1951 Plymouth Side Swipe Repairs

[Lazer_Toad]

Hi All!


I'm new to the forum, and hoping you will be able to help me out. I have a 1951 Plymouth that got side swiped while it was parked on the side of the street in front of my house. I got an estimate for $2,500 from a shop that specializes in classic cars. The driver didn't have insurance (of course), but I was miraculously able to get cash from her for that amount.



I talked to the shop before they did the work, and they let me know that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for them to match the existing enamel paint. The paint on the rest of the car wasn't in spectacular shape anyway, so I elected to paint the whole car. Unfortunately, paint is expensive. I couldn't justify spending as much, if not more, than I paid for the car a couple of years ago to get a high quality paint job.


After talking to a few people, I decided I would have the shop that gave me the original quote do the repair so I would know it was done right, and then have Maaco spray the whole car (quoted for $600 for the body, another $600for jambs, trunk, and engine cavity, just for the record). I know Maaco has a reputation for rushed and low quality work. I was originally planning on posting here to ask for your opinion on whether I should have Maaco do all the scuffing and filling of the little dents and dings (quoted for 1k), or if I would be better off investing the time to do it myself. (I removed all trim before it went to the shop in the first place, if that is at all relevant).


I wish that where still the only thing I had to come here to ask... I got the car back from the shop a couple of days ago. I took it to them specifically because they specialize in classic cars and I trusted them to do it right. They failed. I sent a detailed email with lots of photos to the owner, but they are unwilling to do anything to make it right. The biggest, and most obvious is a dent at the bottom 1/4 or so of the drivers side door. It is about 3/32" deep over a 25" section. The front door is misaligned by 1/4" at the top of the fender. There is pitting under the primer like there where air bubbles in the bondo or something. There are various other issues that are more minor, and I feel like I can fix myself. (door misaligned with latch, door misaligned with b column, missed dent in b column, unsanded areas, ect.) I can upload pictures, but they are too large to attach on here. I'm not sure how you guys prefer to upload.



I felt confident enough scuffing the rest of the body and fixing small dents if you guys thought I would get a significantly better paint job at the end of the day, but some of the issues left after the "repair" I feel less confident I can handle. I had trouble finding a shop I thought I could trust to work on it in the first place, so I'm not sure where else to go for a second opinion. Help would be greatly appreciated.

[maxwedge]

If you can prove these problems were part of the agreed repairs, then you could dispute with a credit card company, file a complaint with your DMV, or take them to small claims court, with an estimate to finish the work from another shop.