about. At least I wasn't out any money.
* Shop #3 - Recommended by one of my car club buddies and I'd seen the type of work he'd done on several cars. He was in process of buying the shop he was working at and I was going to be his first customer. My Dart was in his shop for just over one year. He never finished the body work and wouldn't give me a completion date. Turned out he was way over his head and didn't have a clue on how to manage a business. I pulled my car out of his shop about two weeks before he went out of business.
* Shop #4 - Again, recommended by several. My Dart has now been there just over one year and now he tells me he's throwing in the towel because he's buried with all of the guaranteed insurance collision work that's coming in. He fixed all of the bad body work done by shop #3 but there's still a little bit more to finish up. He claims he has somebody that will finish my Dart for what I still owe him (shop #4) for the finished job - but I've never met this guy and don't know anything about his work.

So far, I'm out about $6000 over the four shops and still don't have a car with completely finished bodywork. I've got the remaining budget from what Shop #4 wanted for the complete job and don't want to have to pay a penny more.
This has taken just about all the fun out of my dream Dart build.
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I'm sure there are honest shops in your area. Affording one seems to be your obstacle.
 
Just to clarify, what I mean by "honest" is someone who will live up to their word.
I'm "old school" enough that when I shake someone's hand, then that is as good as a contract and I expect the other person to live up to their word and their promise. Not look me in the eye and continually "promise" me it will only be another two months.
 
ocdart said:
Just to clarify, what I mean by "honest" is someone who will live up to their word.
I'm "old school" enough that when I shake someone's hand, then that is as good as a contract and I expect the other person to live up to their word and their promise. Not look me in the eye and continually "promise" me it will only be another two months.
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OK. #1 screwed you. I don't see 2,3 and 4 being dishonest. You make no references to any promises.
 
Bodyperson said:
OK. #1 screwed you. I don't see 2,3 and 4 being dishonest. You make no references to any promises.
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I didn't want to draw the initial post out any further than I already did.
#3 made multiple promises about completion dates for various steps in the process and also regarding the final completion date. Then refused to give me a completion date at all after my car being at his shop for over a year. My car was #1 in line after he took over the shop and was initially promised to be done in three months.
#4 took over the work and initially promised, in writing, that it would be completed in four months. The initially promised completion date was the end of April 2018.
 
ocdart said:
I didn't want to draw the initial post out any further than I already did.
#3 made multiple promises about completion dates for various steps in the process and also regarding the final completion date. Then refused to give me a completion date at all after my car being at his shop for over a year. My car was #1 in line after he took over the shop and was initially promised to be done in three months.
#4 took over the work and initially promised, in writing, that it would be completed in four months. The initially promised completion date was the end of April 2018.
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That certainly is disheartening. Good luck and don't give up. Posting here was a good Idea.
 
If shop #4 is correct and not BS’ing you, it shouldn’t take more than a day to block the side, unless the bodywork ain’t right.
Wouldn’t it worth checking out the guy he’s recommending to finish it? I sure as hell would. Or would you rather look for an new line to stand in?
 
Yeah, I plan to check him out - if Shop #4 will ever provide contact info for him. I've asked twice with no results.
I've also heard some shady stuff about him from others...like he'll quote a price but then hit you up with "I wasn't expecting what I found" and "It's gonna cost a bit more..."
Supposedly, he's been to Shop #4 and they've gone over the car to see what's necessary to finish it, but I've run into all sorts of cheap talk from Shop #4 to date. After a while you start to lose trust in what you're told.
 
I'm painting my 67 fastback, because I have very few shops within 100 miles. The shops I have talked to will not put their name on a less than show quality job. $$$$
 
I find it hard to believe a reputable shop would stake their reputation at this point. I wouldn't. I need to be in control of every step to feel good about applying $4000 worth of paint on a car with my name on it.
 
fishmens67 said:
I'm painting my 67 fastback, because I have very few shops within 100 miles. The shops I have talked to will not put their name on a less than show quality job. $$$$
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I'm thinking about it too, maybe even renting a spray booth.
 
Car Nut said:
I remember back in the day, they would paint anything left on the car, door handles, trim, etc, etc.
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That may be true. I heard the same thing. Need to pull them yourself. If you could do all of the prep work, they should be able to lay out a good paint job. Painting is easy. Especially if you do it every day. Even a Cave Man can do it. LOL
 
Sorry to hear another body shop horror. I had an issue back when I was working on my 66. Took my car back after multiple **** ups. Ended up painting it myself. Was worth it to do myself in the end.

I hope you can find a decent shop.
 
It does sound like maybe you've run into some bad luck and I am sorry for that, but you touch on something I want to bring up and see how everyone feels about it. And before I get goin here, this is nothing personal, so don't take it that way.

I am sure there are reputable shops in your area. Not saying you're not reputable......I don't know another way to put this, but how many honest customers are there out there? I mean, everybody wants a show quality paint job, tune up, engine, transmission or "whatever" kind of job on their car, but no one wants to pay the going rate. EVER.

Every single day at work I get "is that the best you can do?" And I mean on everything from a can of paint to a reman engine. No one in this hobby or business wants to pay the going rate. No one. It's as if everyone thinks mechanics, body guys and parts people should "take one for the team" simply because they think "that's how it should be". It's no wonder automotive businesses are going out left and right.

Do you have any idea how much money in materials it takes to do even a good quality driver job? I know you said you have money in paint. How much was it a gallon? 300 bucks? More? I've seen it as high as 1200 a gallon and more. Plus, prep materials aren't cheap. Not to mention paid labor and all the overhead involved with running a shop. How much do you think the electric bill is at a moderately sized body shop? 100 bucks a month?

Then, there's all of the taxes and fees they have to pay to the money grubbing local government entities and all of the fake EPA crap. Now, I'm not bein a smartass here, really. Honestly, how do you expect a body shop or any other automotive operation to stay in business just because you "want a good deal"? Or, do you even care about that?

It pisses me off to no end to hear people asking for a "good discount" and then see them drive away in their Escalade. Nobody seems to care about what happens to business. Just that they get a good deal. Let me pose this question. When you go grocery shopping, when you get to the checkout, can you negotiate the "best price"? Then why is it that everyone under the sun always, always expects people in the automotive industry......no matter WHAT part of the spectrum to drop prices or do the same quality work for a lesser price? I've never understood that.

Like I said, I'm not bein a smartass, just pointing out a fact that I've seen all my life and I think others will agree.
 
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