Well, as many of you know, I've been restoring my 52... Wellllll, I took the cab and the frame to a place (that's been around for a long time) and the guy said it would take 3 days to sandblast it and spray both of them with epoxy primer... Well, I took it up there... I've called week after week after week and he gives me nothing but excuses as to why it's not done. Well, I went up there about a week ago (note: he's had it for 2 months at this point) and he has only sandblasted half of the frame.. the cab of the truck is still hanging from a hoist in his boatyard... Isn't that some crap?? He was going to charge me $400 at the most to do it all. There was this other place up the road that was going to charge like $300 more but atleast I would have gotten it back a few days later. IM SOOO MAD! I'm taking a trailer up there tomorrow and picking it all up. I'm not paying him anymore than what he did was worth.. If he tries to play games, I'll take him to court.. his word vs. mine.. and trust me, I can make it sound reallly, realllllly good! Wish me luck, geez!
52, I feel your pain. Boops Dad and I have had problems lately where someone looks you in the eye and says here is how it is and then they take advantage. The best thing to do is just stand toe to toe and say here is what I am willing to do. Lay it out all calm and even. See what they say. The guy will either: 1) apologize and get in gear, 2) help you load it and say no charge or minimal charge just for what he has done or 3) go ballistic in which case you go to plan B. Plan B is usually call the law and let them mediate or, and I hope it won't come to this, whup him. Good luck. Just remember, once you get it all straightened out and the truck is on the road you will forget all about this. Bill
the norm Did he offer you a reciept WITH tax included? If he didn't, a mention of how a person can get checked by the tax man might bring about some kind of positive action... (?) I am in a similar spot- Back when we had our snow, my Jeep was supposed to get a new trans. He said it was done a couple of days later. I got in it to head home, but first thought I'd check it out of eye-shot of his garage. As the thing downshifted, it jumped a bit and felt strange. I looked under it- drip drip drip... I turned her around and took it on back. I told him when it didn't leak and drove like it was supposed to, I'd pick it up. - oh yeah, he said he replaced the rear main, but it might drip for a bit because he spilled some tranny fluid... Since then, I found out there is this thing called a lockout switch (?) inside the tranny that when it goes out, it keeps the trans in overdrive even when you're going slow. This happens when you come out of highway speeds down to town driving speed. It costs about 150ish to buy. Simple switch out. (?) He said he replaced the tranny, but it is amazing how that was done without disturbing any crap on the head of a single bolt! All this fun for the small fee of $1,500.00. Hey Tax man- Ohoh the tax maaannnnn...
Take a deep breath and say... I love my truck...it's worth having...it's worth waiting for...people are going to be jealous of me...this is only a minor setback...maybe i should have taken up needlepoint... Thanks for being a part of this forum. We all have setbacks and limitations, doubts and fears, but we all have a common goal: putting a piece of Americana back on the road where it deserves to be. YEEEHAWWW!
Well, I'm going in the morning to get everything straightened and picking up the truck. I'll post my experience and what happens
Blake - best of luck with this one. We're all with you, most everyone will have some tale about being let down by someone who makes a deal they don't keep. Just get it back and put it down to experience. For me the best way of farming out work like this has to be going on personal recommendations - I imagine this guy is going to get just the recommendation he deserves from you. Hey, by the way, real neat web site.
Weighing In 52 - I started not to weigh in on this one because of my situation and the fact that I'll start ranting, BUT! It seems the days of all men keeping their word are gone. While there could be a very good reason why he has not done the work, he should have made you aware of why, not offering an excuse but a reason. Remember when you leave his place of business with your truck you will have a lasting impression of him, BUT, so will he have one of you. All of the prior posts are great advise. It sure seems like we learn some hard lessons and all we want to do is love our AD's and look good going down the road in a piece of classic history. Well, there I dun gone prechin again. Best to ya, waitin to hear what happens since I'm in the same spot. Been waitin 2 1/2 months for my job that was to only take 1 week. TB'sD
I'm back from getting my truck. My trucks home but damn, I went through hell getting it back. Here's the story... They were going to sandblast/epoxy prime the cab & frame for $400 total. I went there this morning with a trailer and they said the frame was done but was demanding $400. They were saying stuff like "No, I priced you at $400 just for the frame.. blah blah blah" when I know good and well what he said. Well, we got into a big argument in his business, and I went outside to "cool off". I was going to call the Law, but there is only so much that the Law could do, if anything... so I waited and waited in my truck and finally the guy came out there and said "just take the thing and give us $250" - Well, at that point, I was furious because I thought they hadn't finished the frame, so after about 15 more minutes of arguing, he finally said that the frame was done and sitting in the boat yard... so I paid the $250 and left with my frame and the cab that they didn't even touch... People cannot seem to keep their word anymore.. it's quite sad actually. But all is well. My baby is back home with me and away from that hell hole!
Back home Glad you got the baby back to the nest without all out war. You would think a fellow who didn't keep his word would have given a little more on the price. But you are SOOOOOOOOO right about people not keeping their word. I don't know what state you live in but here in Texas we would have informed the owner of the shop that he could not hold property that belonged to someone else even if money was owed without first having a mechanic's lein. Now this would not apply if there was a signed document that required payment before the property wuld be released. I just dealt with a simular situation with a horse. The county atty. told me to pass the word to the person holding the horse that charges would be filed if the horse was not released. Now, I know every situation is different but I'm sure glad you got the baby back without serious problems. congrats TB'sD
Don't you just hate it when some horse's a$$ makes you angry. I mean, I go through life pretty calm. Having kids has taught me patience and I know that if someone comes running up screaming about the world coming to and end and I don't see blood or bones sticking out that it's probably not all that bad. Anyway, I go through life pretty calm and then some guy tries to put the screws to me and my adrenaline starts pumping and I get real mad and I do all I can to be "professional" about it all the time wanting to smash the guy's face. After a while things calm down but I just don't like to be messed with. You did the right thing by waiting the guy out. He was pretty much a scumbag but you gave him time to think and he came done some. I don't know what you expected to pay for the frame alone but $250 ain't too bad. As the memory of the encounter fades things will be fine. Glad you got it home. Bill
I just feel sorry that peoples lives get so screwed up that they feel the only way out is to screw someone else. We all have stories, so I'll keep mine to myself (this time ). I do believe in the "goes around-comes around" rule and the "Vengence is Mine" thing. Outside of that, you can let these things eat at you, or just let it go. Me- I'm glad you're back with your baby- as it should be!
Give the tax man a call and mention your little cash payment, let him find out that paybacks a bitch ________ Colorado Dispensaries
This is why we should all get any quotes in writing before setting out on these kind of paths. Elimates the B.S. that follow sometimes. At $400 for the cab & frame He did not know what he was talking about. Was way too low to start. Hopeful that is your last hurdle in the project. Good lesson here for all of us to learn from. Glad it sounds like you got a cheap frame/cab job done anyway.
Yea... he had JUST bought a sandblaster... so I'm kinda glad he only did my frame. It turned out really good, but if he was inexperienced, he could have really messed my cab up. I'm not complaining about the work he did on the frame (b/c he did a really good job) - The thing I was mad about is him telling me one thing and trying to charge another... I'm so glad its over with. I've moved on
Sandblaster I've not posted in a few day, partly because i've been super busy, but also because I have been border line POSTAL. That's unusual for me, I'm very easy going and choose not to let people control my emotions. BUT, having said that, I'm just about to bust a button about the Boops truck. I went over thursday and just as I expected, nothing done. Help me out... I kept my word, did the wireing on cuz's new office (about 4000 $ worth for free) and all I get from him is, I'm gona try to work on it in the next few days. I know i've posted this topic before but I'm now to the point of just going over and getting the truck if it's not finished by next friday and taking it somewhere else to be painted. It's been 12 weeks now and NOTHING done. If I do this it will mean that he got free work and I got nothing in exchange but having to PAY someone else to do what he said he would do. I am a VERY patient person and it's not the wait but the Lie that bothers me. The Boop says, daddy, just wait, it'l be Ok, they will get it done some time. But it's the principle of it. As I posted before, I only have my name, it may not be much but I'm gonna keep my word and finish the office either way. So the question is, should I leave the truck and maybe wait months or just take my loss, learn another lesson and pick it up and pay someone else to paint it. I know that every situation is different, but I'm up for suggestions AT MY WITS END..... TB'sD
Opps, Sandblaster title not addressed I started the previous post to mention the sandblaster so here's the post. I purchased a sandblaster from an el-cheepo tool business called Harbor Freight. I bought it about 9 years ago and should have already worn the thing out as much as I use it. Sandblasting is extremly dirty but very easy. Mine came with a 10 ft hose which I quickly replaced with 25 ft of good grade heater hose. I have used literaly 1000s of pounds of #5 grade sand in it. It does a wonderful job and leaves an great surface for the metal prep and self etching primer. Mine was only about 100$ and holds 100 lbs per load. I purchase sand for 6$ per 100 lbs. You need a fairly large compressor and a good hood, other than that it aint bad. You will find that you will get sand in places you didn't know you had, all in all it's kinda fun to know you did the job the way you wanted it done and in your own time frame. A plus is that my wife loves the sand in the yard, it's a great filler unless you got cats, they love it too. TB'sD
Hey guys, i'm going to say a couple things about the last couple of posts. First, Blake congrats on buying a sandblaster. People may think i'm sick, but i love to sandblast. What a stress reliever! Damn you old paint, damn you rust, take this! One word of caution though: Be careful blasting, especially with sand because it will warp the thinner pieces of sheet metal! (Experience talking here). And btw, Blake, i looked at your updated site the other night and your truck is looking mighty fine! Remember always, have fun! Set backs will occur and when they do, stop and take a break! Step back and think about it for a while. You control it, it shouldn't control you! With that said, Boop's Dad, i need a favor. When you are thinking about your sermon on Sunday, PLEASE think about including special prayers for the following people: those of us who have lost loved ones this year and all of the men and women who are proudly serving this country and especially those in "warm's way" on this most solemn season. Give Boop a big hug for me, because i think she's about the only one on this forum that could pass a sanity check right now. To borrow a phrase from Tiny Tim, God bless us, everyone! (And i'm not talking about the one who played the ukelele!)
Prayers Ken, arn't we a blessed nation! We can get such pleasure and yes, relaxation from our old hoopies, while men and women are defending our freedom and rights. The little country church where I am priveliged to serve has a great bunch of just plain ol country folks. Not a service passes without prayers for those great men and women. On the other thought, my prayers especially go out to each of those who have to say fairwell to a loved one. My prespective is not unique I know, but having had a newborn and an 18 year old die, each day has its challenges but holidays now bring joy mixed with great sorrow. God is the one and only great God, In the midst of watching my 18 year old daughter breath her last breath, I ask God where He was. Almost as clear as if He had spoken out loud He let me know that He was in the same place He was when His only Son died, Being God, greiving for His childrens loss and heartach. Ken, Thanks for the reminder that we are richly blessed and that there are those who need our prayers and thanks. May God richly bless each of you TB'sD
