I was referred to Ernie by a reliable mechanic that I know. Ernie received my wrecked 2001 Honda Civic EX on or about August 21. About a month later I contacted Ernie and he indicated he wanted more money. I had initially paid him $1200 for restoration of the vehicle. He did show me some receipts for parts he bought and I did give him an additional $600 for parts. This $600 was supposed to include the cost of wheels and tires.
I called Ernie in October and he said he was working on the car and I advised him to have the car ready no later than Thanksgiving of a time frame of more than 30 days from when I called. A few days before Thanksgiving, I called Ernie and then he had a story that he had been sick for the past week. I then told him I needed the car by December 1. I called Ernie a few days after Thanksgiving and then he had another story and alleged that he bought two different paint pumps and blew a fuse.
I called Ernie on December 1 and advised him that the car was being picked up whether it was ready or not and then he started moaning saying he was 64 years old, had surgery in August. He was a real moaner.
When I obtained this car, it had two good wheels and two very good tires. However, after Ernie bought four wheels with less than 2/10 inch tread on them and then alleged raded in my two good wheels without my consent. I questioned him who he gave the wheels to he refused to advise me.
On or about December 7, Ernie brought me a car that was half finished that looked like a horrible mess and he wanted half of his money for labor. I refused to pay him and told him I would pay him the full amount when the job was complete. Ernie brought the car to me less than 24 hours before the deadline for me to leave town. The car was rushed to the mechanic who then advised me that the control arm was shot and that it had to be replaced.
The next day the Honda Dealer advised me that the frame was bent and needed to be replaced immediately. 700 miles later while on the road, I took the car to a competant auto body facility in California and was advised that the welding job that Ernie did on the frame was dangerous and incompetant and did not fix the frame on the car and that the frame needed to be replaced. The body shop in California charged me just over $1,000 to replace the right front control arm, the frame, and other supporting parts.
I then took the car to Firestone for an alignment and was advised that Ernie had put the wrong size of wheels on 3 of the 4 wheels on the car. The mechanic at Firestone and the dealer both confirmed that the car could not be properly aligned and that over time the camber would cause the tires to wear unevenly.
I called Ernie several times while I was out of town and he refused to return my calls. Once I got back in to town I called Ernie and then he started saying he still had the good wheels and that he had never heard such a story. He remarked that people ride there cars around all the time with the wrong size of wheel and there is no problem.
I paid Ernie Givre over $1500 for labor and over $1700 for restoration of a 2001 Honda Civc EX. Ernie is an incompetant crook and you should stay away from him. Ernie lied to me about the condition of the car, misrepresented what he had done with the car, and then tried to cheat me over wheels and tires.
When I got this car it had two good wheels and two good tires. And now $200 later I have to buy 3 wheels and 3 tires.
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