Customer handed me a photo of a 1987 Honda Civic and said 'make it look like this'

So last Tuesday a guy rolls into my shop in Tulsa with a 2023 Tacoma, fresh dent on the rear quarter panel. He pulls out this faded Polaroid of his old beat up Civic from high school and says he wants the repair to match that exactly - rust spots, mismatched paint, the whole deal. I had to explain that's not how modern body work goes, I'm not gonna intentionally leave imperfections. He got all defensive about the "character" of his old car. Anyone else run into customers who romanticize their junkers way too much?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabeth_jackson13d ago

Wow that guy's just asking you to commit insurance fraud.

umac7113d ago

Last year I had a guy with a pristine 2002 F-150 who wanted me to install a dent in the driver's door so it matched the "memories" of the one he wrecked in college. Told me it was a tribute to his younger self and got real offended when I asked if he was serious. How do these people not realize we're trying to do quality work for them?