I recently moved to Orlando, Florida from Milwaukee, Wisconsin and opened my own auto body and paint shop.in Wisconsin I had a reputation of being one of the best auto body and paint guys around. However, due to the Winter months I decided to relocate to Florida to work on cars year round. It was a difficult transition since I built a great reputation up north and had very prestigious classic car collectors coming to me to do work. Some of my work has been featured on the cover of magazines and also sent through the Barrett-Jackson Auto Auction.
I met Colin Fletcher on or around June and he expressed he was in the buying and selling of Classic Cars and looking for a new paint guy. He said his previous paint guy had went to jail and he was in need. He got my hopes up with promises of bringing me 3-4 classic cars a month, as long as I hook him up with great service and prices. The first car he sent my way was a 1965 Chevy Impala SS that needed some minor body work and full repaint. The car was dropped off in July and being that I just moved here and still was in the transition of getting my tools and a new compressor for the shop, etc. The job took a little longer then usual to complete. I figured that Colin would understand since we would correspond daily and often go get lunch/dinner together. During this time Colin didn't bring me any additional work, perhaps thinking that I couldn't handle it. However, he doesn't understand that the more work he brings the faster stuff would get done and I could hire people to help easily. The Impala was finally finished and left the shop. Colin, who had no auto dealer's license at the time, took the Impala to his new shop that he started leasing in Altamonte Springs about 15-20 miles from my shop. Under the impression Colin Fletcher would be bringing me all his work, I come to find out that he paid someone else to buff and wax my paint job shortly after it was done. Something that made me upset but he happen to stroll in another car at this time. The second car was a rust bucket Chevelle Super Sport that needed tons of work. Colin, who doesn't know much about Classic cars picked this car up without letting me take a look at it. Now, since I'm the body and paint guy you would think perhaps letting me see the car first would be ideal. However, that wasn't the case and Colin purchased it and rolled it into my shop. I did a full inspection on it and quoted Colin roughly 5k to do a full restoration and paint job on this Chevelle. A price that I got word from another auto body shop that said they wouldn't touch it for less then 8k. I gave Colin this price based on the fact that he promised he would be bringing me additional work and would keep me busy. However, after giving him the estimate he beat me up on the price and said he could only budget 3k for the body work and paint, etc. I tried explaining that he can't beat me up on price and this isn't like doing a tile job in a house, stuff could come up that is not seen when I get into it that could make this even more expensive. Colin, perhaps not liking the quote or maybe couldn't afford to do the restoration decided not to do the work. His Impala still had not sold and he pulled that car from the shop. It's been 3 months since that incident and Colin Fletcher has not given me any additional work. I reached out to him and asked what was up? Why would you make promises like your going to give me 3-4 cars a month and bring me all this work and not follow through? His response was that his new shop was just to far of a drive from mine and that he would rather get someone closer to him.
On his 1965 Impala SS his description had lies about that car, perhaps he was trying to "upsell" this Classic car for someone. However, anyone that knows Classic Cars knows that you can't do stuff like this. The Chevelle rust bucket I saw online for sale, not restored, but the way he purchased it.in that description he mentions that "he doesn't have the time to restore it."
I have no hard feelings for Colin Fletcher he is a nice guy, although, I believe him to be a pathological liar. Even things he would tell me about his personal life where very hard to fathom. If your going to buy a car especially a classic, I wouldn't recommend buying one from Colin Fletcher. This is straight from a body, paint, and repair guy of over 12 years.
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