poor car paint job...
john
I am having a problem in getting advice in what options I have
concerning a poor automobile paint job which was done in wisconsin. A
brief description:
The first week of may 2000 I took kit car (a Ferrari body on a Pontiac
fiero chassis) to be completely repainted a different color. The body
had no defects in the fiberglass and needed to be sanded to the primer
before painting. This was an oral agreement for the total cost of
$2,400 and I was told the job would take several weeks. The following
week my county had a severe hailstorm and was told it would take a
little longer………….which continued with
numerous excuses of why the car was not done until January 2001 and
then he demanded $3,500 as he said it was more work than he thought.
Also the paint job was horrible with runs,unpainted areas,rough
finish,etc. and he said he would only buff it out. He did the buffing
and the car remains the same. I paid him th $3,500 so I could get the
car off of his premises.
The facts are the overcharge of $1,100 and I now will have to car
completely resanded and repainted which I assume is in the $5-$9,000+
area. What can I do or whom do I contact to resolve this matter? An
attorney insists I need an "expert witness" and cannot find one-I did
manage to get 2 estimates from other body shops-which the attorney
says is not sufficient to win the case. What am I to do from here?
Thank you for any advice or suggestions,
John
McGyver
advice. Here is a California answer to clarify the areas where you will
need to do further research.
The damages in this case are $5,000 to $9,000. That's too small an amount
for litigation except in small claims court. In California the small claims
court jurisdiction is $5,000 or less. If your state's small claims
jurisdiction limit is that high, that's your best option. One of the neat
things about small claims is the right of the judge to walk outside and look
at the car. They are allowed to conduct their own investigations. If you
can get the judge to do that, and if the paint job is bad enough for a
laymen to tell, you should win. One way to make the request is to tell the
clerk you want your case to be last on the colander so the judge can go come
out to the parking lot and look at the bad paint job. The clerk will tell
the judge, the judge will decide. Since you won't know whether the judge
will do it until trial, you need to take an expert witness with you anyway.
The manager of one of those other shops you got estimates from will be good
enough.
McGyver
"john" <rnc...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:1f0500.020312...@posting.google.com...
Bob Stock
wrote:
>I don't know anything about Wisconsin law, so don't rely on this as legal
>advice. Here is a California answer to clarify the areas where you will
>need to do further research.
>
>The damages in this case are $5,000 to $9,000. That's too small an amount
>for litigation except in small claims court. In California the small claims
>court jurisdiction is $5,000 or less. If your state's small claims
>jurisdiction limit is that high, that's your best option. One of the neat
>things about small claims is the right of the judge to walk outside and look
>at the car. They are allowed to conduct their own investigations. If you
>can get the judge to do that, and if the paint job is bad enough for a
>laymen to tell, you should win. One way to make the request is to tell the
>clerk you want your case to be last on the colander so the judge can go come
>out to the parking lot and look at the bad paint job. The clerk will tell
>the judge, the judge will decide. Since you won't know whether the judge
>will do it until trial, you need to take an expert witness with you anyway.
>The manager of one of those other shops you got estimates from will be good
>enough.
Just in case the judge doesn't want to go out and look at the paint
job, take pictures of the car. If you have pictures of the car before
the paint job, bring those, too. If you can blow up the pictures so
that detail can be seen better, that would be helpful.
------------------------------
Bob Stock, California Attorney
Nothing I've said should be relied on as legal advice.
------------------------------
mark
First, if the paint job was as bad as you say, you shouldn't need an expert to win your case on
liability, though it may be difficult to properly determine your damages without one. Assuming you
do need an expert, you shouldn't have that much difficulty finding one. Basically, you need a
professional paint and body person to testify to, eg, how the work was done improperly and how it
should have been done. The people you got the estimates from oughta qualify. They'll probably want
to be compensated, though.
As to your claims, you seem to omit or leave unexplained some potentially important facts (such as
the significance, if any, of the hailstorm). But, generally, the facts you state indicate you might
have several viable causes of action. The cause of action that may be most powerful I can't really
comment on. I'm not a WI lawyer, but it appears that WI has a consumer protection statute, which may
allow for double damages and atty fees. Check here and scroll down to "Wisconsin Consumer Act" for
more info: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/Statutes.html
Additionally, the general common law claims that come to mind (which may apply in WI) are
negligence, breach of contract and breach of warranty (including breach of the implied warranty of
good and workmanlike performance). You may be able to recover damages to have the car redone
properly, a refund of the $1,100 overcharge, and loss of use for the vehicle (over the amount of
time it reasonably should have taken to paint it).
And hopefully, with your winnings, you'll be able to get a real car ;-)
Daniel Myers
On Tue, 12 Mar 2002, Bob Stock wrote:
> Just in case the judge doesn't want to go out and look at the paint
> job, take pictures of the car. If you have pictures of the car before
> the paint job, bring those, too. If you can blow up the pictures so
> that detail can be seen better, that would be helpful.
>
> ------------------------------
> Bob Stock, California Attorney
> Nothing I've said should be relied on as legal advice.
> ------------------------------
>
And then the attorneys come along and complain about how the public needs
protection from unlicensed practice of law.
You or your rep needs to talk to an actual painter and possibly a
bodyworker or two. The bodyshops hire painters and bodyworkers. They are
paid by the hour. Therefore, it should be difficult for you to get
forensic help from an owner or estimator if it is going to distract them
from their work schedule. They should be willing, however, to let you
talk to the painter and bodyworker off hours. You can offer to pay them
separately for their opinion, or if the shop is slow the owner might
nonetheless be willing to help, but more likely only if he feels there's
something to gain in terms of future business. That may be hazardous
since their expert opinion might be biased.
If I had your problem, it would be my first inclination to try to handle
it through triple AAA, the insurance company, and I might make a report to
the state automotive repair bureau, whatever good that might do.