My car's at the shop right now getting full rust repair, body work and paint. I don't know if I fully trust the shop at this point, but I don't have any specific incidents that I attribute this to, just a vague uneasiness. My question is, is there anything I should be on the lookout for as far as shortcuts they may take, or things that they could do, or neglect to do, that might result in problems?

I am not a body and paint guy, this is my very first full resto, and as I said, I don't KNOW if I trust them. They came highly recommended, and I've seen some of their work, which is fantastic...I'm just curious if there is anything I should specifically be on the lookout for that will tell me whether they are doing things the right way or the wrong way. See attached picture to get an idea of how things are going. Any advice would be most appreciated. Thanks!

I'd wait for somebody you trust. First impressions are usually pretty accurate.

Well, my first impression is that I trusted them, that's why the car is there and already half-way done. With that in mind, I'm seeking advice on how to make sure they're living up to their end of the rust repair bargain.

What I usually do in a case like this is just talk. Ask them to show you what they have done. Ask them why they did it like that. Ask them the the advantages and disadvantages of doing it like that. Be nice and don't come across as a jerk. Come across as trying to learn rather than trying to trap or 'catch' them in something. I've found legitimate people who know what they are doing are usually more than happy to explain themselves. Good luck.

I stop by every Friday and inspect the work, then pay them for that week's work, and talk about the next week's work. Takes maybe 15-20 minutes. If I don't like how it's been done, I ask them to re-do. It also helps to point out how you want the little things done right before they start the next week's work. It also helps to give them detailed pictures of how you want things to look. It's nice to be able to walk into the office and bring up the pictures on the computer and show them. After a while they understand your expectations. No surprises, no runaway bill at the end. Be involved as much as you can without getting in the way.

Have them take pics to document THEIR work to answer YOUR questions.

The shop i used took pics to cover HIS [Edited by Moparts - Keep it clean], if a problem ever arose.

Todd

What is it that is making you not trust them ?

It's strange, I can't really point to anything specific. The owner said he was "a good communicator", but then, he never returns calls or e-mails, not even to confirm that he got them. When I go in and show him a list of things that I e-mailed him about, he says "yeah, you e-mailed that to me". Parts that he's supposed to order don't get ordered. Things that are supposed to get sent out don't get sent out. Schedules that HE lays out don't get met.

On the upside, I've made friends with the receptionist, and she seems to be the one who's actually running the shop. She was surprised by the logistical things that hadn't been taken care of yet, and she said she will make sure they get done. When I told her that the completion is now past-due, she said that she had already made the determination that my car should be a priority, and would see to it that it got done ASAP.

Also, every time I've gone to see it, there has been notable progress, it's not like it's sitting in a corner with a tarp over it.

Initially I was going to send it to a shop that dips, but I decided to go with this shop instead that sands. The rust situation isn't too bad, and I thought this would be better than something as "invasive" as dipping. I mainly just want to make sure that they are doing things right to prevent future rust. I'd be happier with a less-than-perfect paintjob on a car that doesn't rust, than a beautiful paintjob that develops bubbles in a few years.

Is this a restoration shop or a collision shop ? Theres a lot of body shops out there that do restoration work also. Collision repair is faster and more profitable so the resto work ends up sitting around till they have time to get to it.

This is most likely the problem.

I would agree that if you have suspisions, they are probably deserved. Unfortunately, once they start it's hard to get the car out of the shop.

My last (and I mean my last as in never again) restoration had a similar story line. I thought about pulling the car 3 or 4 times but I was a little lazy. It was easier to keep things moving with the guy I was working with. In the end I regretted leaving the car there. Shortcuts were taken that weren't immediately obvious. In short, I got hosed and a great car that had no rust, only moderate collision damage was ruined by my standards. It is now impossible to turn back the clock and do the job correctly.

If you have doubts, stop the work and think about it.

I own a Collision/Resto shop and I see one thing in your pics that would raise questions. Looks like they put Bondo or putty over paint or primer. I would have stripped it completely like the other side. Hope it was etching primer. My Shop would not take in a job in if we were not going to work on it on a daily basis, The space in my shop is prize to let a project just sit there.

Good call, I was concerned by that a little also. I know that there were initially two spots that needed work, and they took just those small areas down to bare metal first. Then, before they worked on the panel as a whole, I know they took the rest of the paint off. Here's a comparison of how it looked previously with how it looked last time I went in, better?

Yup! I always say communication between myself and the customer is very important. Goodluck, don't be afraid to ask any questions on what they are doing, its your car and your money! A Honest shop should have no problems explaining thier work.

1AAR, I totally agree. I run a business too, and if the you-know-what hits the fan, if you're communicating with your clients, at least they know you're there, going to bat for them. With this guy...I don't know. I don't think he realizes the damage he's doing to client relationships and future potential business, just by making himself so scarce. I'm glad that the receptionist is so stand-up and proactive about things...I think everything is going to be going much better now that I've got her in my corner.

The owner, the best description is it's like he's an autistic genius. He does phenomenal work, he just lives in a different universe from the rest of us...

Unbelievably, the guy who recommended this body shop to me -- he personally guaranteed the work after I told him about my concerns. He said, point blank, that if I wasn't happy with the job, he'd pay for it, the whole thing ha ha.

sounds like a clock rider
i know from irving
good luck

Price is agreed upon, so there's no clock riding going on.

From your initial questions it seems your concerns are with the shop owners poor communication skills.
Auto restorers have a tendency to be more artist and less technician than those who do collision repair or both. A lot of artist types are sorely lacking in people skills. Problem is it is still a business. If he doesnt want to take the time to talk with you perhaps he should be working for someone else and not running his own shop. I worked for someone else for years and could lose myself in my work, now as a shop owner I spend alot of my time on the phone or dealing with the walk-ins that wander in and think you have nothing better to do than spend an hour talking cars. If you are uncomfortable enough to have doubts about his work he has been neglecting you plain and simple. Get after him about it.