damiansyadathi

at least your car got some weight reduction

usdm180sx

WTF? A rattle can job is better than that janky ass shit. FUCK that guy.

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-Norm!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2.../koukisig2.jpg

HalveBlue

Honestly, this doesn't surprise me.

Anybody can do bodywork. Few can do really good bodywork.

That's why those that can charge such high prices. And those that can't tend to do TALK a lot and offer really low prices.

When it comes to bodywork, NEVER skimp out. There's truth to the saying you get what you pay for. This is especially true for body work.

To the OP, I hope something good comes out of all of this for him.

KwKouki

this thread should be showed to anyone bitching about price for ANYTHING car related.

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usdm180sx

That is why AutoExplosion.com is ftw. For $2200 you basically get a $6000 paint job. Unfortunately many people on zilvia see $2200 as a high priced s13.

But if you want a car that looks better than new this price is a steal

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-Norm!

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sub9lulu

because alot of them didnt even pay 2200 for their car

Jung918

1st I just want to say that Mike "screwed" me over. I bought a J's carbon fiber hood from him and when I went to pick it up it was installed on his car. Yeah, thats right. He said that it would get dust and paint so that is why he installed it. I asked for a complete refund but he wouldn't do it. So, he gave me a partial refund. Never again would I do business with this douche bag.


2nd, my car is currently with Angrypanda getting a complete paint job and I can not say enough good things about him and his business partner. I am the type of person that is anal about who touches my car and so I carefully look for someone that will do outstanding work.

There is the saying "you get what you pay for" and in most cases that is true. However, there are those rare instances when you find someone that outputs excetional work for a good price. The rare breed of workers who actually treat your car like it is their own and at times better. They care more about their quality of work than fast money. Those are the people I trust my car too.

Soon enough I will be posting pictures and bringing my car out to meets.

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Sale:
Hello Kitty Horn Button

S14 Rear Valences

K.Y. Gordon the Thief (Tony Chen)

usdm180sx

Well, that just explains how cheap so many 240sx owners are!

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-Norm!

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Matej

Isn't 13K+$ a little steep?
The car looks like it still runs and drives perfectly fine.
It's not like drove it onto the railroad tracks and set it on fire.

firelizard

I can bore a hole into my quarter panel and the car will still run fine. But that's not the point. The point is that the panels on the Z are damaged, and need to be replaced in order to put the Z back to the way it was originally. And the estimate for the repairs is $13K

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1998 Mazda 323 Protege SE | 1991 240SX SE | 1994 Lexus LS400

OTG Vinyl

Still seems extreme.

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Matej

It's just ironic to me that the owner bought aero and has obviously been modding his car, and now wants to sue for the price of putting the car "back to stock." Did they also quote him 2K$ to take the aftermarket wheels off and put his stock ones back on? Haha.

Whatever, I hope you guys get your free 350Z.

To be honest I feel sorry for this Mike guy. It seems that he has lost all passion for what he does and does not take any joy or pride in his work anymore. He has probably hated his life and working on cars for a while now, but it's his only means of getting by.
He definitely shouldn't be running a body shop, I hope you guys get some kind of compensation, and I hope Mike finds a career he enjoys and is good at.

CrimsonRockett

It's not that we're aiming to have a stock Z again.

We just want the body to be repaired back to OEM spec. AKA no holes in the rocker panels, no over spray on the entire car, etc etc.

Of course we don't want a stock Z again, but at the cost of repairs for the Z, it's deemed totaled. It's not fair to Brian that because of Mike's lack of passion, he ended up with a Salvage Titled Z.

You don't exactly have our mindset, let alone Brian's since he's the owner of the car.

This isn't exactly an S13. You can't come up on a Z33 shell for $500.

If that were possible, I would have said "screw this, let's start fresh".

The car will still be repaired by Angry Panda, but we'll still be suing for all of the damages done to the car. Not to mention all the time Brian has taken off work to deal with Mike.

All in all, it's not fair that we were returned a poor condition Z. There were no holes in the rocker panels to begin with. The passenger side door was never dented prior to this entire ordeal. The entire chassis wasn't covered in overspray from the factory.

Try to put yourself in Brian's shoes.

After seeing everything that has happened to your car because of some idiot that completely didn't give a shit, wouldn't you want to start fresh too?

I hope you see my point.

Yes, the car still runs/drives fine.

Yes, the holes can be welded shut.

Yes, the entire car CAN be repaired.

But, you can't prevent rust from forming underneath the rocker panels because of the new welds. Estimated time before the rocker panels start rusting from the inside is 5 years.

Brian didn't plan on getting rid of his car....ever. Let alone in 5 years.

Again, Angry Panda is already working on the car. They're trying to repair the Z as best as they possibly can. It will be there for a long time. David is one of the most knowledgeable people I know when it comes to body/paint. So, i'm 100% sure the car will be returned in pristine shape once he's done with it.

This has been an insanely expensive lesson. Time consuming as well.

Still have a long road ahead of us.

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-Angry Panda Fabrication -
Fixing iDesigns shitty work since 2008.
CrimsonRockett@blogspot

Soooshi

grieving? This is a discussion!

I agree that 13 fucking thousand is a fucking lot. not even just a fuxking lot, but to the point that you're just nitpicking the shit out of it.

"Oh he got paint on the tires!!! We need new tires!!!"

WTF are you serious?

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Ethix

They should total it....and I'll buy it with a salvage title. cheap cheap!!


Seriously, I hope this all works out. I would be devastated if I got my super clean new car back and it was hacked up like that.

Good luck!

CrimsonRockett

What?

When did we ask for new tires?

Do you really think we care about that?

That was the estimate to repair the car correctly.

Body work on a Z isn't exactly cheap. Any rear end damage on a Z33 is stupid expensive.

We're not "nitpicking the shit out of it".

That's the estimate we were given.

Not "what we think we deserve".

Exactly why we're mad.

Car went in clean to have minor things done to it.

Returned in extremely poor condition.

We tried talking to Mike about the entire situation. He chose to ignore us. Not the other way around.

We're not gold diggers.

We just want the poor car fixed.

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-Angry Panda Fabrication -
Fixing iDesigns shitty work since 2008.
CrimsonRockett@blogspot

Kalashnikov

Yeah, if there are any members on this forum that has been "Screwed" by MIKE please take the time if it goes to court, be a Witness at least.

We need to be a Community and Stop B.S. like this. Life is too short to let people "Screw" one another and life is too short to not FIGHT BACK.

Just take some time and take this "Mike" down, it will one of the best experiences of your life, winning a law suit of injustice. You will be a stronger person, and you did the world GOOD.

Just collect and document as much Evidence as possible.~ It can't hurt to do so.

TheWolf

well unless mike has the worst business cpa.. then you're just going to crush his company. they'll close.. and you can frame your judgement you got against him.. can't get blood from a rock.. so you can piss and moan about it for another 3 pages or weld in some steel patch pannels which will be stronger than stock and get back to life... if you remove the whole rocker pannel and replace it.. the car will never be straight again.,

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BDMs14

Man that Z is ruined! Kinda looks like the work they do here in NYC @the flushing/shea stadium "el pancho bargain" bodyshops!
Can't believe he cut the 1/4 panels/ rocker panels to "FIT" the skirts!
Unreal!

usdm180sx

Shit man if you really feel sorry for him then give him some business and let him paint your car.

__________________
-Norm!

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2.../koukisig2.jpg

Kalashnikov

Yeah. LOL. Some people here say that the OP shouldn't complain and not "cry and moan" about it. But I think not taking action is WEK SOS~

At least by bitching about it, everyone would know about the shop and the person doing such horrible work.

The idiot that says "oh, don't bitch and moan " about it, you should take your car to Mikes shop. You wouldn't do so now because you know what's up.

You can go to http://us.bbb.org/WWWRoot/SitePage.a...6-e4df22e6f371 (better business buerau) and check the companies Rep, if it is available.

Kalashnikov

No. of CmplType of Response0Making a full refund, as the consumer requested0Making a partial refund


1Agreeing to perform according to their contract0Refusing to make an adjustment


1Refuse to adjust, relying on terms of agreement0Unanswered0Unassigned

2 Total

Matej

Next weekend I'm flying him in.


I'm not taking my car to any shop, ever.

AngryPanda

we started on Brians repairs today

here is the lip being fitted





The lips ends had to be cut off to make the lip fit properly

Here the end is being held in place with fibertec (kevlar reinforced filler) untill fiberglass can be layered



Next areas that were to be glassed over was sanded with 36 grit sandpaper and glassed over, also the edges meeting the bumper was filled with kitty hair to give it an OEM quality fitment.


That is all for today

We will be updating when ever possible with progress on Brians car.

Fries

Intense, always wondered what had to be done to make crappy fitting things fit.

Wow.

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GSXRJJordan

Well, well, well.

My experience with Mike started a year ago this month - December 07. I was looking at picking up Bryan Rogers' S14 that had been crashed at Irwindale and needed the driver's side rear quarterpanel replaced (car came with a replacement panel) and I wanted a Works9 replica bodykit for it. I also inquired about him seam welding the chassis while he was at it, but once he told me that he'd never done it before, that was off the table. He said he'd done this work before, and that it would be fine (meaning, you wouldn't be able to tell the quarterpanel was replaced). Sight unseen, he made a solid quote of $700 for all of it, and took a deposit of $500. He told me the whole job would take about a day.

The car looked like this:


I towed to to him, and as soon as he saw it, he said "oh, no this is different than what we talked about, it's going to take longer"... so it sat outside his shop, right where I left it:



... UNTIL MAY 2008 - over 6 months, and NOTHING got done!!! Every time I asked about it, he'd give me some bullshit about what drama he has in his life and how he needs to do all these other jobs, so he can do "budget jobs" like mine and still keep his doors open. Horrible on calling back/responding to emails, too.

[keep reading]

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TEAM SUS*PECT is alive.
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GSXRJJordan

[continued]

So he calls me in May, and says "I have to get my car out of his shop", because "it's just in the way". My surprise when I get there - it's not done! He's cut out pieces of the old quarterpanel and tack welded the new one on top. We arrange for him to come to my house and finish the welding on the quarterpanel and fit my bodykit (which I had to pick up from his supplier, because he didn't have his Mom's van to pick it up with...) "within a week". Oh, and remember how I paid for Works9? Well, turns out he couldn't get it, so I had to settle for C-West front and Vertex style sides/rear.

So I call a tow truck and tow it home...

... to find overspray from GabeS14's paintjob (which I guess happened some 3ft from where my car was sitting, uncovered...) everywhere.


... this was EVERYWHERE... After washing the car twice, I realized the primer coat that was on there was toast, and that I'd have to scrape every inch of the glass...



Three weeks later, he brings another guy to my house and watches him as he does an absolutely newb-ass welding job on my quarterpanel - I had to supply welding gloves and glasses! This guy shows up with nothing to cover his hands or eyes!!! He say's he'll have to come back another time to finish the bondo work.

Weeks later again, he sends his "assistant"/ex-business partner to finish my bodywork - this guy shows up with air tools (I don't have a compressor)... anyway, we talked about Mike and his business, and I tipped the guy an extra $20 to do a nice job, and he did... can barely tell the quarterpanel's been replaced. He didn't help me mount my kit though, and didn't clean up after himself (Z-grip filler EVERYWHERE). I believe it was at this point that I gave Mike the remaining $200, in exchange for the remaining body kit pieces.

So Mike called me about a month later saying he really needed some positive publicity about his shop, and that I should drive my car over there (about an hour away), and he'd help me mount the kit properly and re-primer the car. I tried to schedule this up a couple times, but could never connect.

===== IN SUMMARY =====
- I asked Mike to do a "good" (not show-quality, but not noticable) job for a good price, with the promise of good publicity if it worked out.
- He delivered bargain basement work (I literally could have done a better job myself, with barely any bodywork experience), 6 months late, at much hassle to myself (10+ trips to his shop)
- Whenever I was not pleased with something, he immediately blames it on someone else - me, a "worker", parents, girlfriend (when he had one), etc.
- I would never recommend his shop/services to anyone, for anything - no matter what the price.

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TEAM SUS*PECT is alive.
www.JordanInnovations.com

CrimsonRockett

Thanks for those posts!

I remembered something about your car having a quarter panel replaced, but I didn't think it took Mike that long to do it.

Thanks to Angry Panda for the updates on Brian's car.

Sucks to see an Origin kit still have crappy fitment.

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-Angry Panda Fabrication -
Fixing iDesigns shitty work since 2008.
CrimsonRockett@blogspot

Mi Beardo es Loco

wow. how does this mike guy stay in buisness?

I had a bad experience with a shop where they molded my front over fenders on the passanger side and my rears on my driver side. I always thought it looked akward and didn't really figure it out for about 2 weeks. When I took it back to him surprise surprise he's out of buisiness and I'm forced to do the work myself. It wasn't THAT big of a deal because I could do it but I trusted the shop while I was in Ohio for a couple months. The biggest problem though was I had to respray that area and it doesn't look EXACTLY the same

aa87

If the prices are low, what can you expect honestly.

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Hookers and blow.