Michael's Collision Center

Complaint: ***I am rejecting this response because:
In response to Michaels Collision Shop statement Mike makes the argument that he did way more then the insurance quote and I should be happy with the so called free stuff he did outside the insurance bid However I know that nobody in business does anything for free The truth is whatever insurance claim amount he is showing does not add up to the $4,he received so he got paid extra for the work he did Even if the work was not part of the insurance bid it does not excuse the fact that he work is failing for example, bumper paint is peeling and not aligned right, the body paint he did was a poor job and is bubbling in some areas and you can see were he painted over what seems to be dirt or sand creating small bumps in areas Also the hood he put back is not aligned right And their is at least a inch gap on passenger side In response to his statement about back window and roof being bought sight unseen and that this not his problem is a sign of his lack of concern or professionalism Why did Mike not tell me about the back window being in bad shape or the roof when he has had the parts in his shop for over a year He could have simply told me and I could have bought that did work He never mentioned that he did not replace the roof until I noticed it was the same roof His response shows me lack of responsibility for his own actions just because he feels he did the job for less that what he should have does not excuse poor workmanship So just because of that I should have a leaky car, a bad paint job a missed aligned bumper, failing back glass,
misaligned hood and a roof that was not replaced when he said he would and tells me about it after the fact Had I not noticed the roof I don't think he would have said anythingOn top of that he ripped my driver side leather seat and motor is broke and he butchered the interior middle roof console I did nothing wrong but bring him my car pay him the money he thought it would take for the job we agreed on Now he has given me a corvette with a bad paint job, leaking which in the state of Washington can ruin a car Also bad bumper and hood job and has a roof that I paid for sitting in his shop that he decided not to tell me about until the car was so called done
Most professional shop owners would back up their work and Mike chooses not to do so If he couldn't do a good job he should have never attempted to butcher my car and put it back in such poor condition Bottom line is he did the work and if his work is not holding up he should fix it or pay for it to get fixedHe is liable for the work he does period
I have take my car to another collision shop and they verified that his work was unacceptable and poor workmanship
Attached are some pics of his bad job
Sincerely,*** ***

In response to *** *** complaint, I have a lot to say about the corvette that came in back in June of with two separate insurance claims that totaled $This was a project car that did not originally have a deadline
The first estimate was to
replace the hood which had been damaged, and the second was to repair damage to the rear bumperI never collect payment upfront, but the customer insisted that he pay beforehandHe also wanted more work done with the insurance money than what the estimate stated1) paint the whole car not just damaged areas 2) install new seals and I was to pay for them 3) put the original rear glass onThe vehicles paint job prior to being brought into my shop was awfulThe paint was bubbling and detaching on every single panelThe work that was performed on the corvette prior to us was very poorly executed
Once we started on the job we found all kinds of issues underneath the paintThe bondo was over an inch thick everywhere, and there was a lot of fiberglass work that was needed in order to put the rear glass, on that I had agreed to doSomeone had taken a sawzall and cut out structural parts of the cars back end, and made a custom top I guess you would sayThey used construction screws, plywood, and fiber glassed heavily over the top of thatIt took us months to chisel it all out by hand to get down to the original fiberglassI have never seen anything like this beforeIt was clear to me that this vehicle was going to take way more work and time than I had anticipatedI agreed to throw it in with the insurance work, basically doing the extra work for nothingI have attached photos of the vehicle showing the work
About six months in we were not even close on this carI run a two man auto body shop and we have had a high increase of volume of work in the last couple yearsI could not work on it every single dayI had to get other cars in and out to pay the bills, as well as work on this, which had been turning out to be a nightmare
Mr*** then started becoming aggravated that his car wasn't doneHe regularly called me on my personal cell phone on weekends to complain and borderline harass meA while later I received a letter from his lawyer threatening that I’d have to pay back the $if I didn’t have the car done in days
The amount of work that still needed to be done to the vehicle was impossible to achieve in daysOn one hand, I was relieved to pay the money back just to be done with the stressful job this was turning intoOne the other hand, I felt bad because it was all torn apart and no top installedSo I talked to *** and said there was no way to complete the car in that time frame, and that I would have the money ready for him whenever he wanted to pick it upHe said something along the lines of “I’d really like for you to just finish instead.” We communicated for a while and I agreed to continue on the workWe worked on it for a couple more months before we even had the car ready for primerWhen that time came I felt assured I’d be done soon, but we ended up missing a few deadlines after that due to severe paint reactionsI’m not sure what kind of material had been put on this car, but any areas that had any bits of the paint left on it would swell up and wrinkleWe primed the entire car three times before we got it under control
Then paint time cameWe painted a total of nine smaller pieces one day, bumpers and top another day, then the whole car by itselfNow we are to the point of putting everything back together during this time he started asking for more interior pieces to replace older worn ones, or that were missing all together and he would pay for themIt was the door panels, sun visors and three rear trim piecesI agreed to look for the parts and have them delivered to the shop to installThe door panels came in from a wrecking yardThey were in rough shape, so I returned them and talked to *** that same day about using a screw to secure his two front door panels. The only thing wrong with them was some broken mount points, which were like that when the car came inOther than that the outside of the panels looked pretty good*** agreed to pass on the new (used) door panels and just use a drill screw to secure itThat was *** call. We got the three rear trim pieces from B&R Auto wreckingThey weren't bad condition, so we installed thoseThe visors I could not find at any wrecking yards, but managed to find a new set on EBayWe got those ordered and installed themTo date he still hasn't paid for any of those materials
We bought a new front bumper for the car, which was expensiveSince the old one was in such bad condition, it was easier for us to go that route to speed things upI was getting constantly called by Mr*** about his car and threatened to be suedI just wanted to speed things up so that was paid for by us, as well not on any of the insurance estimates
*** also said that we didn’t replace the topThat is correct, we did not change the topHe had ordered it from B&R auto wrecking sight unseen paid for it and had it sent to my shopWhen we got to that part of the car, we realized the top he had purchased was in worse shape than the one that was already on the carWe chose the better of the twoI explained that to him, I am unsure why he still is mad about it to this dayHe still has not even seen the one that he purchasedIt’s here at my shop, and he can come get it anytimeSame goes for the back glass he purchasedHe bought that at the same time, sight unseen, and it came with the shocks that he mentioned were failingHe was the one who bought the glass with the broken defroster wire and the failing shocksI don’t see how that is our fault at all!
The seals are another freebie that was not on any insurance estimateThey were around $which was way more than I had expected, but I was still going to do itThe targa top and back glass were sealing fine, but the two side doors were not making good contactWe couldn't find any adjustment in the doors to make them seal rightI suggested that he take it to a local windshield repair & replacement shop, Novus Glass and see if they could handle that issueI had mentioned that to him when he picked up the vehicle
*** called me that Saturday on my cell phoneNot once would he ever call my shop, always my personal phoneHe was furious because he had gone through a car wash and water leaked inHe said I never mentioned it to him, which I most certainly did and he continued to go on yelling about itI did lose my temper with him that timeWhen I said I can’t do everything on his car, I meant itI truly think he wants me to make his car perfect inside and out with this $
That money was for repairs we did to the front hood and rear bumper, everything else I was just helping him do and it was alot more work than I had expected it to beI have both insurance estimates if they need to be looked at to see what this job actually was forThe things he’s mad about are a lot of free things we tried to help him out with, and has been a very difficult client
He saw everything that we found under the paint, and how much extra work we had to doHe didn’t seem to care about thatThe vehicle wasn't his daily driver, and when he first dropped it off he told me it didn’t have to be perfectThat I could take my timeI know there’s more I’m missing here, as this process has taken over a yearI’ll say this has been the worst experience I ever had with a customer, and with a car since my dad started in the early 90's we always work with our customers and have never been able to come to an agreementI can’t work with Mr*** any longerThat was the most stressful year I’ve ever had working here
Everything that was on the insurance estimates that I am liable for was done and I wish that’s all I had done to begin withI have parts receipts totaling well over $Materials have to be well over $1000.00, maybe more (I have not calculated), and countless hours of laborI honestly didn’t make any profit on this car after it was all said and doneI just want it to be over, he got way more than the estimates and honestly we thought he would be thankful for all the extra work we put in- Mike@Michaels
-Pictures attached