Bad business?? Or is it just me?

Ditto on the contract. Go and get what you have paid for and sign a zero liability statement so they wont bill you anymore. Protects both of you. Shake hands and be done.

 

I agree 100%..couldn't believe what I was reading.

 

With your thinking that this guy is so reputable and this guy is so talented,you deserve everything hes sticking to you if you don't stand up for yourself. You were asked if you signed a contract for the job. Reputable shops do that to cover their ass and yours.

 

Sorry, but you got what you got because you didn't do what needed to be done in the beginning.

Get everything in writing!...now...get a lawyer.

 

This story is horrible. No one is served when this stuff happens and you dont name the shop.... So they keep doing it over and over. There are plenty of shops around here in California that absolutely screw their clients but nothing is said about it because clients take the high road. You really owe it to other hotrodders to name the shops doing this.
There is a car club here in so-cal that is/was nothing more than car thieves and they are openly praised here on the HAMB.... A few members regularly post progress shots of their cars and organize car shows.

You got ripped off, sorry.

 

The reason I feel he is reputable and talented is because his work has been seen in several magazines, it was even on the cover or Rodders Journal if I remember right. I have seen him do other awesome projects. He just isn't doing it with mine.

I don't have a contract I only have the receipt from when i put down the deposit and it has the quoted price printed on it.

I know he had to weld the frame but he didn't ask me to buy a welder that's why I don't think I should have to buy hole saws. Some of the hole saws they told me would be up to 200 a piece.

I am only thinking of it and " still involved" in it because they are still contacting me by email asking when I am coming to finish the transaction.

They have other parts of mine such as the Star motors grill I took because they needed it for reference in building the frame. I feel like I probably won't get that back either.

 

And yes this is a HAMB member

 

Who?

 

Damn no wonder I went out of business.if I treated my clients like this I'd be hung.i built a hamb friendly 29 coupe from the ground up for 10 k for a guy.and he cried like a baby.all he supplied was a junkyard motor and trans ,a body and grille.and wheels and tires.everything else we did in house.tig welded 2x3 frame,wiring,rear end,driveshaft,radiator.steering column,whole front hairpin front end.wiring,etc it was driving when he picked it up.6 months later sold it at billet proof for over 20k.and I was the bad guy.sorry man I wish you lived here.for that money I could do a whole roller.

 

He's fucking you, we need a name.

Its amazing what a few phone calls will do to change a guys mind.

 

OK, you have aired your side of your problem on the HAMB board.

You were quoted and agreed to pay a price of $5300-$5600 to build a frame. So far, you have paid $3,000 or just over 1/2 of the agreed price. Your time frame is in question, was there suppose to be a payment schedule that you did not keep up with?
If I was doing something for you and you missed an appointed payment, all work stops until your payment is made. Almost sounds like they were waiting for you to do something you were suppose to do. Now they want to know what you want to do. You want to take something a little over 1/2 paid for home, or forget it all together?

Two sides to every story, we have heard your side.

Your choices are now:
1) Hand over money you agreed to pay, of which you may or may not see results from. I suspect you will get what was originally agreed on, if the whole deal is in writing.
2) Take your lumps and go home empty handed. Most places will not let you take something home until it is paid for.
3) Notify the company you have started this thread on the HAMB and see if and what they respond with. There may be some middle ground both of you can find acceptable. They may actually be waiting to hear what you have in mind, for all we know, they have not heard from you for over a year.


Since we do not know what was included in the price quote, it would be speculation to suggest if the OP was getting overcharged or not. Gene

 

And what do you know that others dont? You should not point fingers if you dont know who your pointing at. Implying is starting un necessary bullshit ya know

 

10gs for a 3x2 frame.... Ugh. Speedway has frames that run in the 6g range. 10gs for a frame built by a guy like bass. Okay then.

I run solid og junk though.

 

Holy shit - I've now read the same answer to your issue run on for 3 pages! I'd be the first to say there's a LOT of shops out there who will take your money and sit on your job (and this seems to be one of those).....but, if I read you correctly, the only thing he's laid down on is the time period. If that was in the contract, then you have the right to take it away. But again, from what I've read, sounds like you haven't paid the quoted price yet and they haven't delivered a completed vehicle yet. Not sure why everyone's asking for his head - yet. Of course they are pushing it - especially with asking you to pay for their tools!

I make a damn good side-living doing - or finishing - rods that some shop had taken in, took a bunch of money and sat on it, sometimes for years. I hear it time and time again.

I'm pretty much with 50Dodge above, except for this -

Now I know "WE" all think the world revolves around the HAMB.....but there's still about 444,333,333 people who don't know what it is - and don't care!!!

 

Its not Jesse, he would charge 20k for a 2x3 frame.

 

Some pretty knowlegeble car guys in my area and I were having discussion about different builds we were into and came to the conclusion that the owner has to act as a general contractor. All of us have skills in one or more facets excluding paint and interiors. Yes all of us have built ground up cars but at our ages it is a matter of time not talent. Acting as a general you have to have a plan to work to, a list of specs and whats expected of each trade or specialty. Written contracts are a must because hand shake deals and pie in the sky deals don't work .

 

The agreed terms were that I would give 2000 upfront to cover materials and labor, then pay for the remaining balance at the time I picked it up. The first that the plan had changed was when I got a call and asked for another grand that I went ahead and paid. Then it was re agreed that the remainder be paid when I picked it up. Then I got a call again asking for more money. It is always more money and no progress not to mention the WAAYYYY beyond deadline date. The only thing that was required of me that I will admit I did not do was to make a trip to austin when the point came to decide the final placement of the speed holes in the frame. I haven't don't that because they haven't gotten that far and I also won't agree to spending more on buying the hole saws. So therefore no reason to go unless they decided to honor the original agreement.
I have been in contact for the past ten months only by email so I have nearly all conversation with them in writing. They have changed their story so much and even went as far as telling me that they were in a bind with a government agency and they were hoping that I could help them out of the bind.

I don't mind helping people but this was the wrong approach. The guy is super cool to talk to and I admire his work. But like I said this is he one and only scenario I personally know with them that I find negativity. I don't have a personal problem it is just strictly business.




On another note....it's not Jesse..
Speaking of the speed shop, after this deal went sour I contacted the speed shop and asked them if they would build a similar frame instead of going with the one I already had going.
The guy on the phone at the speed shop told me they no longer were taking orders, I even said I would be willing to get on a long waiting list because I was in no hurry. He said they weren't taking orders at all anymore. As in not building for customers anymore. I thought that was weird and didn't sound right but didn't question it....

 

Dang... why would you pay $5300 for a frame that cost $2000 parts and labor? I hope I never deal with this place.

Sorry it's working out like this for you. I see alot of people on here questioning shops and getting feedback.

Did you try Bruce's Hot Rod shop?

 

You should check out his story about being in a bind with a government agency if the tax man is on his ass you can bet you are the last thing on his mind. He may be a nice guy and a great builder but that also may not make him a great business man .

 

Whenever I read stories like this I feel like I am living in some alternative universe or something. How can things get this out of hand before you say "WTF is going on here and why haven't I seen any progress for all the money I have given you ?"

Reputable shops, like the one Langy runs in England, keep the customer in the loop constantly and only take a little more money as each step is completed. He does some work, advises the customer of what has been done, then he gets a little more money to continue on. He doesn't let the the work get ahead of the amount of money he has received, but he also doesn't beat the customer to death by constantly asking for money and not doing the work.

If you have the ability to send that kind of money to have a frame built you also have enough to retain an Attorney who knows contract law and business fraud. You seriously need to retain one NOW or else you are going to see nothing.

Don

 

Whoa.....any "reputable " attorney will cost far more than the monies spent so far. So what is the gain? Make a trip to the shop and try to collect all your parts and then have the arguement about a refund. My experience in similar situations is that you should be in a salvage mode to get anything back you can as this shop/guy is going tits up!

 

Plain and simple. If he is a member; call him and tell him you have a thread going. Tell him to man up and tell his side of the story. If this is the case that he is screwing you his reputation will catch up to him fast enough. Remember there are 3 sides to every story. His side, your side, & the truth! To me something seems fishy. You've waited a year? Unless we are talking about one hell of an elaborate frame it should be done in 1/4 of that time. In the mean time I would let other people know who we are dealing with. It may save some other poor unsuspecting person a lot of grief, the HAMB may put some (Peaceful) pressure on him to do the right thing, or we may find out you are handing us all a load of crap. Either way spill the beans on who this is.

 

Just weird how you forked over money and there is no results!
I know a few shops that went under because they acted like a ponzie scheme. Use one guys money to finish another and so one.
You could ask to see progress and if nothing is there then hit up small claims court. In this country, its always possible for a refund.

 

I haven't exactly waited a year. I pretty much gave up on it a long time ago and accepted my loss. It is just almost a year later. Actually February 5th will be a year. And I got another email from them asking when we were going to settle up. This got me back to thinking on it again.
I see all of you asking to say who it is. I really don't want to put him out there on it yet if at all. I am going to do as some of you said and tell him about this thread and give them the chance to make it right. If that's not done I will let his name out.
I am sure you will get to hear it because months ago I checked with other shops in the area and around the country asking how they did it and they all said my scenario was screwed up. I informed him of the new info I gathered from other shops and he didn't change a bit. Just more excuses.
I do want to add that it's not him directly each time I have gotten emails. It is a staff/ family member who contacts me and relays the messages from him to me. The message may get distorted some that way but he hasn't taken the initiative to talk to me straight. Only when I ask and then it's some more " miscommunication" excuses.
The shop is in Austin and it's not A.S.S. So I am sure some of you have a couple ideas who it could be

 

Sounds like a business that is going under financially.

If it were me, I'd be trying to salvage something while the doors are still open.

 

Hmmm...


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Often times when we contract a business we look in our minds to see the end product so we leave it to this person and assume they will act proffesionally. But projects can be time consuming and without constant owner interest a shop will "backburner the nice guys car" and work on the assholes car thats calling every other day. If you are a customer to a busy rod or custom shop keep on them. The squeky wheel gets the grease. It doesnt make it ok to be treated that way and I know often times people dont want to piss off the guy building it for them because for one reason or another they cannot do it themselves. Always get a contract and always remember if it is as good of a shop as you think it is a frame somewhere in the shop is in valuable real estate moving it so he can work on somebody elses project cost time and money. I hope it does come to a happy ending for both parties because a mans word should still be his bond. CLHR

 

Not necessarily. I had a guy try to screw me one time on a boat I was buying. Had an Attorney write him a letter, the next day the guy called me and was ready to deal. Cost me $100.

Don

 

Walk away from it. Don’t let a small loss escalate into a big loss because of emotional attachment.

By the time these asswipes get around to thinking about your concerns, you could be driving your project.
I’ve lost more than $3k on bad decisions [ seeing the chequered flag and the oil light at the same time being one of them ]

If you want to get ruthless, find the biggest,baddest most unethical mother f***er and “sell” him your unfinished project.
He can take over the project and encourage them to finish it .

but personally the $3k loss you take now would be cheap compared to the “419 scam” they’re running on you to get it finished.

 

I'm just surprised/dissapointed that someone hasnt figured out who by hambodex research in the first hour.