Stay well away!!!! This past Summer Brian had one of his employees pick up my 1981 Datsun 280 Z for full restoration work. I had already disassembled the car in my garage. The car chassis had to be transported on a dolly (provided by Brian) as the rear drive train had been removed. The fenders, doors, hood, and rear lid were also handed over for restoration. The fenders were rusting mainly around the inside of the arches, and one of the doors displayed rust along the lower edge. I had already stripped the paint off of the fenders, hood, and doors, so the amount of corrosion was very visible. The drivers side and passengers side floor pans also needed to be replaced, as well as other areas around the rear wheel arches and windshield frame. I agreed to pay Brian $5'000 dollars (Check made out to Brian, not First Choice Auto Clinic), to start the restoration on the vehicle. It had been in my garage for ten years, and it was time to get it completed. Brian had shown me around his shop, and allowed me to see several projects that were in the works. I was impressed with what I saw and listened to multiple restoration stories he had to offer about existing and past customers. He convinced me that "First Choice Auto Clinic" was the right place to restore this car back to its former glory. After several weeks, I had heard nothing so I called to check on the progress of the car. I was told Brian was busy and would call me back.........well two days later I heard nothing and tried again.......given the same reason he could not talk to me, so again I waited for a couple of days, and called again. I was told once again that he was busy. At this point I was getting a little concerned, so I demanded that he call me back that day. He did, and said that he had been busy and apologized for not returning my call. I let it go, and set up a day that week to swing in and look at the progress on the car. I was sent an invoice for $3'200, and some change for 38 hours worth of labor, so I was looking forward to seeing the progress. When I got there, Brian was not around, so one of his employees showed me the work that had been done thus far. I was a little confused when I saw that the two fenders had had some rust cut out and a couple of steel patches welded in with some initial grinding around the arches. That was it! I took photos of the work and asked for the rest of the progress, only to told, "That was it". Three Thousand Dollars to half patch two fenders that I could have completely replaced for $1,200. I called Brian later that day to try and figure out why it took 38 hours to partially patch two fenders. He said that he agreed that it was high, and that he was out of town and was not on top of his guys. He also said that he tried to find parts, but had no luck! I find that hard to believe as it only took me 15 minutes to find two parts vehicles online within a 100 mile radius for $1'100. Although no offer of reducing the charge was made, he said he would make it up on the remaining portion of the project. We left it at that, and I said I would check in at the end of the year. I was a little concerned at this point, but didn't want to be one of those annoying demanding customers, as I have a small restoration business myself, and know what that can be like. I checked in last week, and was told that Brian was busy with a customer. I requested to see the vehicle anyway, and was told that it was outside at the rear of the building. I walked around the building in the pouring rain only to find my car sitting there uncovered and full of leaves and at least 5 inches of standing water in the floor pans. No hood, doors, or rear lid. The car was completely water logged, and appeared to have been left uncovered and open to the Winter elements for Months. I am completely confused as to why he would treat a customers property with such little regard. I could not imagine doing this to one of my customers!! no way. I had a tow truck pick the car up within the hour and had it brought back to garage where it sits now drying out. I am not sure yet how this may have affected the electrics and other components that were still attached to the chassis. There is water still leaking out of the frame. I asked for my fenders, doors, lid, and hood, but Brian would not release them until I returned his dolly, and that was after telling me that he was going to keep the remaining $1'800 for additional work? He had painted the fenders with primer, which I am not sure why, because they were still dented, and the patches still required a lot of grinding and finishing. So all in all, I paid $5'000 to rough patch two fenders, apply one coat of primer, and have the car dunked in a river! I would love to hear his response to this review. I have photos of this car leaving my garage, and of his "work", which is amateur at best, and the state in which I found it while in his care. Awful, awful business. Does not care about your vehicle, just wants your cash.
Net Promoter® NPS®, NPS Prism®, and the NPS-related emoticons are registered trademarks of Bain & Company, Inc., Satmetrix Systems, Inc., and Fred Reichheld. Net Promoter Score™ and Net Promoter System™ are service marks of Bain & Company, Inc., and Fred Reichheld.
Attention
We use cookies to personalize content, enable certain functionality, and track site analytics for marketing purposes. You consent to our cookies if you continue to use this website.
