Can you take over an in progress restoration?

One of the classic car questions we get often is “Can you take over an in progress restoration?” While it is always possible for a restoration shop to take on a restoration someone else started, it’s pretty rare to find a shop that will do it.

Our shop does not take restoration projects someone else has started. The only exceptions we ever make are for classic car collision repair.

In this article, we’ll explain the situations where this happens, some of the reasons we don’t take on this kind of project, and ideas for what you can do if you find yourself in this situation.

• Why would anyone need to take over an in progress restoration?
• Why we don’t take over an in progress restoration
• What to do if you need someone to take over an in progress restoration

Why would anyone need to take over an in progress restoration?

The need to take over an in progress restoration is more common that you might think. There are a whole list of reasons that include things like:

• excessively long periods without activity
• poor quality during updates showing in-progress work
• legal troubles for a shop that has your classic vehicle
• changes in shop ownership or focus

When situations like these happen, it can become important to get your vehicle back and into the hands of a qualified restoration team that is willing to take over an in progress job.

Why we don’t take over an in progress restoration

Parts may not be properly tagged and are often mixed with other parts when a shop decides to take over an in progress restoration.

Performing a restoration takeover is a specialty of it’s own.

In most of the situations we’ve seen, vehicle owners are left with missing parts, parts from other vehicle makes and models that do not belong to their specific restoration jobs, and improperly done repairs. Even when the parts inventory includes bagged or tagged parts, it is not always easy to read the labeling or understand the previous shop’s shorthand or numbering system for keeping track of all the pieces.

We are not set up to spread out all the parts, decide if they belong (or not!), and then determine whether or not they are at an appropriate quality level for use in the restoration. Not only is this a space-related challenge, it’s also a very labor intensive process that can seriously drive up the total cost of a restoration project.

There are even some cases where a shop has taken in a vehicle that can’t actually be safely restored.

Instead, we manage the restoration from start to finish. That includes proper tear down of the vehicle (bagging and tagging parts), structural component evaluation for hidden damage, and quality replacement parts sourcing for proper re-assembly.

What to do if you need someone to take over an in progress restoration

Set your expectations

Any shop that picks up someone else’s partially done restoration job is accepting a lot more work than just starting the restoration from scratch. That’s because they will have to do extra work like:

• sort through a pile of parts that may (or may not!) be for your vehicle
• evaluate any work already done – which may include tear down and re-assembly
• correct any improperly completed repairs or restorations

This can have a major impact on your financial and overall project timeline expectations.

Decide what’s most important

In some cases, this might mean you need to adjust the restoration level.

If completion time is the most important and you were planning a full concourse level restoration, you might need to consider a show quality alternative instead. It will still take time to complete but your total investment may be slightly lower because you will save money on part sourcing by using aftermarket or even quality salvage options.

If time is not an issue, consider finding an appropriate storage location. By moving your vehicle and all the parts into a storage facility you control, you’ll reduce the risk that something will happen to your classic vehicle while you’re finding another shop. Remember that most restoration shops are not equipped for long-term storage. That’s because it takes a lot of space to properly manage parts during restoration.

Gather as much information as possible, be honest, be reasonable

When you talk to a shop about your restoration, they’re going to spend valuable time trying to assess whether or not they can help.

Don’t:

• call and talk generically about your restoration project
• try and get them to honor your original project timeline
• ask if they can do the job more cheaply since you’ve already spent a bunch of money
• try to pressure a shop into accepting the takeover project

Every credible restoration shop will understand the situation you’ve been through.

It’s best to just be honest about what happened.

Do:

• get (or take) as many pictures as possible and put them into a place that’s easy to access (emailing 100 photos isn’t going to work very well)
• be prepared to properly store your vehicle and parts until the shop is ready to bring them in
• ask if they do takeover work
• tell them what kind of restoration you want (concourse, show quality, or daily driver)
• be clear about your actual budget and timeline

We know it can be a difficult and frustrating process to have to change shops in the middle of a restoration project.

About Automotive Collision Specialists in Fuquay Varina, NC

Do you want your classic auto repaired correctly? We do too. That’s why we stand behind all our work with a limited lifetime warranty.

We don’t do take over projects and we don’t have local recommendations of folks who do. If you’re trying to find an experienced classic auto restoration shop near you to start a restoration project, please give us a call. We’ve been serving neighbors in and near the local Fuquay-Varina, NC community for more than 30 years.

We’re ASE and I-CAR certified and offer a limited lifetime warranty on all the work we do. Call us today at 919-552-0333 to see how we can help!