Was I ripped off by autobody shop repainters? (230 mi. joyride taken)

[Jim B.]

It concerns the repainting work done on my 1995 E 420, which I just got back today from the body shop..

It was dropped off on January for a stripping to the bare metal and a color-matching repaint afterwards in Almandine red. this was of the hood roof and trunk only. The bill for this was $3,001.80. It was a self-pay job (no insurance claim was made.)

The referral came to them from a local shop that did NOT repaint whole cars, (they do only collision damage repair and painting), that said the owner used to work as a painter for years at a Toyota dealership and then opened his own shop, and was reputable and did good work. So I went there; The premises looked clean and business was brisk.

Told him I was not in a hurry but expected it done in two weeks. Heard nothing until 4:15pm when a message was left on my answering machine, on Friday Jan. 13, which was at the last second of the 2nd week, car was ready. So it was done "on time" but just by minutes. I was 60 miles away in the mountains and it was too late to get there, obviously. And the MLK 3 day holiday was just to commence.

I wondered if they would be tempted to drive places in the car while in their possession, and with this in mind, left the gas tank to the gas guzzling E420 almost empty when I dropped the car off. I did NOT write the mileage down that was showing on the odometer but zero'ed out the trip odometer

This morning a friend (an auto mechanic and tuner) drove me there in my Outback to get it. He pointed out that they did a very good job but the paint waas mis matched above the right tail light when they had repainted the trunk. This apparently was due to the right quarter panel having been repainted less than perfectly at that corner although the match to the right rear door was perfect.

When I walked outside and got in the car to drive it home, I saw the the trip odometer now had 234 miles indicated, and almost a HALF tank of fuel in it!! I did not at that time complain of this, but nothing had been mentioned to me, but I think it is VERY strong evidence that people drove around in the car when it was gone and never told me.
The mechanic that gave me a ride to the shop, said it was even very possible the car was worked on and painted elsewhere.

As it was a holiday, the bank was closed, so before I went there today I told the owner could he take a credit card, to pay in full but he said no problem write me a check and date it 2 days later and you can take the car today.

When I got home I examined the final bill, (I seem to have misplaced the original estimate) and the spaces on it for Mileage: (In) and Mileage (Out) were left BLANK. <----- uh oh. (but in fairness this was a body shop and normally only Mileage (In) would be left in.

When I got home, and put it in the garage, the mismatch above the tail light was still evident, but the trunk script, in single letters was wrongly applied:

It said 4 2 0 E, but it was supposed to conform to the 1994-95 designations, that said E 4 2 0. He said bring it back, we will fix that. (A 75 mile round trip though).


What do you guys think I ought to do? I think a joyride was taken. The trip odometer and gas gauge have never lied on this car.


I have not yet told him of my concern. (The paint mismatch by the tail light even though it is not his fault, although he never mentioned it till it was pointed out, the rest of the paintwork is decent and acceptable to me).

I wanted your input before I do anything. Or NOT do anything.

They were paid a good price for the work, and I am not completely happy with the treatment. Would YOU be? Or is this just fuss for nothing?
__________________

[chilcutt]

Hopefully no-one did a 'drive by' while behind the wheel of your ride.

[TylerH860]

You got taken. It would have been worth it to ship it here to Kansas, have my local body shop do the whole car and make it look like new for $1500, then you could have had a great drive back. You remember how nice my 300D looked?

They probably paid some Mexican to do it for $500, drove it both ways and probably the guy drove it around while he was working on it. Who knows if they actually stripped it down to bare metal like you said. A good body shop would have noticed the difference and offered to blend the panel for a bit more.

[jplinville]

Have them fix the badging, then question the owner on the mileage discrepancy. If your question isn't answered to your liking, inform them that you were planning on having them work on other vehicles in your stable and would now shop around. Also inform them that you will be discussing the issue with your attorney, then leave.

Have your mechanic check the vehicle out to make sure that nothing is wrong with it.

Don't bother talking to a lawyer, there's no proof, other than your word, that you zero'd out the tripometer. You also claimed that you had no fuel when you dropped it off, but now have half a tank. they probably didn't charge you for the added expense of the fuel.

Just walk away and vow to never do business with them again.

[jplinville]

Also, check for condoms under the seats, or other items. I had my '79 T-Bird worked on for about a month once (engine rebuild) and found that the mechanic's son had decided to use my car on a date and left a used condom in the back seat. The mechanic paid for a complete interior detailing and disinfecting of the car. He also never saw another penny from me ever again.

[Jim B.]

Actually if the answer was not credible, as regards the big discrepancy in gas gauge and trip odometer reading,

.... I was thinking about asking that they be charged 50 cents a mile for 200 miles, that was driven, (I think that is the IRS rate isn't it?), so that would be $100 off the bill, and so far as the gas that they put in, that will have been wasted driving all the way back there to have them re arrange the script letters to say E 420 and not 420E and then back home.. I think about 75 miles or more.

And then crucify them on the popular consumer website, which is, www.yelp.com where they are listed but have never been reviewed.

I would NEVER, after the script re arrangement, they will have to do, EVER AGAIN, trust them to go near the car for any reason whatsoever, regardless of anything they would say.

Mentioning that they lost my other business I could give, and threatening a lawsuit, sounds like good advice though.

[LandYaghtLover]

I would walk away. Be glad they did not get in a wreck. That is a lot of milage to put on though, one heck of a joy ride.

And you paid too much I bet. 3k would get a total repaint around here for single stage. It would also include a full interior detail and cake in the trunk with a thank you note!

[Solid Snake]

Originally Posted by jplinville

Have them fix the badging, then question the owner on the mileage discrepancy. If your question isn't answered to your liking, inform them that you were planning on having them work on other vehicles in your stable and would now shop around. Also inform them that you will be discussing the issue with your attorney, then leave.

Have your mechanic check the vehicle out to make sure that nothing is wrong with it.

Don't bother talking to a lawyer, there's no proof, other than your word, that you zero'd out the tripometer. You also claimed that you had no fuel when you dropped it off, but now have half a tank. they probably didn't charge you for the added expense of the fuel.

Just walk away and vow to never do business with them again.

Whenever I have my car valeted, parked for an extended period or worked on, I take a picture of the cluster/odometer. Just whipping out a phone or camera in front of them is deterrent enough to go for a spin in your wheels.

I think the steps listed here and what you've stated are appropriate and well within reason.

[Jim B.]

Originally Posted by jplinville

Also, check for condoms under the seats, or other items. I had my '79 T-Bird worked on for about a month once (engine rebuild) and found that the mechanic's son had decided to use my car on a date and left a used condom in the back seat. The mechanic paid for a complete interior detailing and disinfecting of the car. He also never saw another penny from me ever again.

Ewwwww !!!!

[TylerH860]

I would find someone with a paint meter. If they didn't go down to bare metal than they didn't do the job you described. If the thickness is double the original paint, you might have a leg to stand on. At this point you can't really believe they did any of the work.

I cannot believe they didn't suggest blending the panels. There's just no way to perfectly match anything but black.

[LandYaghtLover]

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I would find someone with a paint meter. If they didn't go down to bare metal than they didn't do the job you described. If the thickness is double the original paint, you might have a leg to stand on. At this point you can't really believe they did any of the work.

I cannot believe they didn't suggest blending the panels. There's just no way to perfectly match anything but black.

I agree on the meter thing. Then you might have a case here. I wonder if it was a last minute job. Hence the blending issue and the lateness of the call to pick it up.

[cmbdiesel]

Originally Posted by TylerH860

I would find someone with a paint meter. If they didn't go down to bare metal than they didn't do the job you described. If the thickness is double the original paint, you might have a leg to stand on. At this point you can't really believe they did any of the work.

I cannot believe they didn't suggest blending the panels. There's just no way to perfectly match anything but black.

Can't expect them to do things they didn't contract for, and most likely they didn't want to get involved in somebody else's paint and body work.

Metering the paint is a fine suggestion.

[mgburg]

Get the evidence (paint meter, etc...) and get the scripting fixed FIRST, then have the manager sit down with you for a one-on-one (without the help hanging around), point out the "discrepencies" you've found and hand him a written copy of everything you believe transpired with your vehicle when you left it in his care...make sure you "block him" on any response he might try to offer...hem him in on every detail and remove any chance he might have in trying to pull a "tit for tat" session with you...

And since you've mentioned some past-life experiences with the right side of the law, have an acquaintance, or two, help you with the legalese to "spur" the manager into making some kind of "restitution" offer before you have to spell it out to him...parry with the SOB for a bit, let him make the offer(s) to do you right, and if he doesn't...then leave the shop with him hanging in the breeze as to whether you're going to pursue the situation into a nearby courtroom or not...whether you do or not, don't let him think for one second you're going to let this lay...leave him with the feeling he's going to have to be looking over his shoulder to avoid a process-server hitting him with papers. But if you end up doing THIS, remember to keep your cool...be the calmest you've ever been and even then, tone it down a bit more...be cooler than you ever thought you could be...surprise yourself, then let the fireworks be his...

As you pointed out...it's a PITA to drive down and back just to get the scripting corrected. And when you put the cards right out there and on the table, would you really feel comfortable leaving your car there, a second time, just to have them blend the corner-job? That would be like telling a surgeon he's nothing more than an apprentice meat-grinder at a second-rate community market, then asking the guy to knock you out so he can go in and pull off an appendectomy on you...not a smart move anyway you look at it.

...OR...

IF he offers the script-fix, does a "blender" while you're on site and throws in a c-note, cut your losses, buy a good bottle of wine to share with a close friend, drown any left-over feelings...and then, move on.

As has been said in OD by many...cars aren't people...they're possessions. One moment you're driving it, the next, the "For Sale" sign is tucked in a side window channel with ommissions of faults clenched tightly behind smiling eyes and the upturned corners of a friendly grin...hoping the right questions are never asked.

The next time, you'll do yourself right by remembering this incident and covering the basics by following a few more of the steps mentioned by your fellow-Peachers above.

Good luck!

[t walgamuth]

I like the metering idea to determine what paint work was actually done. If the measuring indicates they did what they were supposed to do I would end the discussion there.

If there is a blending problem I would think they would do that for you without a fuss as well as correcting the emblem.

The joy ride is something to mention as an arguing point, as an aside, but any actual claim based on it seems tenuous and difficult to substantiate.

[dynalow]

Jim,


Did you do a walk around with the shop owner/ mgr. before you left his shop? You could have discussed the badging and mismatches directly then. That might have alerted you to ck the trip odo and gas guage. Now, the mileage beef is a he said / she said, no?
Just curious if you did a walk around with the manager when you dropped the car off? That's would have been good time to drop hints about the mileage reading and ask if the work was being done there or somewhere else?
But, alas, hindsight is always 20/20. Experience is something you get five minutes after you needed it!

(And what octane do you think they put in the tank?)


BTW, IRS mileage for 2012 is $.555 for bsns.; $.23 medical, $.14 charity.

Kudoos on the car. Very nice looking

Keep us posted.