CamaroAJ
09-20-2012, 07:41 PM
Sorry, long story. One of my best friends owned a custom bike shop where he did custom paint and such. In an effort to work out a deal that would benefit both of us. The deal was he would do the body and paint work on my car with him buying materials. In exchange for this I did work for his shop that was billable to his customers. I had held up my end of the deal and for a time he was working on my car making good on his end of the deal.
I had done enough work for him to cover a complete paint job material wise top to bottom. In the meantime him and his wife had filed for divorce and he needed a place to stay at the same time his business partner was paying himself and not the shops bills so the shop was closed. Since he was a good friend I let him stay with me in exchange for the labor part of my car. Things were working out good, small parts were getting painted at the new body shop he was working for and body work was getting done to the bottom of the car.
This is where things start falling apart. He took my sub frame, control arms and a box of small parts that needed sand blasted to the blaster. After a few weeks I had asked about the parts and he said they were blasted and sealed he was just working on the body work part of them on his lunch breaks and would be done soon. I have no problem with this as I know he's always been straight with me and parts have always trickled home nicely painted. A few more weeks pass and I ask how things were going and he said the control arms were done and the sub frame and the small parts were getting painted that weekend. Well that weekend came and went with nothing done. I was busy with other things so I didn't have any time to talk with him about the car.
A week or two go by and he comes home early on a Monday and apparently had been fired for texting too much at work and not getting stuff done. So on Tuesday I go help him get his stuff from the shop and take it over to the blaster's house (also good friends of his) to store his stuff. Well to my surprise leaning against the wall was my sub with the rest of the parts I had given him. They sat just as they were when they left my house.
Now while I'm not happy with being lied to he has been working on my car at the house and buying the product that he needed to get the job done so I let it go for now. At this point all the body work is done on the bottom of the car, it has been sealed, mudded, sealed, slick sanded, seam sealed and primed.
A few weeks ago on a Friday I got a text from him that his girlfriend had bought a house and he was going to move in with her after she closed on it (turns out she had already closed on it and he knew he was moving that weekend). He gets home from work and we base and clear the bottom of the car. I had plans to go out of town with some friends that Saturday morning and would be back Sunday morning. When I got home Sunday morning he had taken almost all of his stuff out of the house and garage all while I was out of the house. Actually the only thing he left was a air compressor that takes 3 guys to move and a trailer he doesn't have tags to. Dude doesn't respond to text or phone calls. He pretty much just cut bait and skipped out.
Moral of the story watch yourself when it comes to trade work with your friends. While I'm out thousands of dollars I will have to now spend on materials and paying someone else to do the body work on my car that I didn't plan or budget for I'm also a friend short. Now I'm not sure when the car will get done. The time line I had planed out based off the progress so far had me getting it done by late spring early summer 2013. I'm very disappointed in this whole situation.
I had done enough work for him to cover a complete paint job material wise top to bottom. In the meantime him and his wife had filed for divorce and he needed a place to stay at the same time his business partner was paying himself and not the shops bills so the shop was closed. Since he was a good friend I let him stay with me in exchange for the labor part of my car. Things were working out good, small parts were getting painted at the new body shop he was working for and body work was getting done to the bottom of the car.
This is where things start falling apart. He took my sub frame, control arms and a box of small parts that needed sand blasted to the blaster. After a few weeks I had asked about the parts and he said they were blasted and sealed he was just working on the body work part of them on his lunch breaks and would be done soon. I have no problem with this as I know he's always been straight with me and parts have always trickled home nicely painted. A few more weeks pass and I ask how things were going and he said the control arms were done and the sub frame and the small parts were getting painted that weekend. Well that weekend came and went with nothing done. I was busy with other things so I didn't have any time to talk with him about the car.
A week or two go by and he comes home early on a Monday and apparently had been fired for texting too much at work and not getting stuff done. So on Tuesday I go help him get his stuff from the shop and take it over to the blaster's house (also good friends of his) to store his stuff. Well to my surprise leaning against the wall was my sub with the rest of the parts I had given him. They sat just as they were when they left my house.
Now while I'm not happy with being lied to he has been working on my car at the house and buying the product that he needed to get the job done so I let it go for now. At this point all the body work is done on the bottom of the car, it has been sealed, mudded, sealed, slick sanded, seam sealed and primed.
A few weeks ago on a Friday I got a text from him that his girlfriend had bought a house and he was going to move in with her after she closed on it (turns out she had already closed on it and he knew he was moving that weekend). He gets home from work and we base and clear the bottom of the car. I had plans to go out of town with some friends that Saturday morning and would be back Sunday morning. When I got home Sunday morning he had taken almost all of his stuff out of the house and garage all while I was out of the house. Actually the only thing he left was a air compressor that takes 3 guys to move and a trailer he doesn't have tags to. Dude doesn't respond to text or phone calls. He pretty much just cut bait and skipped out.
Moral of the story watch yourself when it comes to trade work with your friends. While I'm out thousands of dollars I will have to now spend on materials and paying someone else to do the body work on my car that I didn't plan or budget for I'm also a friend short. Now I'm not sure when the car will get done. The time line I had planed out based off the progress so far had me getting it done by late spring early summer 2013. I'm very disappointed in this whole situation.