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December 2023 by Louisa Hall
Great staff, service and helpful in so many ways. A joy to work with
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September 2023 by Jon Bruton
I regret the day I took my Model A car to the “Model A Garage” almost 4 years ago. The proprietor is probability too old to effectively run this business. After all that time and more money than I want to admit, I came to the conclusion that this place was simply incapable of completing this project with any kind of time schedule or estimate on the amount of money it would take. I came to this conclusion when I made an unannounced visit last summer and found all new employee there, with no direct supervision by the owner and my car no longer being worked on. In all of 2023, he only worked on this car only a hand full of hours. This car is maybe half done, very hard to put an estimate on it as some of the work done – needs to be reworked. The time and money estimates were off by a factor of three, that was suggested to me. In the ensuing time the cost per hour charge increased by 33% over this time period. He did not follow my instructions as to what I wanted done. He did; what he wanted, how he wanted and this last thing is the most important – when he wanted. From my perspective, this shop was apparently taking on more work than it could possibly do in a reasonable amount of time. This is a disaster, hiring a lawyer now.
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October 2022 by Will Brown
I gave my 1930 Model A Tudor to the Model A Garage in April, 2020 for a frame off restoration. After two years and one-half years, it is still in a thousand parts and when I complained he told me I could just come and get all the boxes and take it back - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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October 2022 by Will B.
I gave my 1930 Model A Tudor to the Model A Garage in April, 2020 for a frame off restoration. After two years and one-half years, it is still in a thousand parts and when I complained he told me I could just come and get all the boxes and take it back - YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.
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July 2022 by Brian McKee
Top notch work and friendly staff
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March 2021 by Lana R.
I was disappointed in the overall work performed on my 1930 coupe. My number one priority in starting this project which was clearly expressed to the Owner was the drive train. i.e. chases, brakes, linkage, motor, transmission. When I took the car in for restoration the Owner typed up a sheet identifying what the Owner saw and what I wanted in the way of services. The sheet heading stated as follows - quote "(My Name) 1930 Model A Coupe (per conversation with owner) #1 Goal is a reliable running car: Engine, Transmission, drive train, Brakes, mechanical" This is what I got back - an old 1928 sleeved to original specs engine, cam shaft worn out, the engine put together with old parts. The engine I delivered with the car was not sleeved because I took the head off before delivery and took pictures. The compression was 55 PSI in two cylinders and 65 PSI and 60 PSI in he other two cylinders. The flywheel had a crack in it, the brake drums were not turned to fit the brake shoes they were out of round, The brake peddle would stick near the floor and would not release without me pulling it back with my feet. I provided a brand new zenith carburetor and new radiator at delivery. I got back an old zenith rebuilt that did not function well at all and a radiator that was reconditioned and normally put on show cars not drivers. Not much cooling for long distances over 20 miles. Engine ran at about 195 degrees. My radiator was heavy duty but according to the Owner it would not hold pressure. I spent over $100,000 on the car - $25,000 in parts and over $77,000 in labor. I showed my invoices to a friend who was the owner of a body shop for over 40 years and he thought that the charges were way to high. He restored many Model "A" over the years to from his perspective a Model A restoration should run about $50 to $75 K$$ with an engine and motor rebuild. Having said all this - I will give the Owner some credit he did do a good job on the body and interior. He just totally missed the boat on the drive train. I will not use them again.
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February 2021 by M P.
I believe I was significantly overcharged by the Model A Garage when I had the channel felts around the four side windows replaced in my 1931 Town Sedan in October 2019. This job also required replacing the four side windows and replacing one of the four window regulators. I provided the channel felts and also some silver-colored insulation that I asked them to glue to the inside of the doors while doing this work. The labor rate was $75.00 an hour, which I thought was reasonable, but the 66 labor hours I was charged ($4,950 -- not counting parts) for this work seemed excessive. Two other professional Model A mechanics I subsequently checked with agreed. I also had a hard time obtaining an itemized list of work performed from the owner, who said that in 30 years in business he'd never been asked for a detailed breakdown of total time on a project. Hard to believe. I won't use them again.
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July 2018 by Tammy Huffman
Very rude people that likes to lie!
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July 2016 by Michael Browning
The restoration work is unbelievable. 1931 Flatbed delivery truck came out great. I was so impressed at how gorgeous every car in the garage looked. John is knowledgable and seems willing to do whatever it takes to make a customer happy. He also has a parts store online that I'm using often for the simple things, electrical fuses, radiator caps, etc. Prices are fair and definitely you can see John is not only a restorer but a collector that understands the needs of those that have a passion for the Model As. Glad I found this shop!
