Pat,
It wasn't Steve's fault. I didn't ask quite enough questions going in. When I got the bill for $5K, I called to see what state of completion the car was in. I was dismayed that it was only in primer and promptly asked what it would take to finish it. At first, I couldn't get a committment, because of the shop policy of just billing time and materials until completed. Remember, this is a Concours shop and the normal customer doesn't count pennies like us ordinary folks do. Depending on the car and it's condition, a full show winning restoration can cost upwards of $200K.
In my case, once I put the brakes on, I went to work negotiating a not to exceed price for completion. (which I should have done in the first place!) It really was more than I wanted to spend, but my only other choice was to take the car to another shop and run the risk of putting beer in a champagne glass so to speak.
So, I bit the bullet and discovered that Steve's wanted to finish the car badly enough to negotiate down from a considerably higher number.
Casaleenie,
I'm not sure about the wine part, but I did feel like mounting an armed guard at times. It's funny though, it wasn't the cost of the paint job that made me paranoid, it was just the car in general. Seemed like all of the "looky loo" types wanted to get into it when nobody was looking or get PO'd when I told them no. The other worry was having some jackass prang the side as he exited his jacked up 4x4. Again, cost of paint didn't enter into it. It was just damage in general that bothered me.
Other than shows, I always parked it where I could see it and damnif that ain't a pain! Couldn't even go to the beach and leave it out of sight.
Like I said though, the look of the work was worth the money and I would have still guarded it fiercely, even with an average paint job on it.
I lied about damage. (forgot) Not long after it was completed and I was still learning where the nose of the car really was, I scuffed the underside of the
oil cooler scoop. It couldn't be seen standing in front of the car, but I knew it was there and believe me, I did say OH SHISKY!! (or words to that effect!) That little fubar cost $1,300 to fix. Believe me, it only took once being that dumb!
Al