Ok things have taken a turn for the worse.  If anyones interested here is the end snippet of my complaint that I am about to lodge with the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection:

I take my mechanics advice and read up about making a claim on the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection website.  Using the information from the website I called Greenies Panel and Paint on Thursday 29th May.  Edward Lammle’s business partner, Han’s advises me that Ed is on holidays with his wife.  I explain to Han’s the situation and try and resolve the matter without having to lodge a complaint form.  He distances himself from Ed and his work, and agrees that resolving this matter without lodging a complaint would be for the best.  He promises to get in touch with Ed.

Edward Lammle then contacts me the next day (Friday 30th May).   After expressing my disappointment in the poor quality work and the amount of hassles I have had with getting him to fulfil his part of our agreement, he agrees to refund me 50 percent of the original cost - $5000.  I give him a week to pay the amount.

A week later (Friday 6th May) after not hearing anything from Ed, I call his panel beating shop.  Ed explains that he does not have the money, but he does have a Jaguar car that he can give me.  He explains that the car is worth at least $6000.  My reply is that I know nothing about Jaguar cars and their value, and why should I go to the trouble of selling his car to retrieve a refund we had agreed upon. 

Edward then explains that his business is going through hard times, and that he would have to sell one of his two houses (he has one in Mt Lawley, and one in Kellerberrin) to pay me the money owed.  I explain that I understand financial difficulties, as I am currently having trouble paying for further repair work being done to my because of his poor work, and I had to take out a personal loan to pay him initially.  In the end I gave him another week to pay the $5000, he agrees.

Finally on the Tuesday 10th May, Leo from Cileberti’s calls and explains that he cannot refit my engine at all because of the lack of rust repair done to the engine bay – it is impossible for him to attach the engine safely because the rust was not fixed.  I request that Leo get his panel beater in to quote on how much it would cost to fix the engine bay (I was away for work, and I could not trust Edward Lammle to fix his work – again).  The quote was for $1200.

I then call Edward Lammle to advise him of this additional cost to myself, and to find out if he is any closer to being able to pay me my refund so I can pay for this work.  He then reneges on our agreement, and says that he is only willing to pay me $2000.  I refuse this amount and advise him that I will be lodging a complaint form with the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection.

It also should be noted that:
-   A number of times throughout February, March, April, and May Edward Lammle asked for an extra $1000 dollars to be paid.  When asked why, he said he needed it for the GST.  I refused and explained that the original quote included the GST.

-   In our last phone conversation on the 10th May, initially Edward Lammle denied bogging up any part of my car.  But when I pointed out that it can be clearly seen that he has used bog, he admitted that with most of the rust work he did, he just bogged it up, which was not part of our original agreement.

-   On the Friday 30th May I requested that Edward Lammle provide me with a receipt for the welding work performed on my car.  Edward replied that he paid cash in hand, and that there was no receipt.  At a later date he said that he has a receipt for the welding work.

-   When asked if he was a licensed repairer of motor vehicles, Edward Lammle replied that he was not currently licensed, nor was his son who carried out a large portion of the work on my vehicle.

So again there looks to be another week or two before I get my car, maybe longer as I don't have the money to pay for the rust work required to get my engine put back in.

Anyway on a good note, I have sent Edward Hellsten my application for AROCA WA, and Mesheik has been awesome in helping me out source a tinter and some conies

Mate I was not trying to be a smart ass.

If you look at the time of my post, I work nightshift and I'm half asleep.  Perhaps if your original post mentioned that it was the car in front that you wanted identified, then I would not of spent 30 minutes trying to help you.

Glad the other guys were able to help you anyway.

Ah found it.

It is a ferrari!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferrari_Mondial

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Ferrari_Mondial_8_RB.jpg

But that car in front is definitely an alfa if that helps 

Actually, at the risk of sounding like a real retard. 

That car looks more like a ferrari?

Plenty of Ferrari's made in the 70's look like that car - same body shape, same door handle, same rims.

Example a Ferrari 400:
http://img521.imageshack.us/img521/6908/ferrari400i29dx.jpg

I would love to know what it is as well

I'm no expert with alfa's, by a long shot, but I have not seen an alfa like that.

The closest thing I can think of that looks similar is a Monreal, but the windows are different.

It does have the same door handles as a 3rd/4th series spider.

Quite interesting.  But I can see why most people (in Australia and otherwise) are attracted to this forum.

When I was looking for a quick, free, and friendly source of advice for all aspects of restoring my alfa, I came across this forum via google (can't remember exactly what I searched for).

Bring on more international members I say

Well the engine is pretty much finished and has been put back into the engine bay.

My plans are to get the tinting and shockies done, and maybe some new rims.  The interior I won't touch besides replacing a few knobs and buttons, and the door panels.  I would rather leave the bulk of the interior until the body is properly restored.

I'm starting my new job in two weeks time, so I will need the wheels for a while.  The next time I get the body done, I'm going the whole hog, in terms of giving it plenty of time (I will buy a cheap little car to drive in the meantime), and not going for the cheapest option.

I have just filled out the application form for AROCA (W.A. division) membership, so what I will do is hopefully turn up to the annual dinner, and let you look over it Ed and see what you think.

Just an update on this situation if anyone's interested.

I received a call today from Ed (the panel beater).  He was quick to agree to a 50 percent payout (5k), which I am pleased about.

One wonders though why he was so quick to agree, as it is a huge turn about face from a few weeks ago, when he was asking for more money.

I have given him a two week deadline anyway to cough up the money, so we will see...

Definitely I agree.

The main reason why I am pushing for a part refund is because his work was that bad to begin with, so basically he doesn't have the skill nor the tools to do the work I have paid him for.

Also I have been without a car for almost 5 months now, I don't have the money nor the patience to send the car back into him with the chance of receiving a nightmare job again.

I did speak to his partner today (Ed is on holidays - probably with my money) and I explained the situation.  He was very quick to distance himself from Ed and his work, and without saying the job Ed done was atrocius, he insinuated as much.

I was very polite throughout the conversation, but made it clear that unless Ed came to the party and offered some compensation I will take it further, and do everything I can to get as much money back as I could.

I also got his partner onside, explaining that this is his lively hood at stake, and that it would be in everyones interest if Ed settled this without me taking it further.

I should receive a reply by Monday.  Keep your fingers crossed for me

Ok using some advice you guys have given me, I have been to the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection website.

I have downloaded their complaint form.  They recommend that I try resolve this amicably with the Ed (the bad one) first of all, which I will do tomorrow.

I have also emailed the Motor Trade Association of WA (MTAWA) this email:

To whom it may concern,

I was given your email address from the Department of Consumer and Employment Protection website.  They recommended that you may be able to advise me on the best way to handle a dispute I have with a local panel beater with whom I paid to perform some work on my vehicle.

Essentially I paid 10k for this panel beater to perform some restoration work on my old alfa romeo car.  After many delays, and with some of the work not being done at all, I was told by my mechanic and other people more knowledgeable in panel beating than I am, that the work done was very sub-standard (bog used when I specifically asked for new metal to be welded in; old paint that was never sand-blasted away, etc, etc).

So essentially I am hoping that you are at least able to provide me with a list of reputable panel beaters with whom I can take my car so that they can give their professional opinion on the work performed thus far.

Thanks in advice,

Ben Sims.

I will then call up Ed and tell him about my disappointment with his work, and tell him about my planned course of action(s) and see what reply he has to that.

I will refuse him doing any further work on my car, as that would be a further waste of time, as his work is completely unsatisfactory anyway.

What do you guys think? Should I get in touch with anyone else?

I think even if I get a part refund I will happy with that.

I'm not sure if I have an old picture floating around, I will have a look when I am back home next.

The body had no dents or major dings, just rust was the main problem.  The usual rust spots you find on an old 105 - near the wheel arches, door, boot (I bought a good condition second boot lid to save him doing any work on the old one), etc.

I was not able to do any work myself, mainly because I work away from home, and besides that I would not know where to start when it comes to doing any body work.

On another note, I have decided to see if I can possibly get back a partial refund from this guy, after talking to all you guys and some people at work...keep you posted.

Please don't let my bad experience put you off restoring your alfa Ash.  If anything learn from my mistakes.

I should never had gone to someone who wasn't recommended to me, but at that stage no one I knew, could recommend me a reputable panel beater/restorer.  I also made the mistake of paying up front, which was not really my choice, but because I had the panel beating financed, my bank wanted a quote and paid the amount in full in a bank cheque.

Thanks for the advice Mick, I have told him (the panel beater) of my disappointment with the delays and work that has not been done.  I am very reluctant to take it any further as I hate any sort of confrontation.

I have requested that he finish the work that he was suppose to do, but my fear is that he will do the same quality job as he has done with the rest of the car, and that means that it would probably be better that he doesnt touch it.

Meizhak has kindly offered to help find someone to do the tinting, and the shockies, so I might have the opportunity to meet up with him when I'm in Perth next (with a slab of beer of course ), and let him look over the car and see what he thinks.

Keep you posted.

Thanks guys for all your support.  And I agree Colin, there is no chance of getting my money back, that's why I'm pretty philosophical about it all.

I get my car back in two weeks Ed, and thats when I will get my tinting and shockies done, so I will join up to the alfa club after that - I just won't let anyone look to closely at the body

Meizhak you will be receiving an email from me in about 1 and a half weeks for help with the tinting and shockies, if you don't mind and presuming i save up enough money from now till then.

Thanks again guys

On a side note, if you do look carefully at the bottom left hand drivers door, you can notice that the corner juts out and doesn't fit flush at all with the rest of the car.

Oh and I was going to join up with the WA alfa club once my car was back on the road, but as I told Leo at Ciliberti's, I would be too embarrassed joining the club now because of how bad the panel beating job is on my car.  And I did have plans to do the interior of my car, but there is no point if I'm going to have to get the body redone in a few years or so (the floor pan wasn't even touched).

I do need to get my windows retinted though, and I need new shockies.  Can someone recommend a decent place in Perth where I can get buy and get fitted some shockies (or would I be able to fit them myself?).

Do suspension springs need replacing often?

I've just got my car back from the panel beaters, and I am less than impressed with the results.  Let me tell you the story so far, but before I begin let me just remind you all that I know absolutely nothing about panel beating, and because unfortunately at the moment I work away I am limited with what work I can do with the car myself.  Anyway...

Back in early January I took my car into Greenies panel and paint after getting a few quotes.  Ed (the panel beater) quoted me 10k to sand blast the car, strip it back, take out the rust (there were no dents to speak off in the body), and paint it the original colour, all in around 3 months.  Ed seemed like a good honest bloke, and the price seemed reasonable for the amount of work he said he would do on my car, so I felt confident that he would do a fairly good job.

So anyway after Ciliberti's strip the engine bay, I organised for them to transport my car to Ed, along with some new rubbers/seals/window fittings etc for the car.  So throughout the coming months I take a couple of visits to the shop to check up on things, and also send my dad down whenever I was away working.  Alarm bells started to ring when I had to constantly remind Ed to actually do some work on my car, and that we had an agreed deadline of 3 months (I had already paid him in full - stupid I know).  Another worrying thing was when I found out that he could not weld to save his life, and he was getting someone else to come in and do any welding.  One bit of weld I did see was on the drivers door where there was a significant hole that they were patching up, by using on weld alone to bridge across the gap of the hole (I don't know the correct term, but I'm fairly sure thats not what your meant to do).

4 months later - I had to give him another month - I took a visit to the shop, expecting him to be just putting the finishing touches on the car.  Of course the panel beating was no where near finished, so I give him another few weeks, explaining to him the cost and hassle of me not having any transport and Ciliberti's were waiting on the car as well. 

Finally just last week and after many phone calls, he delivers the car to Ciliberti's, and I'm thinking I'm on the home straight - wrong.  Reno from Ciliberti's calls me while I'm away at work and say's I better get down there and look at the car.  My good mate Ed failed to: attach the bumper on the car correctly, fit the rubbers/seals I provided him (apparently he wasn't sure if I wanted them fitted or not), put the rear window in properly so the rubber seal was badly pinched, do anything to the engine bay at all (it wasnt painted or even stripped), etc, etc. 

At this stage I'm fairly disillusioned with the whole affair, but I just want the car finished, so I pay to transport the car back to Ed, and convince him that work still needs to be done and I want it done asap.  Some of his excuses would have been amusing, if I wasn't out of pocket 10k - 'I didn't know you wanted the engine bay done'; 'You keep on adding to the list of things to do' ('thats because you were meant to do these things in the first place ed'); 'But I don't have a sand blaster' ('Ed you said you were going to sand blast the car, how did you strip the paint off originally?').

After all that my car eventually makes it to the mechanic, this Tuesday just gone, and yes the job done on the engine bay was terrible (Leo at Ciliberti's said I should ask for my money back), and yes I need to take the car back to Ed's after my engine is refitted as there are a few more bits of the car that has not even been touched yet.  But hey the engine does look awesome!

The moral of the story? Don't go to Greenies Panel and Paint? or maybe 10k isn't enough for what I was asking?

In the end though, once I do get my car back in a couple of weeks, I will have a damn nice engine, and I will just have to start saving and get the body properly done in about 5 years

Here are some pics of my car in the panel shop anyway.  Don't let the photos fool you, the car does look good in them, but that's just my clever photography...just kidding...if you did see it close up you would notice a lot of things wrong with it.

I feel better now anyway, letting all that off my chest.  Cheers for listening.