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It's been 4 months now and I can't get the body shop to get me an update

Take someone with you, not as a threat, but as a witness. Take a camera with you too with the date and time stamped.
Another thing you can do--talk to the manager,ask him what the next step is on your car. ask him when it will be done and tell him you will be there on that date to see it. Make them confirm a date that work will be done and hold them to it . Tell them if work is not done by that date, you will be picking up your car..................MO
 
Bring a trailer and take your car home. A guy who avoids phone calls, gives no information and failed to tell you he's moving? At the very least it's a sign if very bad business.
 
A holes ! I got to be carful pistol whip pops up in my head when I read about BS like this be careful do not twist off
 
I would go with a trailer, park it around the corner, bring a friend...start "nice nice" and then just tell him "its not working out" i'll take my car now...the fact that he didn't tell you, "things are crazy right now...we are moving to a new/bigger location so we will be pushed back, etc...is not someone I would want to do business with.
YOU don't want to listen to your gut...LISTEN TO YOUR GUT and GO GET YOUR CAR before it's too late!!! Cut your losses (time/$$) now and find a reputable shop...before the car potentially disappears...
You have confirmation that the shop is being moved (willingly or not, and I guess not)...I wouldn't wait another day...
I don't mean to panic you, but I am panicked for you... that's your car!
 
It seems that I got lucky with my shop. I never signed anything and he quoted me a price and a time. Four months later the car was done and I handed him the money. He did not want any money down or any money during the restoration. All he asked me to do was to show up on the weekends to evaluate the work being done. The shop is 15-20 minutes from my house so it was not a long trip every weekend. Ray Donch Body Werks in Franklin Park (Pittsburgh), PA.

http://www.raydonchbodywerkspa.com/

I hope your situation improves and the car gets finished correctly and on time.
 
Ok so I went to the shop unannounced and the car was not there, I began grilling the workers for what they knew and got the city they are moving to at least. then one of them contacted the owner and he called me.

He tells me my car is at a metal workers he hires on and off and at one point was commuting to his shop from 2 hours away, the reason he is using him is he lives near the media blaster that was used and the metalwork is actually not that bad or much and he can do it for a better cost, he is saying my car is stripped and the metal work has begun and should be done by this Friday. When I asked where this guy was he told me he was at his ranch that has a private road and gated entrance so I asked for the address telling him I needed specific pics of the strut rods and motor mounts on the passenger side just to see if he would give me the address, and he said oh well I 'll text the guy and see if he is there and if he is i'll call you back and give u the address, of course he did not.

He did talk about the shape of the car and not sure if he had just remembered I dropped off a deck filler panel from AMD but he did describe it and said his guy is installing it now and working it to fit as well as patching the small rust holes around the rear window, so I'm not sure if he just remembered this stuff or actual got an update from a guy. who knows?

So then I asked him about moving his shop ( it didn't look like they were packing anything up) and said I understand you are moving, he said yeah they found a larger spot in another town, an old aircraft hangar that had to get a new concrete floor and there is a delay in that whole deal so he would be where he is at now at least until the end of April. I said oh well a buddy of mine is looking for space up here and we asked the property management company and they said you were supposed to be out at the end of this month? he said well i will be extending my stay, I have since emailed them and asked this question with no response yet. I said ok, so if my car gets here on Friday what is the time line to get it done, he said well, a couple of weeks for body work, a week for paint, could have it done by the second week of March, I said ok cool, I still want to see it what's the address of where it's at? He just kept telling me I couldn't just show up at this guys place he would not know me I said well call him and let him know I'm coming, what's the address, he said I'll call you back. never did. He also claimed the metal guy had been up to at least midnight as he got a text from him around then and may still be sleeping, this is at 1 pm today.

We waited for him to respond back for an hour and a half, walking basicly every spot in his shops to see if there was any evidence of my car with no luck. I had told him the first time I would just hang out at his shop until he got me the address of the metal guy so I could go see my car, he never called.

So we left, calling him on the way out, he called back saying he still had not got a hold of his metal guy, so at this point I said ok just get me the pics, and I will see you on Friday!

Sounded like he was on one hand full of ****, on the other he made references to things that would seem legit if it truly was in metal work stage, but its real suspicious about not giving me the address, one former customer said he did the same BS to him and was lying because nothing has been done to my car.

So I 've come to the conclusion that by Friday if my car is not at his shop and I don't have any pictures of the progress I asked for by Friday I will be calling him informing him that I am calling the police and reporting the car stolen and if that doesn't get the truth out of him if he is lying then I will follow that up with a law suite with the state district attorneys office.

On a side note I called the police in that town and they were like oh you are talking about this place? I said yeah, they we know them well several people have come to us to get our help getting their cars back I said well ****, they said if you need us just call we will send an officer stright over.

I went home empty handed and still not sure what to think except this Friday is a deadline for this guy period end he ethers produces some legit work progress pics or the cops come to the door. I also have filed a claim with our state auto board and that will begin soon, where they will send a nagent out to verify the progress and if its not what he says or they can't find the car it gets reported stolen.


I did trying calling him two more times on the way home asking for the name of the place of the media blaster so my buddy could get quote and he never called back.
 
Damn, I would lean to the line of **** side of the story. He surely could have given you the contact info for "the metal guy". Even if you called the dude he should surely respect you asking questions about your damn car. Friday won't come soon enough now. We'll all be watching and waiting now. Good luck.
 
I've been watching this closely, AND--Just as a matter of caution, take your title to the car with you (just in case you have to prove it's yours).
 
Trust me, as one who has been in your shoes....go get your car now. I wasn't happy over the $$$ I lost, but I slept a lot better once my car was home -- best of luck. The sad thing is that this seems to be all too common an occurrence.
 
I'm glad you did what you did. This guy needs to be held accountable. Pls - for your sake - follow through with your plan of action. This place is a **** hole. The one thing I haven't heard you say is regardless you're taking your car back. If it was my car - I wouldn't care if the car was at the media blaster - I would take the car back as soon as that part was done, pay that bill, cut your losses - if any and move on. I would not want this outfit to touch my car beyond what they have or haven't done. Go to a reputable shop and get your work done.

Get your self out of this mess!
 
Man, Pretty much have to show up with cops at this point. I hope you get your car back soon. And Karma works. I had a similar problem with friend once, he wasn't too happy when I had another shop do the job. But I got sick of months of excuses and run around.
 
Seems like you just gave him more time to plan his escape...he knows you'll be around Friday and he will probably be awol. You have no idea who has the car or where it is!!
I feel sorry for you mate...This is gonna end badly...sorry
 
Yeah, he thinks he has until Friday. So go back with the police Thursday! Get your car back. It's time to frig with him! Good luck!
 
Yup... Bring local PD.. also contact the shop and inform that ( and actually do it) that you have contacted FBI Fraud Investigation and both Local PD, Country Sherriff (contact them too) and FBI will be coming out to the location to collect your vehicle. I had to do this with a Car Dealership working on replacing a transmission when they would not return my vehicle in due time. I contacted local pd , county , and FBI when I notified the dealership we would be showing up at 5pm, amazing my vehicle was ready for me to pick up...
 
Please stop thinking you will possibly get treated right in any aspect by the owner. I am a business owner, and if one of my customers starts to question my honesty or integrity, I stop all work and immediately address whatever problem there is, and if there's any, I do mean any questions that need to be answered, they are done and in a timely fashion to boot. This guy is a POS! and you need to move forward and roll right over this bastard and do everything short of beating him within a inch of his life! Operating a business at that level is totally unacceptable! Don't forget you got alot of people hoping and praying for you! Handle your business. This guy is lucky he's not local. He'd be on the news!
 
"On a side note I called the police in that town and they were like oh you are talking about this place? I said yeah, they we know them well several people have come to us to get our help getting their cars back I said well ****, they said if you need us just call we will send an officer stright over."

That right there is reason enough to not wait one more day
 
Enough B.S. go there with the police departments # and give him the ultimatum, show it to me or else! I would retrieve the car regardless, there's absolutely no reason to be stonewalled on the whereabouts of your car unless there's something to hide and in my opinion if you hired their shop it shouldn't get farmed out without your consent. Wash your hands of this shop, I'd be concerned about the quality of work they'll do now just to rush it out anyways?

- - - Updated - - -

"On a side note I called the police in that town and they were like oh you are talking about this place? I said yeah, they we know them well several people have come to us to get our help getting their cars back I said well ****, they said if you need us just call we will send an officer stright over."

That right there is reason enough to not wait one more day

Exactly, get the car..... they're obviously not to be trusted!
 
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