Broke the car out of body shop prison... how to get the money back??

Because of stuff, like this guy is going through. Would a few guys, walking around in the back ground, helped? Probably not, but it would at least give the impression that the guy wasn't a "fly by night" outfit. Logically, one man doing a restoration on a '55 Jaguar almost sounds either impossible or a very lengthy process.

 

Wasn't a resto... just a repaint. (but yeah, at any rate this guy pulled the wool over our eyes)

Honestly it looked like a much larger than one guy operation. Lots of cars in there and lots going on... Apparently he does long-term storage as well as body work

 

Long-term storage of other people's $$.

Hope you get it sorted out.

 

he needs to contact this same lawyer and let him know the painter has not lived up to his end of the agreement. hopefully, the lawyer got him to sign an agreement which you can now use against the painter. even better if this agreement was made in court.
getting a third party involved on his side would help.

 

Your father in law will never see that money again. Finish the car before he is dead so he can enjoy it. That was the point right? Unless your willing to go harvest that money yourself for him, its gone.

 

The first thing to check out is whether the guy is or owns anything that is worth the money. If not, you won't get any money back anyway. Report him to the IRS. I guarantee he didn't report the money as income. The IRS will shut him down fast.

 

Typical story these days, but find a couple of guys that break legs cheep. Costs a lot less than a lawyer and will make you feel a lot better than giving 10K away.

 

Won a case in court similar to this years ago and really didn't expect to get anything out of it but,a couple years later he decided to refinance and with that judgement on his credit record the only way to approval was to pay me. May be different in you're state but a little glimmer of hope.

 

You should take the advice of your lawyer not some random people on the internet.

You may be able to sue and get judgement for the $10,000 or even more. Any body shop will charge more to fix someone else's mess than if you brought them the car in the first place, and this could enter into it.

If it is not worth hiring a lawyer you can still sue in small claims court. It isn't that hard although there is quite a bit to learn, and everything has to be done exactly right.

If you get judgement you can garnish his bank account, salary, attach his house, car, etc to get your money.

In the past I have had to sue several people and always got at least part of what they owed.

Your father in law may be able to handle the case with a little help. It takes time and a certain amount of intricate paperwork. Sort of like doing your taxes. You would know better than me if he can handle it. The cost is low if you do it yourself, under $200 and if you win the other party has to pay your fees.

 

Get a lawyer with a good DMV practice.

Although DMV regulations vary from state to state, in general they are biased heavily towards the consumer. If the shop is licensed, he can be in a lot of trouble for a myriad of reasons, and DMV rules are statutory (IOW, there is no 'yeah but' defense. Everything is black and white.) If the shop is not licensed, he is in even more trouble

Sometimes just showing up at the shop with a DMV consumer complaint form in hand is enough to change a shop's tune. Once a shop is on the DMV cop radar, they can make the shop's life miserable.

Not many lawyers specialize in DMV law. Search for one that usually defends gas stations and repair shops against this very type of problem.

 

Yea, then he WILL need a lawyer. Are you people serious, when you drop these hints of ignorance?

 

What experience would you need for a jaguar that's different from any other car? It's paint and body work!!!

 

Ray

 

I would first work on a plan to get the car done so he can still pursue his original goal and then try to get something back, i have seen many people loose good health over bad deals and i do hope you get the car done and get this guy with a good overall outcome for your FIW. And sending in the heavies can turn the table the wrong way. Good luck. JW

 

I turn these matters over to Glock.

 

If you really want to cause this so called painter some trouble, the next time that you change your oil in your car---save the used oil and pour the used oil on the ground in front of his service door. THEN---call the EPA. If he owns the building--he's in trouble, if he doesn't own the building, then he is out on his but and still in trouble...

 

Sorry to hear that you FIL got ripped off. These things can eat away at you and that's not good. Good luck....I would agree with others here that if nothing else,sue in small claims court for the maximum allowed.

 

Forget it,,take the lumps and move on,, a zillion stories just like this,, it will kill ya stewing over it.. Don't ever say: "there's no hurry" work it in, when ya have time."

So sad , but true.. cost ya bout $10,000.00 every time ya change shops..

 

or take him to Judge Judy

 

He who breaks the law, in response to the law being broken against him, has no business taking offense at the law being broken against him.

You do not mitigate the effects of crime by committing a crime yourself.

Anything short of using the legal system, such as it is, to alleviate this situation makes you the same, or worse criminal.

 

You should've quit typing after that.

The additional five paragraphs makes you just another random person on the internet.

 

Man, I don't get that at all. Costs Twice as much you recover, its worth it.
Give me 2 dollars and Ill give you 1. We can do that until you get tired and start again tomorrow. Or until you figure out a continued operating loss of 50% hurts.

Now cost 2x the recovery.
10 Gs gone -
20 Gs spent on potential recovery -
Thats 300% now on the table that maybe you'll win and maybe even collect.

If you do actually collect the 10gs, still out 20.

Much further ahead in the game of life to not do that I think .

Basically it's time ( months off the calendar) and money.
Throw it way if you want.

You paid a body guy to do body work but got nothing.
You can pay a lawyer to to lawyering and still get nothing. Not that you wouldn't win, but you need to collect from an asshole. The very same asshole that took the money and didnt do what he was supposed to.

 

$10,000 for a simple repaint? Need to see a shrink while you're at it.

 

Don't know about your neck of the woods, but a QUALITY job on a quality car like this Jag.....which is almost 60 years old....probably needs disassembly and stripping to bare metal, minor metal work, prime, sand, prime, sand some more...color coats, color sand and polish, reassemble.....detail ....$10g is not out of line. Materials alone would probably be $2k or more.....

Maybe a but much for Earle Scheib......but think this was more upscale

 

Maybe you could get the car finished and paint a sign on it like this. Our attorney told me it was about as far as a consumer could go without buying trouble. I noticed it because we had a suit against the same company.

 

Glocks, breaking legs, recommending a shrink. You guys sure know how to kill a thread...next time, save it for Facebook.

...back to the cars...