I need some guidance on what to do here.

My motor let go in March of this year. I decided to go all out from full motor rebuild to voltex kit and everything in between. Sent it to a shop that I became good friends with the owner because the work he does is incredible. He received the car in march. I purchased every part needed for the build. All the parts minus a few that have been finally installed are sitting in their boxes.

Progress is almost non existent. The motor was put built by Curt brown and assembled at the shop in mention in July. it has been sitting on a stand since then and nothing has gotten done. He takes in new car after new car and mine sits in the corner without mention. He tells me its close to being done and it wont take long but everyday passes and another car comes and goes from the shop. Its been 6 months now, I wanted the car done back in August and now I have a huge event I look forward to the first week of November. He promises it will be done by then but still nothing to show of it.

The second issue is I cant think of another shop in my area that I could trust to do all the work, second, the labor rate he cut me is pretty good, and if I try to take the car Im sure he will try to jack it back up. This has been giving me major anxiety as I usually do my own work but didnt want to deal with something this large at home.

 

Need to be up front with the guy. Unfortunately, "buddy shops" seem to sometimes lack in the progress department. Just need to be upfront with him and basically say that it is unacceptable. Hes gonna keep pushing it off until you make it known to him that you know he is putting it off and its starting to **** you off.

 

I've been checking in every so often and texting and nothing seems to matter, guess it's time to get more aggresive.

 

Did you pay him anything up front?

 

as said before be up front but start making things official, send emails, take note of your SMS and his responses, log everything that you do and how he answers you. Find out what he thinks it needs to take to get the job done and when and note that down on an email and return it to him. example, as discussed today you stated that you will be finishing it by end of September, he will get the idea that you are building up a case to go to court and might respond a bit better. Also be polite and give him the benefit of the doubt always as that will be seen on your side if you need to front up to a judge. By the way other customers are probably paying full price so you might be on the list for when we get time, discuss if its a money issue or what is the real problem and note it all down.

 

Since he is your good friend, just hit him up and be like "hey man I really wanna get this thing going, I know your busy so what if I come in after work/weekends and help you wrench on it".

This is what I would do if I was in your shoes and it was one of my "good friends". That is if your situation allows for you to do that.

 

This^.

If you can't do this, he's not a "good friend." Take the car back and assemble it yourself. It would be a rewarding learning experience. The hard part, which is actually assembling the motor, has already been done by Curt so the rest is cake.

 

No money has exchanged hands except for the little bit of labor he has done, I paid down asap. I've offered help numerous times, mostly with no reply. I just have no real place to work on the car at my house currently my space has been limited as of late.

 

Why not find a different shop and show up with a tow truck to collect your car and parts? It sounds like you wouldn't loose out on that great of a friendship.

 

I have two shops lined up that I contacted today. Im gong there thursday to "help" see how everything is and ill go from there. This definitely isnt the way I wanted this to transpire.

 

Would the other shops charge you a higher rate? If so, and you trust the current shop to do a better job, just tell him to charge you at his normal rate but also treat it as a normal customer job. Mates rates is good, but obviously the downside is full paying customers get priority, and the "afterhours" car sits until someone has time to get to it.

Just be upfront and tell him if he can't do it by x date you have no option but to take it to someone that can have it ready when you need it.

 

Good news is tomorrow I can go down and work on the car with him as long as time allows. we should get a lot done. Like I said he puts in amazing work, I just dont know if he realizes I have deadlines too. I really appreciate all the tips given here.

 

Doing things with "good friends" is really a waste of money. Take the car from that place and drive it to a proper shop. You think it is cheap but you have not put into account all the time that has passed and all the stress that this has caused you. And if something goes wrong......6 more months of the same. Been there, done that. Never again...

 

Give the shop a deadline, like I need the car done by X. Meanwhile find a new shop that can schedule you in for a set time frame if the 1st shop misses the deadline. If the deadline comes and goes with no progress, go get your car/parts and take it to the new shop.

 

curious .... did u pay him the majority of his (shop) money?