Polishing time

[Damian]

Curious approximately how many hours it might take a competent autorepair tech to machine polish a small 2 door coupe. Overall length of vehicle is 14.5 feet, width is about 5.5 feet, and height of passenger compartment is about 5 feet.

Actually, polishing is one of the least of my concerns. Almost every body panel is now rusting after less than a year, and the entire left side is out of alignment after shop welded on a rear quarter panel, from B pillar all the way back. Vehicle examiner and 2 restoratrion shops say there are so many problems with the paint and bodywork, that I need to start over from scratch. $27,000 down the drain and the shop doesn't want to honor it's warranty.

This is going to get interesting.

[Robert]

Sounds like you need a lawyer more than you need a polisher, but it should be about three hours max.

It could be sanded lightly and buffed in four or five hours. Even that doesn't sound to me like it would fix what you need taken care of.

Take Care,
Robert

[Damian]

3 hours.... Try 15 @ $45/ hour, just for the polishing!


And I totally agree with your other suggestion, in addition to lousy work, there appears to be a number of Consumer Fraud violations, along with a breach of contract (he got mad and threw me out of his shop when I complained about the quality of work and the lack of advanced written estimates, as originally promised to me)


Thanks much, Damian

[Len]

I'd have a lawyer contact the shop via Certified Mail and then by phone to ask if they would consider repairing the listed problems. If the shop refuses or doesn't answer then you may need the lawyer to press the issure however you may not have much to go on if you have nothing in writing.

[Damian]

Thanks Len, the ball is already rolling.... Have a contract, along with extensive e-mail correspondence with the shop, 100's of photos, etc... Tried to be diplomatic and mediate a resolution with state Attorney General. Didn't work. Shop blamed me for all the problems, saying I approved all the repairs, gave him worn out parts to work with, didn't listen to his 'professional' advice, therefore no warranty.

Then came the character assasination, responding to the Attorney General that I'm a delusional, paranoid, obsessive compulsive, sue happy, demanding control freak who has been thrown out of every shop in town. First time those particular words have ever been used to describe me. I take that back, I have been called demanding before. Oh, and according to him, I threatened to burn his shop down.

No, this shop will not be touching my car ever again.

[Phil V]

I wish I could be present when you take your car to another bodyshop to have it repaired, where you explain to the shop owner whats gone on so far and what you expect as an end result. 9 out of 10 shops will politely tell you that they are too busy to take the job on and send you to one of their competitiors (chuckling to themselves after you leave the shop). Or they will grasp some ridiculous price out of the air and tell you thats what its going to cost to straighten the mess out. And them hoping the cost will scare you away and if you're not scared away then they'll take the job on with the idea of making a huge profit. Don't take this as an insult but there is absolutely no way I would take your car repair on. Its obvious there is no possible way that any ending is going to come out positive for anyone involved. Good luck ! P.S. - I have 35 years full time professional experience in the autobody/paint repair business.

[Damian]

Won't take your opinion as an insult.

I have already run into your described scenario a number times since I got my car back, mainly from high volume- production bodyshops whose focus is on accident repair/ insurance work. Either they don't want to work on the car, or they try to pass me off to somebody else. It started to get discouraging, but I am persistent, that is for sure.

I did my research, and found a number of restoration shops in the area whose main focus is classic/ collector/ hot rod vehicles. Visited these shop, checked out their facilities, talked to the owners, etc...

They have quite a different attitude/ response, compared to first group of bodyshops I visited. Owners (who know the history of my vehicle) who are excited about possibly working on it, upfront and straight with me regarding possible costs, and who give a damn about good craftmanship. No laughing at me or trying to pass me off to somebody else.

Please don't misunderstand me, I'm not saying that bodyshops which specialize in insurance work/ accident repair aren't open and honest, or do poor quality work. Not saying that at all. But, of the 15 shops I've visited, I did notice a big difference in attitude between those which specialize in restorations and those which specialize in accident repair.

Can't worry about restoration shops at moment, the main focus is first getting my $$ back; like I said I'm persistent. May take a while, but I'm young.