[Tim Greer]

Well, the car is in worse condition than I thought. I found chips showing rust underneath, and the paint came right off when I flicked it with my finger. I found another area that was down to the base primer and just ran my fingernail against it lightly to feel how deep it was, and more paint just came right off as I ran my nail over it. I have 227 images I've taken showing all of the problems and I have a list of all of the issues with the running of the car.

I'm going to spend the next hour or two compiling a big, detailed list and getting the images uploaded all onto a web page outlining the issues (I'll post a link here for people to see what I'm talking about). Following that, I'll email the body shop with the link encouraging them to read it. I'll then call him (from another phone line, so he doesn't know it's me, or else he won't answer or ever call me back) telling him to check his email.

I'll then let him know my intention and that I'll be filing a report with the California Bureau of Automotive Repair (where their license is currently in a delinquent state), and that I will file in small claims court for the max ($5K, I believe), because it's going to cost that much to have it done right and fix what these crooks tried to pull off. I'll also print an entire hard copy of the page and snail mail it to them.

At this point, for the steps to resolve the paint issue, it's no longer going to just be a prep and repaint, but to actually strip it down to the metal because they painted over rust. I found a lot of major runs and some holes (yes, holes). This car had only a few small rust areas on it, and it makes me really uneasy to see that they just sprayed paint over an area where the rust is flaking off. I'm so angry, but I'll do everything by the book and ensure I have a solid case (which I am sure I do).