That really sucks and puts you in a bad place to decide. This is NOT legal advice, but this is what I would do.
Call them up and say your getting some more money around and need a couple days to get it to them.
Show up the next morning when they open with a trailer and some friends and take the car and parts back as they belong to you. Call the cops if needed and have your title with you to prove ownership. If no garage lien has been issued yet it’s still your property and they can’t legally keep it from you. Once it’s off their property they can’t file a garage lien.
Then the garage lien is out of the picture and if the garage chooses to do so they can sue you for the dollar amount owed. Then it’s a matter for the judge and lawyers to figure out if you owe the garage money and how much. In the meantime the car is yours and you get to make the decision moving forward not the garage.
This is the way it works in Michigan. Don’t know for sure about Washington state. Go to your Sectary of state web site and read up on garage liens for your state.
That is crazy.
Did the work get finished on the floor and cowl?
It really sounds to me like they are milking you for every penny they can. I would think that they should be able to show time and work records for everything they completed. And IMO, any shop that is restoring a car should be able to provide MANY “Before” and “After” pictures showing you what you are paying for.
If they are putting a mechanic’s lien on your car then it is probably time to get a lawyer involved :-/
I wouldn’t give out the name of the shop until things have been settled. As they could use it against you in court that you were posting bad things about them.
They are a custom auto shop that works on restoring and modifying older cars so should be experienced with this scope of work. I’m still trying to work things out with the shop so not looking to throw anyone under the bus. I just want to get this figured out ASAP. As this was happening my daughter got ill and had to spend two weeks at children’s hospital. I’m sure those hospital bills won’t be cheap and what I had budgeted to finishing my car will now likely get rerouted to restore one of her doctors cars! Unfortunately what the current shop total is will affect both finishing the car and paying off hospital.
when a car is in an accident and the quarter panel is damaged I would take it to a body shop for the estimated cost of the damage.
There are labor guides that they use that tell them the amount of Time to replace the quarter panel and other damaged parts.
If the body man goes over that time he is loosing money if he is right on schedule then he makes his pay check.
This applies more for newer cars than our much older cars and I do not know how far back one could find such information but I would imagine that it would go way back to at least the 80’s. those would be similar in construction.
Maybe one can average the time from other model years. some investigating on this part might help to guide you to an actual figure.
And I would agree that adding rust into the picture can add some time but how rusty is it?
rust can be cut out and metal put back in if it was just a hole or even a cheesy section.
I live in a rust prone area and I have patched holes in my cars that would make you wonder, and you would not see the patch when smoothed down.
It does not take that much added time for a good tinsmith to put it in.
wow! I hope you can find a way to show the correct amount of time that it takes to R&R a quarter panel for that year car.
I know that it did not take me more than 40 hours to change one, and that included the inside drop off and an outer wheel well.
From past friends experience (at least in Ohio) the police might not help you recover the car unless you can prove it was stolen, being cut up for parts, mileage turn back. They will say you signed the agreement and need to work it out with the body shop. Of course when called on the carpet the shop will have hours documented supporting their charges. You could spent some money and consult a lawyer that handles consumer issues in your area to see how to proceed. You can tie this all up with a lawyer costing you more, maybe the shop wouldn’t want to go through the legal stuff. Walk away from it and cut your losses and find a good tax guy to write some of the ‘investment’ money off as a loss or if you really, really want the car pay the money and find a new place for the paint. Then enjoy the car. Just some ideas.
I’m sorry to hear of your daughter’s health troubles, and this body shop BS that you are also facing. It’s hard to focus on this nonsense when your family needs you.
It sounds like you trying to be reasonable with the shop, and you should continue to do that (perhaps they’ve made some kind of calculation error). Part of the problem is that it’s a Cougar, and in some cases you are stuck working with old parts (if this was a Mustang your shop would have a nice, new 1/4 to work with). In your case it seems that a 1/4 panel replacement should cost 50% more than if you were working with a new 1/4. Basically you have to pay twice to remove the 1/4 (once from the car & once more to prep the donor part).
Don’s advice is sound: the car is a shell, and is virtually worthless in this state. Tell the shop to stop all work, and don’t pay them another dime until you work this out. It’s time for a full accounting of the work performed/monies charged up to this point, and take a few days to scrutinize their records. Your ace in the hole is that they can keep the car if they refuse to be reasonable. Even if they become reasonable, I’d seriously consider finding a new shop to complete the car.
Well guys I have an update on my project.
I put the remaining balance on my credit car and got the car plus all the loose pieces back in its unfinished primered state. Total amount billed was $38k. I disputed the transactions with credit cArd but need to have car evaluated to verify work they’ve done was correct.
Could you guys point me to a few trusted body shops that might be able to take a look at the car to evaluate its condition so I can present my case to support disputed amounts?
I haven’t lost the drive to finish the car but it’s certainly pulled the joy out of the process. Who knows maybe the amount they charged was fair. This is first car I’ve ever owned and first one I’ve gone through a restoration with.
You have one of the most experienced Cougar restorers right in your backyard. Contact John Benoit of Cascade Classics. He’s restored dozens of Cougars, including Cougar One.
I must be working to cheap!!! That would cost you around $3000 at my shop in ohio . And I would have went to the factory seam and then leaded as the factory did!!! Just saying!! The above is for the metal work and a coat of epoxy.
The above labor rates are a guide line at best!! Those were meant for the body tech using a new panel(in a production body shop,not a restoration shop) on a car used for transportation! not some ones pride and joy.
