Body kit has arrived!

[Hawkeye71]

I'm not sure what the heck is going on!

I've had to either send an email or call Magnum myself to get any information. This after being told that I would be kept up to date on everything.

I had to call Jay again today to check on the status of the car. I was told that he was gonna contact me as soon as it went into paint. He told me 3 different times it was supposed to go to paint and that he would let me know how it was going. He has not without me contacting him.

So I asked him if the car was still gonna be ready, as the last time we talked or emailed it was supposed to be the middle of the week. He said it would be Friday for sure. I explained to him that I would have to request time off work and have a buddy go down with me to pick the car up and if he was sure. He said they had a little problem with the gel coat but assured me it would be Friday. I told him if I did not hear back from him in 2 hours I was gonna go ahead and request the time off. This was at 12 noon. He said that would be good. Needles to say I did not hear back from him. I requested time off from work and called my bud to make sure he could give me a ride.

I check my email at 7 pm, low and behold I get a message from him, not a phone call mind you. It was sent at 5pm. He is telling me that they are having a problem with the gel coat taking paint?!!?? What the heck?? It seems like every time I call there is something going on. The last time it was the fitting around the head light needing sanding. I sent the pictures to Karl at Fiber Werks and he told me that they were not doing the fitting right. That they needed to lower the mounting bracket below the lights. He said he did a test fit of the bumper before he shipped it and it fit great. I then contacted Jay at Magnum and told him what Karl had said. Jay told me it was just a little sanding of the gel coat that needed to be done to get a perfect fit. So I went along with it as they are the ones doing the install. Jay did say in the email that it should still be Friday but late Friday. I am fine with this if it is.

I'm not a body guy but I am an ASE master tech that has been around cars for over 30 years. I also owned a shop for over 8 years and this is starting to stink a little to me.

I sent an email to Jay and asked him for some pictures of the problem area and for a total on the car. I also stated that I did not expect the bill to be much over the quote that I had agreed to as he has only told me of the little bit of sanding that needed to be done on the gel coat to get the fit around the head lights just right and that was the only thing I had agreed on.

I'm thinking about driving down there in the morning and just sorta of popping in on them to see the "problem" first hand. It's over a 2 hour drive for me but I'm willing to do it to find out what is going on.

What do you guys think? Am I over reacting? It's just that Fiber Werks has sold and had about 3 kits painted already with no problems at all since I got mine. This is according to the customers! It also seems like every time I talk to Jay he is a little vague like he's not sure what's going on.?.

[insite]

don't stress; this is pretty typical for body shops. it sucks, but it is what it is.

i'd just wait until they're done & then make arrangements to go pick up the car. if progress stalls & you need to check on things, there are many of us who are a lot closer than 2hrs that would be happy to pop in & take a look.

that place is less than 15min from work for me. if a few days go by & your bs detector starts going off, PM me & i can go take a look for you.

[insite]

btw, theire assertion that the gel coat isn't taking paint sounds sketchy to me. this ain't their first rodeo; they should know how to do this.

[Hawkeye71]

Originally Posted by insite

btw, theire assertion that the gel coat isn't taking paint sounds sketchy to me. this ain't their first rodeo; they should know how to do this.

It just seems like every time I talk to Jay he sounds like he's not sure what's going on or he tells me he's gonna do something and for some reason it doesn't get done.

I'm with you on the gel coat not taking paint thing myself. I've seen many kits on customer cars and have even installed a few. (As far as bolting them on not painting.) This was one of the cleanest I've seen. I think it's just behind schedule and he's giving me excuses. I'm hoping that's all it is anyway. Just wish he would tell me if that's the case.

If it's not ready Friday after I took time off and after I was assured it would be, I might be hitting you up on the offer to go over and take a look at it for me. I'll be more then happy to pay you for your time!!

[insite]

this really just sounds like the standard runaround to me. these placed just don't take the time to sit down & schedule their resources. chances are that some other projects took more time in the booth than anticipated & your car got slid out to the right. this shop does have an outstanding record & reputation for the quality of their work. i have no doubt they'll get it done & it will look superb.

if i were you, i'd plan on going to work tomorrow.

Originally Posted by Hawkeye71

It just seems like every time I talk to Jay he sounds like he's not sure what's going on or he tells me he's gonna do something and for some reason it doesn't get done.

I'm with you on the gel coat not taking paint thing myself. I've seen many kits on customer cars and have even installed a few. (As far as bolting them on not painting.) This was one of the cleanest I've seen. I think it's just behind schedule and he's giving me excuses. I'm hoping that's all it is anyway. Just wish he would tell me if that's the case.

If it's not ready Friday after I took time off and after I was assured it would be, I might be hitting you up on the offer to go over and take a look at it for me. I'll be more then happy to pay you for your time!!

[Johnny Danger]

Hawkeye71,

I hold a PH.D (a degree in pain and headaches) in body kit therapy . I have a colleague in Georgia named Roscoe if you feel the need for counseling (he also handles NASCAR addiction and chewing tobacco hypnosis) . However, what your experiencing is normal for this kind of project. As I said before, nothing is ever straight forward with these kits, and the timeline for completion is always stretched out. I suspect that Magnum senses your high standards and their trying in earnest to do an excellent job. Just be patient and see how things go. Baby steps !!

[Stroked & Blown]

Same deal for my 996 TT bumper. Although I dropped it off at the beginning of the winter, so I didn't care that it took 4 months to complete. Free winter storage.