BODY SHOPS grrrrrrrrrrr

Well I've just been upto the body shop to check on the progress of my bus and you've guessed it NOTHING'S been done! It's been 6 weeks since I last went down there and I'm not a happy bunny! Last time I went I was chuffed to bits that the new front panel was on with just a bit of filler work to be done, the only difference now it's covered in dust. I'm a pretty patient dude but its been in there for 3 years!!!!! The ONLY reason my other half suggested using the wedding fund to get it done rather than doing it at home was so we could be using it sooner rather than later, well that's a laugh now isn't it!!! Damn it I'm cross!

Think I'll walk the dogs for some much needed chill time.

 

Have you paid up front?

 

It was more like "I can't give you an exact date but I'd say it should be done by September, you'll definitely be using it next summer" then more recently (late last year) "it'll be out by April"....... strange that I'm sure its June

I've given him some money to cover materials the rest will be paid on completion

 

I feel for ya Piggy. The bodyshop I used took the bus of me in January 2011 and said I'd have it back by 30 April 2011. I kept pushing for that because I wanted to use it last summer. I eventually got it back in December 2011.
Still, could be worse. The job was top class and worth the wait. So hang on in there mate. Sometimes, these things take a lot longer. And don't forget the saying 'good things come to those who wait'.

One thing I've learnt is don't make plans or dream of going off for long weekends until you've got your bus back.

 

I don't get this, how many hours are they charging? Are they just carrying out the work when they feel like it? Have they given a written quotation of the work? i'd move them to a more business like arrangement!
Cheers
s

 

3 years? Are they building you a bus out of matchsticks?

 

Mine took 9 months in the end. In as a fill in job but, as usual, Paul was always busy and only got odd days done on it. Most of the work was done in the end couple of months when I actually put the pressure on, but then I had to pay proper rates as he was turning away other work. You pay your money .........

 

There wasn't a contract written up which was my first mistake! Stupid really because my brother went through all of this with his mini so you'd think I'd have learnt :

Problem is I'm a big tart when it comes to confrontation so I've decided the thing to do is just go down every other weekend an mither him into doing it.

As for the length of time its already been there, I know its ridiculous but the guy has had a hard time lately getting divorced so being a reasonable person I left him to it. That's all done and dusted now and still no progress......I think I've been reasonable enough now!

 

I can't believe this is another one of those threads where someone has had the mickey taken out of them. 3 years! Come on, I'd be banging on the door after 6 months.

If your paying a business to do the job then it should be done in a decent a pre agreed timescale. No ifs, buts or maybes.

 

That, my friend, was a little unnecessary. I fully understand that there is little if no money in bus restorations. I'm not knocking restorers at all, it's not an easy game to be in.

What I'm saying is I've seen many threads about restorers taking far too long on the jobs and not being clear an honest to the clients.

 

i m in a similar predicament although i know the garage as friends , i m contantly there now pushing lol , if they got stuck in there s about 3-4 days work left but it seems to be takin ages , must say tho they are good enough to let me do as much as possible to keep price down aswell as use their tools and ask advice .. ive seen jobs come in tho that realisticaly are simple but because of uncovering other problems time ticks on and sometimes its like opening a big can of worms when you start messing with 30+ yr old bus .. i think sometimes we can all be guilty of because when and if we have to put a modern car into a garage the turn around is pretty quick and maybe we just presume the same for our buses

 

I agree with Zed totally in this. I don't restore vehicles. Gary in the paintshop does and I tell you these buses of ours are mares to restore. As Zed says if you do it "properly". The boys have had to make good poor repairs that are badly repaired in the first place on these vehicles. We have one in at the moment. Once they started to dig into it, it turns out that that little bit of rust in the rear arch has turned into a wheel tub, outer arch skin and around the sill.

To do it properly takes time and these buses don't make you rich. I have customer who l hoped to have booked into Gary's but the one in is taking longer because of previous poor repairs. So I asked 3 other places. All said no because they have other buses in.

The only advice I can give is keep an eye on your bus, make regular visits but don't make yourself a nuisance an if the body shop says they need XYZ parts then do the leg work for them. But also consult them on the parts and always buy the best you can. You will make it so much easier for everyone.

It also doesn't have a lot to do with workshops being dishonest. Sometimes a bus can be very dishonest or the owner has a higher expectation of it because they don't actually see what is beneath a skim of filler. The restoration threads on here are brilliant because people can see buses getting naked and down to the nitty gritty. I'm not pointing fingers here but take a look at MorkC68 Gusbus resto. Once he started cutting into it he uncovered a lot more than he originally bargained for. It's taken him and the good lady far longer than they had thought but he's doing it properly.

 

it's all about planning, i agree with the posts saying to do it properly takes time and will usually lead to more unspecified work, however as i say planning is the key - just like house building (think grand designs on the telly) they never get done on time or budget as things happen and parts or suppliers become an issue, the only thread i've read on here that came close to being a "perfect" resto was the wilmas one and they purchased parts for years? in advance so that John at 81a had no excuse to wait for stuff.... there can't be a great deal of money to be made in resto's as the time consuming nature of doing the job, you all know how you can easily "waste" a day just tatting..... therefore if a bodyshop can make some dollar doing quick repairs and slide them in front of a total resto they're gonna, the plates get juggled and the bills get paid.

 

Mr Body, yes that was a bit sharp.

But let me add another thang. You guys will happily (or unhappily) fork out £100+ per hour + vat at your regular dealer garage.
Then you expect the same service from your restorer who is probably making £5-8 and hour farting about with your bus to keep it to a price that you're prepared to pay.

I'm sick of it (as you might have guessed). As such I've been trying for 6 months to find someone to paint one for me. No chance. Nobody wants to do it anymore than I do, and I have contacts! When someone does agree, it just gets put back and back and never gets done. A modern bodyshop simply doesn't know how to tackle it. And if they do know what's required, they don't want to touch it. They know as it takes so long and is so unprofitable, it'll just hang round in the way while they earn a living doing crash repairs. And space has to earn money.

 

I'm with zed and birdy, restorations are a long, tedious, dirty and badly paid process. I had a similar experience with a job which took so long that i had to fit other work in to keep money coming in. I've worked on a few very expensive cars, which was great because the owners were rich and you could go to them and say, 'i've found this, it'll take X hours to sort, and i'll cost an extra £2000' and they'd say 'ok'. Most T2 owners aren't wealthy, so you always end up doing stuff for free. As zed said, it costs £1000 to refit a van once it's done, about a week, but try explaining that to a customer!