Your car builder rapes you...what would you do?

[GRB]

Figuring this will be more muscle car oriented that lounge talk I'm guessing it goes here.

Let's say your highly trusted and highly regarded engine builder/automotive shop just absolutely took you to the cleaners and didn't even clean your nasty cloths? What would you do?

Let's say you gave this company several years, $75+ thousand dollars (not including some exotic parts you paid for out of pocket) and numerous chances to make your car drive-able. Yet they failed every time.

Let's say the first time your car was finally ready you were "informed" that you would be running $6 a gallon race gas from now on. And at that time you are shown where the tunnel in your car has been cut and hacked to make room for a needless but custom made, by them of course, part. This little hack job means water can run onto the engine from outside sources and engine fumes will enter the passenger compartment. Lots of them!

Let's say your car was left outside (w/o your knowledge) during the day and night and of course acquired the requisite scratches and sun damage.

What if after 3 attempts your speedometer, gas gauge, fan switch, rear defroster and parking brake, among other things, still did not work. You were told every single time to pick the car up because it war "ready".

What if this car got you stranded more than once? What if it stalled on you 10 times trying to get home from a car show that was 25 miles from your house? Once in the middle of one of the busiest intersections in the Southeast!! There might have been a trucker behind you that threatened to kill you too!

What if after his final attempt to "make your car normal" you were given a phony dyno sheet. And, on this final attempt you barely make it home with this ill-running horribly failed attempt at building a one-of-a-kind highly collectible muscle car.
Now, let's put the icing on the cake. What would you do if this fine upstanding citizen would not give you one single invoice for anything he did? No mfgs. warranty info, cam card, no paid invoice...nothing. Not one single invoice for parts or labor.

What would you do?

[Charley Lillard]

Hire a Attorney...

[GRB]

That's a given. An atty with automotive knowledge? That might be helpful in a complicated case like this.

[47Hammer]

Was a repair order written for this work? And was it signed by the customer(you)or ok'd each time they did work and charged you more money, proving you gave the go ahead. That sucks.

[SSJunkie68-69]

In addition to hiring an attorney ( see Bryan Shook a member here) I would also contact your local Consumer Affairs office that your local government should have as well as the Better Business Bureau and file a complaint. You might find that this business has done this to others too and then it can get real interesting.

Always ask for references and examples of the shops work before you engage them so you can see for yourself if you have never worked with them before.

[YENKO DEUCE REGISTRY]

Bruce Shaw Esq. has been handling cases like this all of the time. 215-657-2377.

[king_midas]

That's a horrible story, but sounds par for the course within the hobby in its present state. Vampires, low-class schiesters, good 'ol boys everywhere. Craig Jackson is the devil, wringing his hands and counting his gold with greed in his eyes the whole time-- I'm surprised Rumsfeld wasn't on stage with him.

First off, what is the duration (in time) between when you took the car from them, and now (i.e.: Recognition of all the problems)? If it has been a while, you're screwed. This is because the shop will say that "It was fine when he took the car-- I don't know what tinkering he did, but we're professionals, and when he took delivery of the car, it ran like a top." Also, regarding the engine (compression, cam), you're also screwed, because it's reasonable to assume they built what you wanted. No engine specs for them in writing means you got what you asked for.... And, if all of your mechanical issues are due to 13:1 compression and a wild cam, forget recovering damages-- Get yourself some new pistons and a cam, and be done with it. Refer to the previous as to why.

If it's recent, your problem is going to be this-- If you didn't have anything in writing, it would be verbal contracts for all of the work. In such, the contract has been executed by both parties-- The shop performed the work, and you paid for it. At best, hire an attorney, and the shop will have to make you "whole" regarding the mechanicals that are non-operable; because it's a car, it must be safe, and perform normally under the guidelines of fitment of use in the operation of a motor vehicle.

Let's say you do get run over by the trucker in the intersection. If it can be proven that it is due to a mechanical failure that is the fault of the shop, and you have documentation that the shop did the fix and that you've informed them (in writing this time...!) of the problem previous to the squishing by the truck, they are liable. Document all known problems, and have your attorney let the shop know that the car is coming back, and it's not leaving until you're to receive what you contracted and paid for. Also, there are legal limits as to how long a shop can sit on your car-- Unless you don't (or didn't) pay for the work, a shop cannot have your car for an undetermined amount of time. In other words, these guys may take the car in, and choose not to do the work because they're pissed-- That is illegal. They must finish the work in a reasonable amount of time.

The other stuff (scratches, sun damage, bad/ugly fabrication) you're going to take it in the butt on, unfortunately. In such, the only thing you can do on that is build your own website, and tell other people not to go to that shop. You've been burned by bad businesspeople-- Learn and move on, and you can hope that karma catches up to them.

You know what they say about free legal advice...

Good luck.

[ORIGLS6]

"What would you do? "

Get rid of all the new, technology-bound, gizmo-ladened vehicles and replace them with 60s & 70s REAL musclecars!

Of course, that's just my opinion.

[PeteLeathersac]

Sad tale no doubt...best of luck with whatever way things go! .
How'd this group become become the "highly trusted and highly regarded engine builder/automotive shop" to begin with? .

~ Pete

[BUIZILLA]

In Fla., the Dept of Agriculture (don't laugh) is responsible for garage keepers proficiency, legalities and consumer complaints. They have an EXTREMELY solid program here. When they bite, it leaves huge marks in the garage owners ass, up to and including shutting them down immediately, without notice, for even one single case like this, I've personally seen them do it. Find the same agency in GA, and you'll be amazed at the results, if GA operates like Fla does. When I was the Past President of the Fla Automotive Industry Assoc., we were directly responsible for this legislation.

JH