One Nissan Owner's Bad Mistake

[Gent 1]

You guys have to see the pictures in this thread to fully understand the horror:

http://my350z.com/forum/lounge-off-topic/3...50z-ruined.html

[Duck 16]

Oh, my god.-Iain

[ValgardForkbeard 2]

You must admit though, it is imaginative use of screws and wood shims to get things to fit ....MG

[Steve C. 0]

i think hgtv covered this in canadas worst handyman...

[booneylander 37]

That's terrible. That shop would be buying me a new car.

[B Tisshaw 0]

Chill bro's....every 16 year old body shop junior has a first job.

Where he shows promise;

* Creative use of materials at hand, gyproc screws, wood shims, rattle can spray etc. shows lateral thinking,

* Initiative to re-hang the doors after they wouldn't clear the skirts, wonky but working doors are better than NASCAR entry / exits

* Save the body shop money by not wasting masking tape and paper, = "Eco friendly"

* Good attitude: "How hard could it be? hell yes I can do that"

* Kept at it, saw the job to the ugly end, but did not quit no sir = perseverance

Where he failed;

* This was a nice Z, not a scrap 1997 Cavalier, wrong car to cut teeth on.

* Always under promise and over deliver; bad and late is really not OK when you have botched a job.

Parting advice to the Z car owner? That will buff right out.

Really.

Edited October 17, 2008 by B Tisshaw

[MikeT 744]

Hey if it keeps one less "kitted" Z-car off the streets, I'm all for Mike's shop!

[cappytanjack 0]

You get what you pay for ... If the price sounds too good to be true walk away or else ... ta da!Cappytanjack ...

[smartzuuk 167]

56 page thread and counting, I saw enough on page 1 to puke... that is a $10,000 bill to repair and return to new.(Okay, $4,800)

Edited November 4, 2008 by smartzuuk

[yolanda 0]

Oh man, what a nightmare. The AIM conversation implies they're buddies and Mike is working in his suburban garage. not professional. Then the results. Oh dear. That he didn't punch that SOB on sight is a wonder. The car is really messed up! It's not even like he was trying to restore a smucked car, he's just changing a kit! Oh dear oh my. MTV, come pimp this ride!

[andy m 0]

I've seen and heard of these horror stories before. I'd say the initial price was a good indicator of what was to come.Buyer beware, you don't send this caliber of vehicle to anything other than reputable professionals.Sad to see this happen though.

[smartzuuk 167]

Wood you have expected wood screws?

[andy m 0]

Not on new cars, but we see it on loose door panels and mouldings of old beaters a lot. It's hard to believe the number of hacked tuner cars out there, usually some kid's first attempt, but rarely on something new and expensive.

[smstar 0]

Here's how ya do it....springs and wheels, nothing else. I am collecting the parts to give my SMART the same treatment for next summer!! This ones mine so easy on the flaming!!!

By smstar, shot with u760,S760 at 2008-07-03

[yolanda 0]

Yeah, that red car looks good, that's about what it should look like!

[Speedie 4]

About the only thing missing is a bunch of duct tape to hold things on.When getting body work done - don't just price shop - if you go for the low ball chances are they will either be taking short cuts, don't really understand how to estimate a job, or you will have your car half way done and you will get a call that they found an unexpected problem and it will be costing you more (some times that is legit - especially on older cars or cars with previous damage). A good shop will even take digital photos of the car in the before state to ensure that all pre-existing damage is recorded and that you have recourse if they bugger up anything.Ask to see some finished work and some clients that you can talk to for a reference. A lot of times it can cost a lot more to fix a bad job then what the job was worth in the first place. Also check to see how long they have been in business and what sort of clients are in the shop (if you see a bunch of taxis or former police cars - run!) - shops tend to settle into a certain niche - so if you are looking for a particular type of work to be done - make sure that is what they normally do since some areas of expertise are specialized (take a lot of know how to pick the right wood screw and get the pointy end the right way round).And remember - there is a whole lot of difference between a $500 paint job and $2500 paint job - mainly the amount of prep to make sure the paint sticks and everything is sanded out properly.Be careful out there -Cheers,Cameron

[strawboss 5]

Man this brings me back....many years ago my buddy took his car to a body shop for a repaint.Asked for yellow & when I drove him back to pick it up it was....green, not lime green but just enough to make you go.... hmmmm, that's not yellow .He pointed this out to the owner who kept denying that it was not pure yellow & when he thought buddy wasn't angry enough, he smiled.All the time my dog is looking at the car, "it's not yellow, didn't he ask for yellow? even I can tell it's wrong, tell him to fix it! "

[ValgardForkbeard 2]

A few years back one of my co-workers took his chrysler van (one of the leprous paint ones) to a body shop that is part of an international chain. The first thing they asked him as part of the estimate process was if he was planning on selling the van right away or keeping it for a couple of years. I would be more than a little suspicious about that sort of question.MG