The Finer Details - Ken Mosier = Trouble ?

[Cuda_mark]

I can't see writing anyone an $80,000 check and walking away with nothing to show for it but promises.  I can see putting a portion of the labor payment down up front and then paying as you go.  Parts should be paid for as they are procured or funds pulled from a pile set aside for the purpose.  Am I being naive?

That's exactly how I do it with the shop working on my car. I pay for and supply the parts, he quotes me work that needs to be done in 2-3 month "chunks". I pay every month as we go along. The shop is 10 minutes from my work so I pop in all of the time to see progress. It's the only way I would be comfortable spending that kind of money. I don't pay ahead, I just pay exactly what he did at the end of the month.

there is no substitute for an honest shop...

[kdcarman]

Comment from Ken on another site:

In responce yes I had to file a chapter 7,but there are more reasons behind it then what is known,if I would have stayed where I started instead of trying to expand and grow the business that was already doing well I would not have gotten myself into the position I'm in now.

Everyone makes mistakes in there life's and I have,now its time to learn from what i have done wrong and improve on it,and that's what I'm doing now with the Help from my Loved ones and Friends that have contacted me to offer support and I Thank You for this!!

I'm Very Sorry to the people and friends that have been affected by my actions and I'm going to do my best to make things right to those that have been affected by My mistakes.

I wish the new owners and the all the staff luck and success on continuing to turn out the Beautiful cars that have always been associated with The Finer Details.

Sincerely Ken

[anlauto]

Comment from Ken on another site:

In responce yes I had to file a chapter 7,but there are more reasons behind it then what is known,if I would have stayed where I started instead of trying to expand and grow the business that was already doing well I would not have gotten myself into the position I'm in now.

Everyone makes mistakes in there life's and I have,now its time to learn from what i have done wrong and improve on it,and that's what I'm doing now with the Help from my Loved ones and Friends that have contacted me to offer support and I Thank You for this!!

I'm Very Sorry to the people and friends that have been affected by my actions and I'm going to do my best to make things right to those that have been affected by My mistakes.

I wish the new owners and the all the staff luck and success on continuing to turn out the Beautiful cars that have always been associated with The Finer Details.

Sincerely Ken

Thank you for posting that....I wish Ken all the best, he's a decent guy....I feel sorry for his customers, but this kind of stuff happens way more then you want to think.

[anlauto]

If you call me today and want to get in my que, I ask for a FULLY REFUNDABLE $5K deposit to hold your spot....Once I get your car I work out of that $5K. You get an invoice at the end of the month for any work I've done or parts that I've purchased. The parts are all listed individually as is the work I do for you on a daily basis. Hopefully my customers have a complete understanding of where their money is going... If for some reason I don't get your car...you get a full refund no questions asked.

I have some current and past customers on this web site, maybe they'll chime in and tell me I'm full of shit...

[kdcarman]

If you call me today and want to get in my que, I ask for a FULLY REFUNDABLE $5K deposit to hold your spot....Once I get your car I work out of that $5K. You get an invoice at the end of the month for any work I've done or parts that I've purchased. The parts are all listed individually as is the work I do for you on a daily basis. Hopefully my customers have a complete understanding of where their money is going... If for some reason I don't get your car...you get a full refund no questions asked.

I have some current and past customers on this web site, maybe they'll chime in and tell me I'm full of shit...

I am an Alan past customer.  I can confirm Alan's business model.  With Alan (after the 5k deposit) you are basically paying the following month after labor and parts are purchased.  So from a  risk perspective, you never end up with big payments made before work is performed. 

So I suppose the worse case with Alan is for some reason work on the car stops.  Even in that case you would not be out of pocket and will have basically paid for work and parts purchased.  And yes I have many pages of detailed parts purchased.  Full transparency throughout the entire project.

BTW - This is not approach most shops take.  Most shop demand money in their bank pre-paid through the entire project.  Then your car potentially gets held hostage.   

[Cuda_mark]

Working with a shop that you can trust (like Alan) is worth paying a premium for. It is so easy for restoration shops to cut corners, be unscrupulous, dishonest, etc... Knowing that you are working with an honest person that does business the right way is so worth it.

Why gamble with that kind of $$$

[kdcarman]

Working with a shop that you can trust (like Alan) is worth paying a premium for. It is so easy for restoration shops to cut corners, be unscrupulous, dishonest, etc... Knowing that you are working with an honest person that does business the right way is so worth it.

Why gamble with that kind of $$$

Alan can be trusted 100% - but there is really not a premium to be paid when comparing to other shops.  Especially when you consider the exchange rate.

The Finer Details situation is shocking to me.  My perception of Finer Details was, high end, reliable shop that specialized in Mopars and charged a premium.

[Chryco Psycho]

When I was building cars for customers I operated above board , small deposit & pay monthly to cover time & parts , none of my customer had a problem with my work or method of operation , I just took care of people & their cars