Alfa 33 Rebuild

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
A 105 specialist I know well quotes on average 200-300 hours to strip, repair,repaint and reassemble a car. On the basis that you are stripping and reassembling I would have thought a strip a body back to bare metal, carryout any repairs and repaint would be in the region of 100-150 hours work, based on a £70 per hour labour rate that would equate to £7-10.5k. Now we know that underneath your car should be relatively solid I would have thought you should be in the lower range of this.

I guess the bodyshop are estimating on a worse case scenario based on what they have seen previously of 80s cars. I would suggest you get an estimate to strip to bare metal and then get a revised estimate when you know what you are working with.

As a comparison my SZ has been partially dismantled, had the paint stripped back to the gel coat and then prepared, repainted and reassembled but with very little repair work and the bill will be less than half what you are being quoted.
 

zagatoes30

Member
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20,758
Would a 105 specialist be more appropriate for the work anyway? more understanding I would hope.

Maybe but with the recent interest in 105s he now has a 3 year waiting list for restorations and I doubt he would take on anything different at this point in time.
 

lifes2short

Member
Messages
5,821
Bloomin ell, just read this thread and cant believe what you've gone through, got to say I take my hat off to you I would have blown several fuses and probably had a Police caution by now. The problem is that the classic car market has really taken off over the past number of years and now every Tom, Dick or Harry thinks they can open up restoration companies and fleece people with shoddy work :banghead2:. Keep your chin up and hope you get it sorted soon.
 
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zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
Bloomin ell, just read this thread and cant believe what you've gone through, got to say I take my hat off to you I would have blown several fuses and probably had a Police caution by now. The problem is that the classic car market has really taken off over the past number of years and now every Tom, Dick or Harry thinks they can open up restoration companies and fleece people with shoddy work :banghead2:. Keep your chin up and hope you get it sorted soon.

So true but there are as many dodgy customers who try to get bodyshops to agree to unreasonable quotes, then complain when additional work is identified and use Social media to blame it all on the **** body shop.
 

lifes2short

Member
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5,821
So true but there are as many dodgy customers who try to get bodyshops to agree to unreasonable quotes, then complain when additional work is identified and use Social media to blame it all on the **** body shop.

Yep, suppose it dose work both ways as well
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Oh dear Dicky, good on you for going the distance when many would have thrown in the goal long ago.
 

zagatoes30

Member
Messages
20,758
Do you have concerns about Retropower? I looked at one of their Opel Ascona 400s and it did look stunning in the flesh and the evidence they had of the work completed was superb.
 

zagatoes30

Member
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20,758
Serious money but if they do it properly at least you know you will have one of the best there is, I know it's only a 33 but it's your 33 and will be with you for a long time - hopefully
 

lifes2short

Member
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5,821
Finally some progress. The owner of the bodyshop is now the proud owner of a CCJ.

I would get the ccj upgraded to high court and then send in the high court enforcement officers with a writ of possession, they will get the money or goods to sell at auction, don't bother with court baliffs who are toothless, that's assuming the company is still trading and not been dissolved if limited, good luck I think you certainly deserve some after what you've gone through
 

CatmanV2

Member
Messages
48,541
My good news was short lived, after a little digging I've found out that he has ceased trading and that other customers have had to go and retrieve their partially restored cars. I suspect a lot of them will be seeking refunds for unfinished work and I would imagine my chances of recovering anything are now very slim.

Is the company going down?

C
 

2b1ask1

Special case
Messages
20,220
Slippery B’stard Dicky, get the sheriffs on him before he disappears, you have the right to sell the debt on to an agent (you won’t get much for it but satisfaction) they can kick his (head) door in for you....
 

Mattp

Member
Messages
501
If he's ceased trading its probably too late to do that and from past experience there is very little interest in buying ccjs from small companies or private individuals, the chances of recovering debts are too small.

I can't get much information about what has happened, the information I found just said the circumstances were "a bit sad" and the person who supplied it was unwilling to give any further details. I would speculate some kind of illness perhaps, and if that's the case you have the moral dilemma of pursuing someone in that situation. Its not my fault or my problem, it was his choice to screw up my car and stab me in the back, but do you continue to kick someone when they're down with little chance of achieving anything?


Crikey Dicky, Im a pretty tolerant sort of fellow, but I take my hat off to you... to be that gracious and grant any amount of sympathy to that chap is an act of extreme humanity.

Hopefully Karma pays you a visit and your luck turns around.
 

mjheathcote

Centenary Club
Messages
9,033
You have spent so much time and effort over the years, it would be a crying shame to simply draw a line under it, and I hope in the future you do have the opportunity to get it back on the road with a big grin on your face