paint job gone wrong

a friend of a friend had a 240sx painted at a local shop in houston. they wanted the car painted g35 black. the guy was reffered to a small shop in houston. during the time the car was at the shop, they decided to stop by and check up on the car. the car was painted and was very "wavy." the problem is, the shop declared the car finished. for $5500 to $6k, id need a show car quality job. something thatd pass the "bible test" (read a page of the small print of a bible, reflected through the paint.) the friend has contacted a lawyer. the shop brought up the issue of a signed invoice, but the defendant has no copy of one.

my only advice so far was to threaten to call the BBB. but since the shop is already aware that a lawyer is involved and is awaiting a court date, the threat of contacting the BBB probably wont shake em up that much more.

what course of action does the defendant have now? or do i need more info on the situation? does anyone know of a body shop guy who can help or give advice? i really want to help this guy out.

How did he pay for the work? If he used a credit card, he can have the charge reversed through his card company, and dispute the quality of the work this way. I've done this more than once.

If he paid cash, he's probably screwed, unless he wants to blow even more money on a lawsuit. Never pay cash for things like that.

He paid $6k to have a 240SX repainted? ::Blink:: That seems like, er, a lot, but nevertheless the guy deserved to have it done correctly. I agree, for that kind of money it ought to pass the "Bible test." Whether he wins the lawsuit is gonna depend on what kind of results the shop promised and whether he can prove they didn't deliver. Good luck to him. It sounds like an uphill battle.

S.

thanks for the help guys, i bet hes watching this thread closely....

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Originally Posted by srivendel

He paid $6k to have a 240SX repainted? ::Blink::

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Yea that's a lot of pennies.....

Did he have a written estimate spelling out exactly what he was going to be getting for his money?? Otherwise it's his word vs. the shop.

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Originally Posted by BAM!

thanks for the help guys, i bet hes watching this thread closely....

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This is one of those "I have a friend" stories where the "friend" is actually you, isn't it BAM? It's OK. We've all been screwed by repair shops. Nothing to be ashamed of.

S.

my free paint > that crap. Who cares about the invoice crap, the lawyer can eat this dude's lunch. Something is not right here.

I wouldn't mind seeing some pics of the screwed up paint job if your "friend" has any.

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Originally Posted by mr brg

my free paint > that crap. Who cares about the invoice crap, the lawyer can eat this dude's lunch. Something is not right here.

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Ya don't think the body shop will have a lawyer on retainer do ya??

6K sounds about right for a quality paint job done right by a professional shop.

After I had my old civic painted (cheap job) I thought that the paint didn't look as it should, and had to be color sanded, buffed, and waxed. which made it look much much better and may be the case here.

But anyway, if the guy didn't like the paint job.. he shouldn't have paid for it.. and left it at the painter until it was done correctly. If he had to pay upfront then that should have been a red flag.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

Ya don't think the body shop will have a lawyer on retainer do ya??

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Well, a locally based shop, probably not. Even if he did, it doesn't sound like they have much of a defense.

its not paid for yet. i was informed that there was other work done. "fixing the electric window and other 'knick knacks'..." tack on another $5k.

$10k for misc work and a paint job gone wrong. i say sick the lawyers on the guy and go to town on this. gosh i hope i never have to go through this getting a paint job....

(ok no jokes about my paint) (hehehe, laughing already)

I have a compressor and an HVLP gun if you want to try doing one your self

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Originally Posted by BAM!

its not paid for yet. i was informed that there was other work done. "fixing the electric window and other 'knick knacks'..." tack on another $5k.

$10k for misc work and a paint job gone wrong.

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How in the world do you get $5K of additional adders along with an bad $5K paint job. All this for $10K no way anyone can be this stupid, I call ::BS::.

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Originally Posted by POS Racing

All this for $10K no way anyone can be this stupid, I call ::BS::.

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+1

Especially on a 240SX. :albino: You could buy a nice car for $10k + whatever he paid for the 240.

S.

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Originally Posted by BAM!

$10k for misc work and a paint job gone wrong. i say sick the lawyers on the guy and go to town on this.

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If he agreed to pay $10k for it, then the lawyers won't be able to help much. The law doesn't protect you from your own stupidity. ::Paul::

S.

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Originally Posted by srivendel

If he agreed to pay $10k for it, then the lawyers won't be able to help much. The law doesn't protect you from your own stupidity. ::Paul::

S.

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So this guy went into the deal without expecting an acceptable quality of work?

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Originally Posted by srivendel

If he agreed to pay $10k for it, then the lawyers won't be able to help much. The law doesn't protect you from your own stupidity. ::Paul::

S.

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Exactly.

This sort of thing happens all the time. That's why I encourage you young 'uns again to ALWAYS USE A CREDIT CARD FOR LARGE PURCHASES. Even if you can afford to pay cash for it - use the credit card, then turn around and mail a check for the amount to your credit card company. When you pay cash and get bad work, you're typically screwed. If you use a card and get bad work, you have the charge reversed, and then it is typically up to the merchant to complete the work to your satisfaction before the card company will release a dime to them. This encourages "morally challenged" vendors to do a good job, since they won't get paid until they do.

If a shop only takes cash, there's typically a reason. Unless you can afford to write it off if it goes bad, don't do business with a merchant like that.

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Originally Posted by mr brg

So this guy went into the deal without expecting an acceptable quality of work?

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No, but unless his "expectations" are written down somewhere, it will become a fact question for a judge or jury to determine whether the buyer received what he bargained-for. How is a jury supposed to determine what that means? Maybe expert testimony, but that gets expensive in a hurry. If it's handled in small claims court, then it becomes the shop saying "nuh-uh" versus the buyer saying "uh-huh." Who wins? Who knows?

I'm not saying the shop didn't screw this guy, but you're delusional if you think that courts exist to enforce some general societal norm called "fairness." They exist (in this context) to enforce contracts. The buyer will have to prove that he contracted to purchase a "perfect" paint job. Thus far, I can't see that he has any evidence.

Do I think it sucks? Hell yes. It's terribly unfair, but we all agree on that part.

S.

the cars still at the shop. its not paid for. he did ask for the other stuff to get done, there just wasnt a quote for all that. the quote was only for the paint. they just pulled a figure out of the air to charge for the misc things, and stuck it to him. man, ill prolly never go to houston for a paint job!

he just wants to get his car back now. hell, id feel the same! but on the pther hand they want like, 10k....