![]() |
This hobby is filled with tons of egos of people who want to say they can do stuff as it makes them fell like Tim the Tool Man Taylor I guess. We all have talents and more then likely your not good at doing every single aspect of building a car. Now days it takes a team, Sheetmetal guys, Chassis guys, Mechanical guys and body guys and painters and interior guys. Its a tremendous team effort to build things that look good and perform well.
I have seen fabricators build a truck that they just changed the engine oil pan to clear the crossmember in their chassis and forgot the pick up tube seal so the engine had no oil pressure for a long long time as they couldn't figure it out. They are fabricators and not Mechanics. I have seen body and paint guys guys think they can do chassis work. And it drives like a tank. Body and paint guys who have zero clue what caster is. Or chassis fabricators who build a pan hard bar mount without reinforcement as they are not engineers but the welding on the frame is nice and tig welded. HAHA I have heard awards of major Award winning cars that were built by super shops that caught fire in the customers drive way. Or major shops who send the customer on a cross country journey in a brand new car and tell them to watch the gauge as the fan doesn't always come on. REALLY??? 300 miles down the road it over heated at a truck stop in the middle of no where. It was the fan connector not being connected properly. The true test of any builder is repeat customers. No one that is unhappy will build a 2nd or 3rd or 4th car if its junk. The other one is how many cars do you see for sale after its complete. Nobody divorces their wife because she is a great wife. I see cars that get passed around and sold at auction 2, 3 even 4 or 5 times at auction? Nobody sells a car because its so great and runs awesome all the time. I say this all the time as I see guys who get taken all the time. This industry needs more education. Tech articles just sell parts and tell you how great junk parts are to intsall. Most guys have no clue how what they are looking at or how to REALLY build a car. I get a call every week from a guy wanting a camaro with All the cool parts for 20K. Painted and ready for SEMA and the track. Not gonna happen. Can't even buy the engine and trans you want for that bud. And some cars just take more work to get right then others. You may be using the best builder ever and it might be struggle. The more custom the more chance for problems until that basic LS3 430 hp engine kicks you square in the nuts. |
Such a good discussion! Just like anything you have to qualify your builder and the builder should do the same with the customer. Neither side wants a headache and the realities and expectations should be layed out up front, time line, cost, warranty.
Because I don’t know, what exactly is discussed on a “pro” built car? Is a contract in place? |
Quote:
Don |
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
Quote:
|
Quote:
if your asking me if i would hand over the car not running properly the answer is NO. now we don't do tuning, i have people for that, that being said they are hard to find and hard to work with. when people tell me they want there car to handle and drive like a new Corvette of BMW i tell them to just go buy one and save your money! your car was obviously a HUGE DREAM that you decided to try and make come true as are MOST of these builds it is unfortunate that it has turned into a nightmare!! hell i cant afford one of these car!! but if i could i LET ME TELL YOU!!! hope it all works out and you get to enjoy it !! |
Quote:
I am not understanding people who don't speak up when they don't get what they paid for... Jeff- |
Quote:
Quote:
|
So --- In agreement with Brycen.... I will sum this up for the BUILDERS here and the customers.....
I've had FOUR rather expensive pro-built cars done. #1 - Steve Frisbee built '32 Ford --- rebuild is the correct description. Was in excess of $200K worth of work. Car didn't run.... Started and ran my brand new motor with no oil.... had I not been there at the time - they'd have run it til it seized. I heard the lifters rattling and said kill it! They were so stupid they didn't bother to check the dipstick - nor pre-prime the motor after sitting for a year. Car had no brake lights Car had to be flat bedded within 2 hours of being driven - because of crap wire job Car puked coolant and oil from every line made. They charged me $15K for fixing it. This was all work they had been paid to perform the first time around. Don't even get me started..... If I see him I'd like to punch his fat little face because he's a dick and an idiot. #2 -- Roy Brizio built '33 -- Car was $283K.... had several minor teething issues. Every one of them fixed correctly -- paint touched up - car detailed and looking brand spanking new every time I took it in for something - or even just asked to store it for a couple months. NO CHARGE EVER -- NO "NOT MY PROBLEM" EVER. #3 -- Sutton built Dirt Missile.... $200K catalog car.... Expect to have LOTS of issues and LOTS of set up work and LOTS of testing and tuning.... but if you can't do little things even half right - and you are aware of an issue and don't bother to fix it -- and you cost me $50K in wasted time and effort.... you don't get to touch the car ever... because you're too F'n stupid. I'd prefer to pay someone double (not) to fix it. #4 -- '40 Ford.... We shall see..... my guess is. It fires up - drives 3,000 miles problem free. MARIO nor I expect perfection from first start up -- what we do expect when stuff is leaking -- or stuff the builder DID -- not a part that broke under warranty -- is to have the issue resolved in a fair and equitable manor. Even if it takes more time - and costs some money. Neither of us would ask for a "discount" up front before starting a build.... we ask for the things we want - we expect to pay for them - we EXPECT you the builder to be a professional that you represent yourself as -- and to FORESEE issues when you're building this crap. Don't set my engine back in a custom built firewall and not be able to remove the valve covers. Don't give me a car that the brake lines are leaking. Don't give me a car puking oil. Don't give me a car with fuses blowing repeatedly. These cars cost what brand new Ferraris and Bentleys cost. Be a professional and fix the issues YOU caused - without hesitation, or question, or additional billing. Nobody that's done this work would expect perfection or a lifetime warranty -- or take issue with a part that takes a dump -- what you expect is for the builder to fix the issues THEY CAUSED. |
Many of you know I recently purchased a new home from a production builder that builds 1,000 homes a year. This builder has policies and procedures for every little thing involved with the construction and sale of a new home. They are not "newbies" at this at all...
On Monday we had our 5 month meeting with our warranty rep. This is where we bring up any small issues we have and they take care of them under their 12 month bumper to bumper warranty laid out in their manuals. It's all good, basically the house is fine, couple small issues like a garage door that needs adjusted because it won't stay up and a couple service doors that have sagged and need adjusted. No big deal... Later that day I notice this laying up on the roof. https://photos.smugmug.com/Vista-Mon...RJ6bCcd-XL.jpg I send the rep a quick email "Hey, also noticed a vent cap has come loose up on the roof if you want to put that on your list of items to take care of" She replies back that I need to contact the roofer for that... :wacko: I ask her for the # and ask "Why?" She says she is not responsible for "storm damage"... :bang: So I call the roofer, after a 30 minute conversation with their CSR...who absolutely won't schedule an appt without me agreeing to pay a service call charge first...I take my big camera out for some better pictures. Her story is the same thing, "we've had lots of storm damage in your neighborhood, this is absolutely storm damage, storm damage is not covered under the warranty". She even tried to put the blame on another trade, saying that is the dryer vent..."not one of their pieces". I ask "who installed it?" "Well, we did but the trade gave it to us to install". She had never even seen what came loose and had no idea what the vent was for or why it came loose. Every time I'd refute her next excuse, she'd put me on hold...go talk to her boss (the owner of the roofing company) and come back to me with his next excuse to use... I was blown away at the effort they both put into NOT accepting that this just might be their fault or at least taking a look at it first before disavowing all responsibility for their shoddy work. Now, here's the deal... I could fix this in less than 10 minutes myself...little bit of PVC glue and a ladder is all I'd need. Thing is, their warranty specifically states that if there is ANY sign of the homeowner being up on the roof, the warranty is null and void. So I can NOT fix it myself. Here's what the pictures show... https://photos.smugmug.com/Vista-Mon...LfXmwvd-XL.jpg https://photos.smugmug.com/Vista-Mon...VwRPD6C-XL.jpg Check out the paint line on the top of the vent the piece came off of. Look real close at the inside of the piece that came off... https://photos.smugmug.com/Vista-Mon...zt3Rzd5-XL.jpg Clear case of improper install IMHO... The cap was never put all the way on the vent, nor was it ever glued. The one right next to it looks like it's ready to come off as well. I sent an email (with read receipt) back to both the builder and the roofer CSRs explaining how this was NOT storm damage but instead improper install yesterday about noon...and included high res photos of the items in the email. I have still not heard back from either of them even though they both read the email not long after I sent it. I paid well North of 2-3 times what one of Greg's car builds cost for this house and am having to have this battle over a 5 minute warranty fix on a "production" builder's product. :bitchslap: Should I have to have this battle? IMHO not a chance. But what are my choices here? Blast the builder thru every channel I can to force them to fix it or just keep presenting the facts and the way I see it to them until they finally cave in and fix it like they should have from the very beginning. These days it seems the first answer with any company when an issue comes up is almost ALWAYS "it's not my problem, it's somebody else's" until you can convince them it IS their problem. Sometimes it even takes drastic measures to convince them...this is the difference between the good ones and the not so good ones... I expect I'll have to have a relationship with the builder of my home for some time to come still, so I remain very friendly, very tactful, but yet very firm on what I expect from them. Eventually the facts will win out and we can both go forward still getting along... |
The economy also plays into the problem. When everybody is flourishing attitudes can change. Egos swell and confidence rises when things are going well.
"I'm so busy right now, what do I care about burning a few bridges." Guess what, the day isn't far off when you won't be that busy and the seeds you've sown will come back to bite you at the worst possible time. Amazing how that always seems to be the way it works out in this life. Work hard and ALWAYS treat people right and you'll flourish regardless of circumstance. The tortoise and the truth are the best way to build an enterprise that will stand the test of time. You'll sleep well and money won't be an issue. |
All times are GMT -7. The time now is 01:09 PM. |
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
Copyright Lateral-g.net