Need Help with car --- possibly stolen???

[jdpolzin]

Have had my car at the paint shop for over 4 months now. The guy went through a divorce, his kid wanted to kill him, got into a car accident( was uninjured but is screwing the insurance), blah blah blah. I brought my car to the painter 4 months ago. Was a very nice guy for a while. Started working on it and then stopped returning calls. Wasn't showing up for work at his job, when he did, he was on the phone all the time. He used to have a shop but it went under so he started working at an aviation company painting planes. I found out that his kid tried to kill him, then his wife divorced him. They put him on second shift to try to help out with things but he kept getting extensions and wasn't showing up. He wouldn't answer my phone calls and called me back very rarely. I gave him a chance and saw the car after 2 months. The car was sanded and ready for paint. Then after his divorce, he said he was pumped about working on the car. I went to go see it again and nothing else was done. He said the night before, which was a Friday, that he got into an accident with his Jag and a BMW. They worked it out so he would be able to work on both cars. Then the cars were in the shop the next time I went over there. He was supposed to go back to work the Monday after the accident but didn't go because he "hurt his back." While I was at the shop, he was lifting cabinets and said he wasn't actually hurt and that he was going to "soak up the insurance money." Well then he sprayed the car and the car looked horrible. There were runs and huge blobs of paint everywhere. He said he would wet sand sand it and make it nice. He said it would be done 2 months ago. Then each week following. Well now he hasn't answered his phone for 3 weeks or called me back. I'M PISSED! I dont know whats up with my car. He is never at his shop. I called that town's Police and they knew who he was. They said they can't help because it was a civil matter and I would have to get a lawyer. I don't know what to do. I dont even know where my car is now. What should I do? Thanks ----Jeremy

 

[72firebird]

have you talked with the guy who owns the shop much? Something similar happened in my area but I actually knew the guy who was ripping everyone off, but I didn't realize what he was doing at the time. The guy ended up disappearing but the owner of the shop was a good guy and was trying to run a good business and offered to help anyone out who was screwed over and make things right. He paid to have several cars repainted and fixed a lot of work that the guy did. Talk with the owner, he might be a stand up guy and help you out and let you know anything he knows about your car.

 

[jdpolzin]

Yeah, the painter actually rents the shop with another guy! Thats the problem, I dont know the other guy because my painter pretty much runs the show. I just want to go over there and break the door down and take the car back. I know if I do that, I'll probably be the one getting screwed though. I can't believe people are like this. I do everything I can for everybody, I couldn't imagine being that way towards other people. The car is a low mileage GN and he knows what it's worth. I have tried to call him with other peoples phone and he never answers. I know he is dealing with many personal issues, thats why I have givin him the time. I could imagine he is going through a very hard time but he should still keep up with his responsibilities. Even just a phone call to know whats going on doesn't take much. :redface: I'm bummed out! I just want my car back. ---Jeremy

 

[72firebird]

Yeah, the painter actually rents the shop with another guy! Thats the problem, I dont know the other guy because my painter pretty much runs the show. I just want to go over there and break the door down and take the car back. I know if I do that, I'll probably be the one getting screwed though. I can't believe people are like this. I do everything I can for everybody, I couldn't imagine being that way towards other people. The car is a low mileage GN and he knows what it's worth. I have tried to call him with other peoples phone and he never answers. I know he is dealing with many personal issues, thats why I have givin him the time. I could imagine he is going through a very hard time but he should still keep up with his responsibilities. Even just a phone call to know whats going on doesn't take much. :redface: I'm bummed out! I just want my car back. ---Jeremy

well in that case my only suggestion is to contact a lawyer and let him know the situation. You may have to go through a lawyer to get something like a warrant so you have access to the building to get your car out. Unfortunatley it seems like you're going to have to eat everything that you paid for the paint job and anything for the lawyer. It's ashame that people have to screw others over.

 

[70Mach1]

Is the shop open and operational? Either way, find out the owner of the building they are renting from and speak with them about trying to retrieve the car. If there are problems, most likely they are behind on rent. The ower will have the right to go into the building legally and maybe you can get your car that way. You need to camp out there until you spot a warm body and stop with the calls. They are not answering and probably won't for the forseeable future. It won't get any better with time, so get on the ball now or else it will get harder to get your car.

 

[jdpolzin]

I took the day off work andam getting ready to head to the shop. It is about 45 minutes away from here. I'm going to sit in my truck somewhere so i can see the shop. I'll just wait till I see something and go in and take the car. I am definately not scared of the painter, he's about 5'7" 120 pounds!! We'll see what happens.

 

[CHANCE]

good luck just be careful dont go charging in like a mad bull the little guys always seem to have somthing up there sleeve and the last thing you want is to get shot or find out that his uncle is jackie chan

 

[jdpolzin]

HAHA, I'm a little guy to so I know how they are!! WELL GOOD NEWS!! I went out there to find that there was another guy working at the shop and my painter wasn't there of course. And my car had no progress either. BUT, the guy that was at the shop was actually the one that did the work on my car. He said that my painter wasn't paying him so he wasn't working on it. GO FIGURE!!! I had no idea he was having somebody else do the work in the first place. After talking to this guy, I found out that he was partners with my painter and my painter (Pat) hadn't been doing much work on the car at all. The price he quoeted me was low. I still owe him $1200 and he owes the other guy $1250 so far. I worked it out that the other guy(Derek) is going to finish up on the car as long as he can paint my other car. He said he'll have the car ready to be put back together by Wednesday!! THANK GOD I CAN BREATH AGAIN!! As far as I see it, Pat is getting no more business from me. I'll stick with Derek from now on. Derek was in the shop building his custom Rod while I was there. I took him out for lunch and could tell he has been getting screwed by Pat for a long time. Derek is a hard worker and is getting taken advantage of. I think this is a good learning experience for me!! Thanks for letting me vent guys!! -----Jeremy

 

[CHANCE]

good sh!t

 

[WIKEDV6]

I am glad that everything is ok so far, stay on top of it. The other dude can still show up and cause problems since you worked out a deal with his partner. Get the car out as soon as you can. Keep us posted.



Prasad

 

[jdpolzin]

Yeah it's funny because Pat told Derek that he would work on buffing the car this weekend since he wasn't paying Derek to do it. Sure enough, we went to the paint shop to look at the car and he did about a one foot spot behind the 1/4 glass and left the buffer laying on the floor wet. What a moron!! I am pretty sure Derek made sure that Pat knows that I don't want to have anything to do with him!! When the next car goes in, it will be good because Pat will be completely out f the picture! I appreciate hard work and honesty! Basically what is happening is the Pat is supposed to get the work and help with the car and they split profits half and half. Well, whats happening is that there has been no work, my car has sat there for 5 months and the jag and BMW haveen't moved. The work is there but Pat isn't working. He is pretty much waiting for Derek to do the work because with the cars sitting in there Drerek can't do any other work for himself so he is forced to do everything. He hasn't made a dime in 5 months. Realy sh*tty how people can take advantage of other people. Tony (OneFastGn) brought a gas tank, side skirts, and fender to Derek to haave ghost flames painted on them and I am going to write the check directly to Derek so Pats out of the picture. I will also let him paint my other GN so he can have some cash!! I can tell Derek is too nice to say anyhting to Pat. I'm going to try to help him out as much as I can!

 

[turbosam6]

If I'm reading this correctly you most definitley did not learn a lesson here: When you have a person (read: not a business) paint your car, you are at their mercy and have almost nothing to hold over them in court or otherwise. If you are really worried about your car then get the damn thing and take it to an actual body shop. That way its done on time and you don't fall mercy to this type of BS. And if by some chance they screw you, you can sue them. They have something to lose, and good shops care about their reputation.

You get what you pay for. I hope it goes well this time but you might take a minute to really think about what is possible in this situation. You can get REALLY screwed, and not just on paint. They most likely do not have insurance, so if something bad happens to the car, tough luck. That includes bad weather, theft, fire, etc. Not to mention your "warranty", if you got one, is about useless.

 

[Just a Six??]

WTF? You have the chance to get your car out & your playing all nice with these FREAKS!! They are/were Partners REMEMBER!!!! Just grab the car & find a Normal Shop! Not some Freak Show where sons kill fathers & getting divorced is common knowledge! You will get burned someway over this so get out while you can! If not then you deserve whatever they get you for & God forbid your car doesn't grow legs one night!!

 

[jdpolzin]

Actually, I will be going over there tonight to help spray the clear. Derek is going to try to teach me a few things about painting! This is an actual shop with insurance. Problem is that 2 guys rent the shop. One guy is a total jack ass the other guy is a good guy!! I have talked to him 4 times today and he invited me to help out and learn a little. It's all a money game. Pat was pretty much trying to suck the money out of the deal. These painters each have their own business titles and their own insurance. They just share the same shop. This is not just some cheap $1000 paint job. The car is going to be at my house on Wednesday night! Communication is the key on this one! I am very happy with Derek and his efforts! ----Jeremy

 

[turbosam6]

I bet you're paying half what a legit body shop would charge, and so therefor you are getting "some cheap ass paint job". Ask to see a copy of his commercial insurance policy. Ask if he has a tax ID number. I've seen this play out many times with these type of body shops. Hell, I used to have a guy paint parts for me who owned a shop and he was a crackhead. It eventually caused him to close up. I never left my car there and usually only brought individual parts for him to paint. He was cheap, especially when he was broke. But I know for a fact my car would have been stolen had I left it there.

Like I said, I hope it works out for you, but try to learn from it.