Hi there all need some help from and advice from you guys.

Put a car in to a garage to have a complete bare metal paint job which inc some panel work.

I have no written quote only a Verbal contract on what needs to be done and the total cost £10k !! 300 hrs @ £30.00 + material.

Any way the job has dragged on, they have had it Since Dec 06 and cannot give me a time scale but when I asked will it be done for X-mass they said Maybe “is that a problem they said” I said yes !

That was 2 weeks ago and he offered to give me the car back I will do you a quote for what we have done so far.

2 weeks on no phone call so I had to call them today, He said they have done 170 hrs on it and want £5,100 of me.

My question is where do I stand I have not viewed the car yet but know it is now where ready to be painted and when asked what they have done they say lots but I know not 170 hrs

I have nothing in writing I have not given them a to do list only verbal and vice-versa.

They have me over a barrel

What can I do !!

 

for a start what car was it you plan on spending 10k on

it must be in a bit of a state i guess? Maby let them do the work then tell them where to go!

 

No you dont have to pay as they have not done your job you requested

A CASE LONG TIME AGO
A PERSON BROUTH A CARPET WITH FREE FITTING THE CARPET WERE DROPPED OF NOT FITTED WAS GOING TO COME BACK AFTER THE WEEKEND TO FIT
THE CARPET WERE STOLEN

BECAUSE THEY WERE NOT FITTED IT WENT TO COURT AND DIDNT HAVE TO PAY AS WERE MEANT TO BE FITTED !!

 

tbh you have nothing that could prove they have spent that amount of time on it,you only have the progress on the car to look at.

£10k is a lot, what car is it.

 

how on earth can any one charge 10k to do a car id charge around 6k for a bare metal paint

 

TBH there is a fair bit of prep work, some minor welding, fitting new front wings ( Bolt on)

The car was sent there bare IE dash seats all glass out door locks.

The car is a Ferrari

 

i couldnt give a fuck what type of car it is iv worked on ferraris and 10k is taking the fucking piss

 

this is how id work it. 10K seems alot, id push them on to get the work done. Once complete tell them to fuck themselves. They only have the shell. Then someone you knows accidentally spots it and ask who owns it, they tell the story, this person offers an amount to take it off there hands(to cover the labour thats been used) maby 3K??? and somehow it gets back to you. Won't be worth nothing to them especially if they don't have the documents.

 

I'm finding a cheaper tuner!!!

 

This was from one company

I also had a guy quote me £4,500 but he wanted me to point out the bad bits with a marker pen

So what now ?

A: Bend over and take it pay the £5100 and take it some where else
B: leave it with them and hope they do a good job
or C: ?????????????????

 

C: f355 kit on an MR2.

 

after having problems with my engine conversion 'specialist' i checked up with trading standards and you can remove your car at any time but you do have to pay for all work done up to that point.if you take it back and refuse to pay then he can call the police and they will stop you from removing it.deciding on how much should be paid is another matter altogether but as long as you are offering to pay something the police wont stop you and it then becomes a civil court matter to sort out the value of work done. or you could just turn up mob handed unannounced and take it back forcefully

 

Not a shell
Engine box £3k worth of Leda Suspeshion £££££ in all new parts disks pads wheel bearings.

Not a option

 

That is what i thought pay up the £5100 and take it away. My point is i dont think they have done £5100 worth of work maybe 1/2 of that at the most

Going Up to see them this week to sort this out just would like to know if any one else has had problmes like this.

bigchez do i know you ?

 

go down to take it back with the amount you think its worth and if he calls the police they wont stop you as you are not refusing to pay just disputing the amount or you could always report it stolen the give the police an 'annonomous' tip off about its whereabouts and deny ever taking it there in the first place as like you said there is nothing on paper just verbal agreements.then heartily laugh as not only do you get your car back free but the garage owner gets carted off to the cells when i had my problems with my engine conversion the trading standards people advised me that although they agreed with me about my problems it would be better to bare with it and try to resolve it ammicably. they offered to send an official complaint letter to the garage owner on my behalf and advised me to note all conversations and correspondance for any possible court case but i gave them the benefit of the doubt and didnt make it official and ended up getting my car back finished the next week anyway only 4 months late. the time quoted by your garage is not a reasonable time scale for the work being done

 

not really mate, had my S2 in yours a few times. I shouldn't really take the piss over summat that's obv bothering you. Sorry for that, but really beyond going down mob handed I don't know what to suggest.

 

Thanks for that but we are PJ Engineering not PJ Motorsport

 

OOHH - I assumed by location you were one and the same.

 

Can't you ask them to break down the hours worked on it and see what they come up with? Surely if they quoted 300 man hours to begin and were confident it would be 300 hours then they should have an idea of what needed doing. Try and tally up the hours. (Make sure they havent taken 70 hours bolting on a wing!!! ). Then take the broken down times to somewhere you trust and see if the hours match with how long it should take.

Chris

 

what Ferrari is it?

sorry, i have no legal advice hope you get something sorted in your favour though!

 

Court it should be remembered is expensive. Always try to resolve in other ways first if possible. If not, as below.

I would suggest that if this went to court, any judge would look at what is reasonable.

1. what work have they completed. How long should that work have reasonably taken.

2. How long should that work have reasonably taken to carry out.

In order to take them to court you have to establish a loss. In this case, if they have taken too long to carry out the works, it may be the cost of hiring a car for example whilst the works were done. This would only apply to the extra time.

Absolutley insist on a breakdown of the time and parts that have been spent on the car. If they do not provide this to a reasonable standard, the court will crucify them.

The threat of the above may be enough for them to find a more reasonable figure.

JJ

 

Dont just insist on a breakdown of the work done, insist on a breakdown of work remaining too.

If they are charging you 170hours, that means they are MORE THAN half way through the job, they need to prove that is the case.

Also if there are only 130 hours left to do, surely that should make it relatively easy for them to fit in now?

 

sorry.. was being thick.. never actually read it properly ha ha