A call from the body shop...not what I was expecting
04-17-2012, 01:19 AM
#41
Intermediate
Try taking your spotless biplane that you built to an airshow only to turn around and find some crumb snatcher come under the tape and start clawing his way onto the lower wing. And when I yelled at him his mother replied " Well why did you bring it if you didn`t want people looking at it"
04-17-2012, 03:09 PM
#45
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Sorry to hear you lost your tops. Totally blows.
If the body shop owner is a stand up guy, considering the cost of the tops is not that much, I would expect him to replace them and move on.
However, from the perspective of an insurance adjuster, here are some things to think about. Just because they had the car (known as care, custody, and control) does not mean the coverage would be from the body shop end, and not the car policy. There needs to be a negligent act by the body shop, for the coverage to revert from the cars coverage, to the body shops coverage. The duty of the body shop is to a reasonable standard of care, within industry standards. Now, the OP did not elaborate on how they were stolen, so we don't know if the bodyshop was negligent. Contrary to what people say, just because they were stolen does not necessarily mean there was negligence.
For example: If the shop had a brain fade, and left it unlocked on the street overnight, this is a negligent act, and their policy is up for the loss. If the car was locked in the building overnight, and someone broke into the building and stole the tops, there was no negligent act on the part of the body shop, and the car policy would be on the hook. If it was locked in the shops fenced yard, it would be a decision by the companies over what is customary precaution for the area.
The other issue here is that body shops, mechanical shops, etc. have what is called a garage-keepers liability policy. There is not space here to explain why they are different, but the bottom line is that the cost of this loss would not rise to the level necessary to trip the policy. So it is either the body shop, the OP, or the car's insurance that will write the check.
This is why carriers sell coverage for cars under restoration. Lots of people don't insure a car until the resto is done, and they are ready to drive it. They assume that while the various shops have it, there is always shop coverage. Sometimes yes, most times not.
Think about it when you do your next project.
If the body shop owner is a stand up guy, considering the cost of the tops is not that much, I would expect him to replace them and move on.
However, from the perspective of an insurance adjuster, here are some things to think about. Just because they had the car (known as care, custody, and control) does not mean the coverage would be from the body shop end, and not the car policy. There needs to be a negligent act by the body shop, for the coverage to revert from the cars coverage, to the body shops coverage. The duty of the body shop is to a reasonable standard of care, within industry standards. Now, the OP did not elaborate on how they were stolen, so we don't know if the bodyshop was negligent. Contrary to what people say, just because they were stolen does not necessarily mean there was negligence.
For example: If the shop had a brain fade, and left it unlocked on the street overnight, this is a negligent act, and their policy is up for the loss. If the car was locked in the building overnight, and someone broke into the building and stole the tops, there was no negligent act on the part of the body shop, and the car policy would be on the hook. If it was locked in the shops fenced yard, it would be a decision by the companies over what is customary precaution for the area.
The other issue here is that body shops, mechanical shops, etc. have what is called a garage-keepers liability policy. There is not space here to explain why they are different, but the bottom line is that the cost of this loss would not rise to the level necessary to trip the policy. So it is either the body shop, the OP, or the car's insurance that will write the check.
This is why carriers sell coverage for cars under restoration. Lots of people don't insure a car until the resto is done, and they are ready to drive it. They assume that while the various shops have it, there is always shop coverage. Sometimes yes, most times not.
Think about it when you do your next project.
04-18-2012, 12:46 AM
#46
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Sorry to hear you lost your tops. Totally blows.
If the body shop owner is a stand up guy, considering the cost of the tops is not that much, I would expect him to replace them and move on.
However, from the perspective of an insurance adjuster, here are some things to think about. Just because they had the car (known as care, custody, and control) does not mean the coverage would be from the body shop end, and not the car policy. There needs to be a negligent act by the body shop, for the coverage to revert from the cars coverage, to the body shops coverage. The duty of the body shop is to a reasonable standard of care, within industry standards. Now, the OP did not elaborate on how they were stolen, so we don't know if the bodyshop was negligent. Contrary to what people say, just because they were stolen does not necessarily mean there was negligence.
For example: If the shop had a brain fade, and left it unlocked on the street overnight, this is a negligent act, and their policy is up for the loss. If the car was locked in the building overnight, and someone broke into the building and stole the tops, there was no negligent act on the part of the body shop, and the car policy would be on the hook. If it was locked in the shops fenced yard, it would be a decision by the companies over what is customary precaution for the area.
The other issue here is that body shops, mechanical shops, etc. have what is called a garage-keepers liability policy. There is not space here to explain why they are different, but the bottom line is that the cost of this loss would not rise to the level necessary to trip the policy. So it is either the body shop, the OP, or the car's insurance that will write the check.
This is why carriers sell coverage for cars under restoration. Lots of people don't insure a car until the resto is done, and they are ready to drive it. They assume that while the various shops have it, there is always shop coverage. Sometimes yes, most times not.
Think about it when you do your next project.
If the body shop owner is a stand up guy, considering the cost of the tops is not that much, I would expect him to replace them and move on.
However, from the perspective of an insurance adjuster, here are some things to think about. Just because they had the car (known as care, custody, and control) does not mean the coverage would be from the body shop end, and not the car policy. There needs to be a negligent act by the body shop, for the coverage to revert from the cars coverage, to the body shops coverage. The duty of the body shop is to a reasonable standard of care, within industry standards. Now, the OP did not elaborate on how they were stolen, so we don't know if the bodyshop was negligent. Contrary to what people say, just because they were stolen does not necessarily mean there was negligence.
For example: If the shop had a brain fade, and left it unlocked on the street overnight, this is a negligent act, and their policy is up for the loss. If the car was locked in the building overnight, and someone broke into the building and stole the tops, there was no negligent act on the part of the body shop, and the car policy would be on the hook. If it was locked in the shops fenced yard, it would be a decision by the companies over what is customary precaution for the area.
The other issue here is that body shops, mechanical shops, etc. have what is called a garage-keepers liability policy. There is not space here to explain why they are different, but the bottom line is that the cost of this loss would not rise to the level necessary to trip the policy. So it is either the body shop, the OP, or the car's insurance that will write the check.
This is why carriers sell coverage for cars under restoration. Lots of people don't insure a car until the resto is done, and they are ready to drive it. They assume that while the various shops have it, there is always shop coverage. Sometimes yes, most times not.
Think about it when you do your next project.
04-18-2012, 01:32 AM
#47
Drifting
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Boatmark....Thanks for the advice. In this case the shop left the vehicle outside of the building in an unfenced lot overnight (it had been inside the building all other times...They say they were allowing the primer to harden). Vehicle was not taken back inside and tops were stolen during the night.
04-18-2012, 06:23 AM
#48
Safety Car
Try taking your spotless biplane that you built to an airshow only to turn around and find some crumb snatcher come under the tape and start clawing his way onto the lower wing. And when I yelled at him his mother replied " Well why did you bring it if you didn`t want people looking at it"
04-18-2012, 07:12 AM
#49
Burning Brakes
Boatmark....Thanks for the advice. In this case the shop left the vehicle outside of the building in an unfenced lot overnight (it had been inside the building all other times...They say they were allowing the primer to harden). Vehicle was not taken back inside and tops were stolen during the night.
04-18-2012, 08:49 AM
#50
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They have an implied duty of care and were negligent. They should either replace the tops or deduct that amount from your final bill.
Someone there knows something 
Someone there knows something
04-18-2012, 11:31 AM
#51
Melting Slicks
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Boatmark....Thanks for the advice. In this case the shop left the vehicle outside of the building in an unfenced lot overnight (it had been inside the building all other times...They say they were allowing the primer to harden). Vehicle was not taken back inside and tops were stolen during the night.
Good luck
Jim
04-18-2012, 12:15 PM
#52
Melting Slicks
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I would insist they let you see the new tops before they paint them. For two reasons 1: to make sure they aren't pieces of crap, and 2: because I suspect they are trying to get you to buy back your original tops. Just a thought. 
04-18-2012, 12:35 PM
#53
Drifting
After a month in the body shop on my restored 76, I got a call this morning from the body shop. Excited that they we asking me to come by for more pics of the progress. Instead they were calling to make me aware that someone had stolen my T-tops over the weekend. What a bummer....Wasn't quite the call I was waiting for. Furthermore the body shop claims the their insurance does not cover this type of loss. What a day.
Freddie
Freddie
04-18-2012, 03:15 PM
#54
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St. Jude Donor '05
They only told you that they didn't have insurance.
Tell them guess they better have cash then, not your problem anyway!
Bet the bank they have ins. An atty could find that one out. Not carrying ins is negligence in itself.
Go get whats yours. Stuff like this sours me on the hobby. Lots of con artists out there.
Good luck!!
04-18-2012, 04:49 PM
#55
1969/1971/1976 Coupes
Glad to hear you're getting what's due to you.
I had an entire car stolen from a shop one time (and they had the signs up too). Thief used it to bash down the gate (so they could steal a brand new Mustang Cobra without scratching it) and then pogo-sticked my beautiful Chevy Prizm
into a 5 foot deep ditch down the road.
Their (shops) insurance company called me and then paid me well over what the car was worth. I didn't have to do a thing but wait for the mail.
Terry
I had an entire car stolen from a shop one time (and they had the signs up too). Thief used it to bash down the gate (so they could steal a brand new Mustang Cobra without scratching it) and then pogo-sticked my beautiful Chevy Prizm
into a 5 foot deep ditch down the road. Their (shops) insurance company called me and then paid me well over what the car was worth. I didn't have to do a thing but wait for the mail.
Terry
04-19-2012, 06:46 PM
#56
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Freddie
04-20-2012, 11:27 AM
#57
Race Director
read through all this, and did not see...... how much money$$$$ are they charging you for the paint and body? i bet enough to cover the tops 3 times over... paint and materilas cost about $500-$1000... the rest is labor and profet..
