My 75 Finally Gets The Attention It Deserves(This Could Take a While)

[Tanker]

Most of the shops left now are part of chains/franchises who focus on the volume work and don’t want to deal with a side project.

That's what puzzles me. The insurance companies keep these shops on a pretty tight leash with regards to how much time each job is allowed to bill. I'm offering time and material to do it right, without shortcuts, no time limit and I already have all of the patch panels. One would think this would be a no brainer, yet all I get is resistance. I'm just about at the point where I'll buy the proper welding rig, then fly someone into town that knows how to use it, put him up in a hotel and pay him to do it for me. Unfortunately, welding isn't a skill I ever learned to do in any meaningful way, and I'm certainly not going to try to learn on this car that's been following me around for the last forty four years.

 

[H22A4]

I can only suspect with such a focus on volume/throughput they don’t want a side project/car sitting on the floor for weeks on end. As well, interacting with a customer (you, who will ask questions/want to be somewhat hands on and need to provide payment) is more time consuming and complex then dealing with faceless entities (insurance companies) that are all remote with the admin component being entirely online.

I think back to me being able to come into the body shop on Saturdays to scrape undercoating off my Scamp (and any other low skill item I could do myself) and I don’t think there’s a shop that would allow that now. I used their sandblasting equipment (I supplied the sand) as well. Sadly those days of being able to be in someone else’s shop are likely gone now mainly due to liability reasons?

I think the part about ‘doing it right’ by cutting out the panels isn’t a focus anymore? So many things are just replaced on cars now instead of being fixed (like a patch panel) that the skill of fixing it is being lost. I suspect more cars are written off now not due to massive body work that needs to be done but the cost of replacing the electronics/sensors/IT equipment in the cars just triggers a cheque being cut. And maybe if it’s not written off and some body work needs to be done it’s either a new panel/skin that’s put on or the shop takes the easy way out and fills it with bondo and calls it a day.