Poor paint job, Nothing done as asked!

[Oak Dub]

A friend of mine has recently got their car back from a bodyshop who have not done as he asked.

Basically it was agreed the car have a full respray in original colour, remove doors/windows/bonnet and boot (without cutting any wires) spray from the suspension turret in engine bay to the headlights by removing the slam panel which wasnt done properly, repair bonnet and spray inside outside which wasnt done properly, repair front bumper which wasnt done properly, modify tailgate which wasnt done properly, modify new front wings and fit them and bond/fit arches on which wasnt done properly.  When my friend got the car back the car back the wings were'nt alighned properly and had the bolts missing front under where the wheel goes on, the dash lights are dead, the central locking is dead, the front bumper hasnt been repaired, the car hasnt been wax oiled underneath as agreed, one wheel nut was missing and some wheel bolts were loose, the original windscreen have been fitted to another one of their customers cars and mine fitted with a chipped one and numerous other things.  Basically they have messed the car up, my friend hasnt paid the full price for the work but i still they have paid WAY too much!

You would think that people who call themseleves professionals would know what they are doing but these guys have totally ruined my friends car.  The person that owns the bodyshop has said to write down a list of mistakes/faults and take the car back but my friend does not want to take the car back to them incase they mess something else up.  Is there anything they can do or soes my friend have a leg to stand on?  Please all comments welcome..

[Conker]

Right, I've had a few really bad experiences with garages and the like, and having learned the hard way, playing it nicey-nice is not the way forward. He needs to get the big guns out straight away.

If its genuinely as bad as you say,  I would phone the local police station and ask their advice. They'll presumably fob you off but they might give you the ombudsman contact number, and if you can get an incident number all the better.

Next I would get in touch with a solicitor and register your interest in a possible case. Then the next day take a letter round to the body shop saying that you have a) contacted the police, b) contacted the ombudsman, and c) will be taking them to court.

They'll probably say "whoa whoa, we'll fix it", but in all honestly, would you trust them again?


In short, if you genuinely think they have done it seriously wrong, you will win damages. If you can't proove much, you might not win. But in my experience if a garage is that unprofessional, they won't do sweet FA unless they are told to by a court.

[Neo Badness]

Sorry to hear about your friends car.

Trading Standards? Citizens Advice in the first instance. Failing that there is legal aid if they qualify and want to take court action, sometimes a strongly worded solicitors  stating intent letter is enough. Company would rather avoid having to instruct solicitors.

[Ben Lessani]

I dunno about immediately going to legal route - I would only try that once I had expired all other options.

Otherwise in a court, there is no demonstration you attempted to resolve the situation - either through lack of interest, or only an interest in monetary compensation - not your actual desire to have the work completed in the first place.

I'd certainly photograph everything that is wrong - so it is documented. Approach the manager of the garage with said photos and let them know your concerns. Taking a heavy handed approach from the onset will crush any kind of mutual resolve in the interim.

The last thing anyone wants is the stress and burden of a legal battle that is likely to run for at least a year without any result.

[Conker]

Fair points Ben. Perhaps I've just had my fingers burned in the past and have gone all bitter!   I didn't mean actually "take them to court", I meant show them that you are WILLING to take them to court unless they put it right immediately. Cowboys like them tend to fob you off unless you mean business.

Another problem is that if they've given you the car back in that state, do you really want them to have another go? The first time round they were being paid for it, the second time round is going to be an even rougher job, 1 coat blow over kinda thing.

One garage nearly ruined my wifes car, but then nicely offered to fix it for free. The trouble was, by that point I wasn't letting them touch a matchbox car, let alone a real car.

[Neo Badness]

Fair point Ben, but I agree you can't show any weakness when it comes to cowboys.

I suppose offer them the option of putting it right within a strict timeframe.

Then if not met throw the book at them. Document every encounter and keep a diary of events.

Failing that send it to a more reputable firm and send them the bill

[Ben Lessani]

I've had a few of my own "stamp my feet moments" - getting all irrate in someones face gets you nowhere, no matter how good it makes you feel!

I had a Peugeot dealership repair f**k up my car, so I went ballistic at the fella I was picking it up from - who promptly got the mechanic & bodyshop guy who did the 'work', I ended up in a debate for about 30 minutes with them with an end result of nothing.

So I left, calmed myself, took photos and wrote a letter to the general manager of the branch letting him know I had CC'ed it to Peugeot customer service head office. I got a response from both parties, end result was they were prepared to redo the repair to my spec. After the second repair - it was like new, with all genuine parts, but there wasn't a chance I would use them again.

Best of luck though mate!

[Thom89]

Generally, you get what you pay for! with all the added extras that you have described, that sounds like it should have been a very expensive job, could it be that the garage got out of their depth, and had to cut corners, just to get the job out..... paint and materials alone would cost anything from £500 upwards
Tom

[Oak Dub]

Job was costing nearly £2.5k!  He gave £1000 deposit, then £800 on collection of car which was 6 months later!  He had to pay to get the car back, otherwise he was stranded at the garage which was about 60 miles away.

[jamrock]

great advice from members already. what i would do is take pictures and gather up all the info you have ie written quotes and receipts. go to the garage and explain nice and clearly the problem. once thats done and they fob you off go legal.

one chance and one chance only.