poor car paint job...
mart...@mindspring.com
You're in the process of building a "kit car". You entered into an oral
contract to have the car prepped and painted. The paint shop took too long,
charged much more than the agreement and did poor quality work.
First, immediately talk with a local lawyer about the statute of
limitations in your case. You may have waited too long to bring these issues
to court.
Second, you supply no detail to back up your claim that the shop took too
long to do the work. Why do you mention a hail storm? If your car was
damaged in a hail storm it may have taken time to fix the damage and parts
for a kit car may not be easily available. Unless your agreement
specifically required them to garage your car then they're not responsible
for the storm damage which could have added significantly to the time and
expense of the work.
Third, you have the expectation that the work will be done "in a good and
workman-like fashion". If possible find an auto painter who will testify in
court as to the quality of the work. Expect to pay for this testimony. There
are many books on auto painting with pictures of drips, slumps, and orange
peels which you can try to introduce into court if you can't find an expert.
Take lots of good pictures of your car's defects. Why does your attorney
think that such testimony is not enough to win your case?
Assuming that you want to go to court I'd recommend small claims court.
Sue to recover the entire amount since you'll get no benefit from either the
paint or the prep work.
Here are 2 strategies for getting your car painted. Go to an auto
restorer, pay through the nose, and get show quality workmanship. Do all the
prep work yourself, take it to a Maaco-like franchise, and get an "OK" paint
job. I do the latter. How much time and money do you have invested in this
kit? I restore sportscars but have never taken the plunge into kits. Are
they fun?
Good luck,
Dave M.