Ok,
So, here's my story.....As you may remember, sometime back (19th of
Feb.) I was rear-ended by the old dodge truck while i was driving my 78
Spit.
The car was taken to the most reputable body shop (that i could discover
by questioning others who had some expertise).....They were to check and
straighten the frame (if needed), replace parts of the bumper, do the
body work where any dents had occurred, straighten a buckle in the boot
lid, replace a piece of black chrome molding across the back of the boot
lid, and repaint the areas. The insurance co. issued a check for approx.
$1550.00 to me. I was to sign it over to the body shop when i was
satisfied with the work.
Went to look at the "finished product". (Remember, previous to the
accident i had had the car painted at Macco and was satisfied with the
job, related to what i had paid for it....$300.00...no runs in the
paint...not perfect in some other regards, (BUT NO RUNS IN THE PAINT.)
When i inspect this "finished product", there are paint runs on the lip
of the boot lid underneath the still evidently damaged piece of black
chrome, and paint runs on the rear driverside quarter-panal behind the
wheelwell. There was an area around the tail light about the size of a
dime that had not even been painted....you could see the grey primer.
The bumper is slightly cocked up all the way across....This made me
think the frame had not been addressed. After pointing these things out,
i begin to get excuses. "The runs were already there." Not true, i say.
"Well, we couldn't match the paint with anything we have, so we had to
buy the paint from Macco....It's inferior paint." .......I do not do
well when people make excuses for obvious mistakes, so i admit, i began
to feel and sound a little hostile...Anyway,
After refusing to pay, i talked with the insurance person and he
mediated the situation....They owned up their mistakes to him and agreed
to straigten it all out as best they could, but could not come up with
the chrome piece, and said the cocked bumper was due to bent brackets
and not due to bent frame (which i tend to believe in this case).
If anyone has read this far, there are a couple of things i need from
the list (if anyone can provide them, i would greatly appreciate it) 1.
The piece of black chrome molding that goes across the lip of the boot
lid. (I will pay top dollar for one in great shape...no dents or obvious
bends) 2. A complete undamaged 78 spitfire rear bumper with all the
componets including the bracets that attatch to the frame
extenders.(again, i will pay top dollar and shipping, if the parts are
in great condition.) If anyone knows where these parts are currently
manufactured by a company, that could help, too. Thanks, for any
response.
Troy Johnson
Bossier City, Louisiana
78 Spitfire
|