What constitutes a “Show Car Quality” paint job.
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I was recently contacted by a customer who said he had a 01 Firebird that had been in another shop for awhile and he wanted to bring it to me for paint. He said the reason he was removing it from the other shop was because they were taking too long to complete the work. I quoted him a price of $1200 site unseen with the understanding that the price could change when I looked at the car. He brought me the car and it had unworked dents, dings as well as a quarter that had been worked and had a guide coat over the primer. After feeling the panel I could tell it was not even close to straight however. It also had a headlight door coated in over 3/4″ of unfinished bondo. I told the customer I need an additional $300 to do the job. The customer supplied the paint (matrix) which I told him I had never sprayed before and was totally unfamiliar with. The job turned out well but the customer is suing me claiming I promised a “Show Car Qualtiy” job. This was after he came to my shop after hours and tried to remove the car without paying. I eventually had to file a mechaniics lien to get my money and he immediately files suit claiming inferior trade practices. In his suit he is asking for $7000. Does anyone have any experience with a situation like this. What should he have expected to pay for a Show Car Quality paint job? Certainly not $1500 that included moderate bodywork. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Not sure where you live but each area is different with legal claims.First off did you give him an estimate or a detailed work order explaining what had to be done or was this a cash side job?If there is no paper trail it comes down to your word against his.Did he give you a chance to try to correct the flaws or just take you to court?IMO a “show car” has perfect gaps/panel alignment,jambs are painted,perfect straight body work and panels from hrs of block sanding,perfect paint with no dirt,orange peel,sanding scratches swirls that looks like glass.Our shop starts out at $12,000 for that kind of work and we have had jobs that cost 4-5 times that.For $1500 you never should have let him think he was going to get perfection for a minimal price,possibly a lack of communication on both partys.Sounds like the typical guy who wants a perfect paint job for cheap $$$.When he pulled it out of another shop that would have been a red flag for me….hope it works out for you.
sounds like the customer is a real prick :wak i dont think he has a leg ta stand on for 1500$ …..show quality paint should be no less than 8 g…unless ur running a charity 😉 this aint the 70s anymore
Where are you located would pay 1200 for a good paint job show start at 4gs guy sounds like trying to get sumpin for nuttin agree if he took it out of one shop red flags would have been flyin good luck do your research..
Hey a1 handy,
I’m based in Queenland Australia , working on a 33 Ford 5 window coupe , my customer just spent $2600 for all the materials to do a bare metal paintjob on this car.
I think your guy is really getting his monies worth for $1500 if that includes labor and material ( does the customer want you to work for a $1 an hour !!)
Hope you can sort it all out with him.
Cheers
John
Elite Rides Garage
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