Faith in System Restored (and also a Car)

An expert examined the Jaguar and concluded much work was substandard, and the owner had been overcharged by at least $17,000

by John Draneas

An SCM subscriber, whom we’ll call Bill, has been a car guy for a long time and has owned a Ferrari Daytona, a 289 Cobra, and a 1960 Jaguar XK 150. After he had owned the 3.8-liter drophead coupe for about 20 years, he decided it needed a restoration. He was referred to a restoration shop to do the work. He visited it twice, received an estimate of $16,165 and three months for completion, developed confidence in the owner, and gave him the car to restore.

Bill received a monthly bill in each of the next nine months, and paid a total of about $30,000. Told the Jaguar was ready, he was very disappointed when he went to pick it up and saw that the work was not really finished. After another two months and another bill, this time for $5,900, he got tired of the whole thing and insisted on getting the job finished promptly. When he went to pick it up, he was...