okay boys, i need you guys to talk me off the ledge here. i bought a pair of SHR louvers (unpainted) from the forum a couple of weeks ago. i called a local shop - to see who they might recommend to paint them, and they sent me to a local body shop. so i go by the shop and drop them off, the guy says no problem, they can do it. a couple of days later, he calls and asks where i got them, because they are in pretty rough shape and they're having trouble getting them prepped and smoothed out. i noticed a couple of defects on them (rough edges) when i got them, so i thought no big deal, i'm sure they can get them in shape. i dropped my car off today to get them installed, i had to drop off the car before work so i didn't get a chance to inspect the louvers before they were put on.

well i pick up my car, and i give it a real good lookover when i get to the house. the edges of the window area are scraped up pretty good on BOTH SIDES. the glass guy scraped up my car pretty good getting the windows out. And the paint is a little uneven on areas of the louvers. so i take it back and the guy is cool about it, apologizes, and says he'll get the glass guy to remove the louvers so he can fix the damage.

i think it will be okay once he's done with them, but in the mean time i'm FREAKING OUT here.

anyone here have similar issues? please tell me it's going to be okay!!

 

Being the louvers are lexan I wish them luck taking them out without damaging them... You may want to get assurance from him that they'll pay for new ones if they damage them taking them out. I had one that leaked that I had to remove, and I damaged it taking it out.

Good luck man, I feel your pain.

-danny

 

I'm sorry to hear that, I hate having any kind of body work done for that very reason. People just don't care. You can't tell me they don't notice this crap before the thing goes out the door. Every time I have work done it seems I have to take the car back 3-4 times before it’s done just OK. The sad thing is I think most people must just accept poor quality work and either do not notice or do not care. Otherwise this would not happen what seems to be EVERYTIME!


Sometime when I have more energy I'll tell you about my rear bumper cover, had to have it repainted on my brand new stang!



Tim

 

Careless morons. No excuse. The problem is that 9/10 times, body shops sub out glass work due to a repair needing made requiring painting. Ex- you dent your quarter panel, shop has glass removed to fix and repaint the quarter panel. Apparantly you got someone who didn't notice that he needed to be careful removing your stock glass. The shop should've noticed that and it should've never made it out of the door. Both of these problems should be able to be fixed, and removal of the SHR louver shouldn't be a problem. I took mine out on my own... but then again I also installed them w/out f'ing up my paint job.
The rough edge on the louver is normal and is something that's taken care of w/ proper paint prep.
Good luck, chill for now, let the shop make it right. Don't accept your car back w/ any damage or an additional penny out of your pocket. I'd relax, it'll likely take an extra 2 days to get everything fixed properly so don't be alarmed.

 

It's going to be okay!

You were refered to the shop, the shop told you they could do it, and now the owner says he'll make it right. One bad tech that worked on the car was the problem. You can bet the owner is all over whoever it was that removed the windows. If they actually do remove the Lexan to repair the damages, you can also bet, they'll take some extra care too. Buying them Unpainted or Used, always adds another episode to attaiining that perfect look that they ultimately bring. Nothing is perfectly prepped until final painting is to take place. anf the final painting rely's heavily on the prep. Unless one is looking for a unique color, getting them prepainted is the only way to do that part right. The instal problem, could have happened to anyone. Especially if it was rushed, or being done by a newbie, or if basic steps aren't followed. Both your problems are avoidible. At any rate the owner says he'll stand by his name and reputation. It is a shame it had to happen. But sounds like you'll get to where you need to be, soon. Short cut's work very seldom.

 

Well, I hope it turns out for you - sorry to hear about botched installs / paint work, but it does happen out there, just like the time I sent my wife to get struts on my old Fiero installed and the car came back with loose strut bolts holding them to the upright (so much for their 4 wheel laser alignment)...

Anyway, if they do mess it up and get scared of the repaint process, we've got HP white in stock at the moment, so they could go out rather quickly to you if needed - of course at this point the shop in question should probably be paying for it. Not that this makes what's happened any better, but it might be a solution to pursue to make it right in the end.

As to messing up the car's paint - I agree - there is no excuse for it, as the process is very straightforward if you are just taking your time and doing the job right - close to 1000 sets are installed in the field now, 100's of which were customer installed, and I think the # of cars that have been damaged that I know of could be counted on one hand, maybe less... not saying it can't happen, just that it shouldn't happen.

BTW - there is an install article (in color) in the new March issue of Mustang Enthusiast - maybe take a copy in to the shop for them to look at?

 

Yeah they should've noticed it, it bothers me a little that the guy didn't inspect them himself before telling me it was ready. If he had a glass guy come in to do it, he should have reviewed his work.

I thought if I took them to a local guy it would work out better, honestly. Especially going to a higher-end, well-recommended place and have him look at my car in person. in hindsight i should have just bought the pre-painted set.

thanks man - i may be in touch to get that pre-painted set.

 

I learned the hard way. You have to spend a decent amount of money to get quality work done. I know that this is not always true though. But more than likely, you get what you pay for.

 

don't give me that dude!

i spent a pretty penny to get them painted and installed at a local bodyshop that was recommended to me and had a flawless reputation. obviously the glass guy f'd up but it wasn't because i was at some low rent shop.

 

Ouch.sorry didn't mean to make you mad. I apologize

 

Why didn't you install them yourself? Not like it's that big of a deal to do.

 

didn't make me MAD, i'm just saying - don't make me out to be cheap here!

that's the last thing i need right now!!!

 

well, i got the car back today and it's fine. there are a couple minor blems on the louvers as a result of the guy having to take them back out, but the shop owner said that he would fix them while they were still on the car. I just gotta wait until i can go without my car again - prob MLK day a week from monday. will post pics this weekend if i can get around to giving her a bath tomorrow.

 

Good to hear that it looks like it's going to all work out for you. Always hate to hear of anyone having trouble, no matter the cause of it.

 

If you order painted ones, whats a reasonable price for a glass shop to install these?

 

Varies on region, but normally it is around 2 hours labor, whatever that may be in your area. I've heard anything from 50.00 to over 200.00, depending on where the customer ends up and where they live.

The best bet is to call around and just ask what it costs to R&R the windows, the job is the same as if they were installing new glass.

 

And don't just go with the cheapest one, check around as best you can for their reputation. Quality work for an extra $20 is worth it to avoid a potential hack job.

 

Just got my prepainted set today and I must say the quality of the parts and paint are superbI read through the instructions and I feel confident I could do this myself, but I need to call a few shops to see if it would be worth my time to do them. All I know is I can't wait to get them on!!!!!

 

I was charged $150.00 here in Maryland at a glass shop. They did a first class job. (Of course I watched them every second)

 

Oh I was so close to having them professionaly installed this morning for an awesome price Called them up and got a quote of $65 for the materials and labor to swap. I get to the shop and show the guy one of the louvers and he said he won't even think about doing it since it wasn't glass(he didn't even know what i was holding). I told him it was a direct replacement for the factory glass. At least he was honest up front saying he wasn't comfortable to even try it. So now I called another guy who is to get back in touch with me the next few days.