Take your car somewhere else! Same as Mike E's posts. Work claimed to be done was never done…read more Parts not ordered timely (I ended up having to order them), in my opinion-invoice churning and more.
After having my '62 Corvette worked on by Fort Pitt Classic Cars and having many positive interactions with the owner, Ron Libengood and his team, I found a '58 Continental that I had Fort Pitt inspect prior to purchase to see if it was a good candidate for a complete restoration. I was told by Fort Pitt that the rust was likely only surface rust and it would be a quick and relatively inexpensive restoration. Well after almost 4 years it was neither quick nor cost effective. There were some unexpected things that no one could have predicted, but I put put my trust in Fort Pitt Classic Cars and Ron Libengood to restore my car the right way from start to end. Unfortunately that trust was misplaced and I feel that Fort Pitt Classic Cars and Ron Libengood took advantage of my trust.....I do not restore cars and hired who I thought were experienced professionals (experts) and relied on their expertise to complete my project the correct way from state to finish in a professional manner to industry standards- I was paying for a "cruise quality" restoration.
Check out the contract (attached)- when invoices are payable upon receipt and if not paid, work is stopped on your car. My contract clearly states 125% for materials, but I was charged 130%.
First, there are over 30 cars at any time getting "restored" at Fort Pitt and their project management is lackluster at best. Many cars at the same stage seem to create log jams and very long waits to get work completed. I found I had to wait unreasonably long times to get to the "next stage" of my restoration and I always seemed to have charges popping at for "earlier stage" work.
11/14/19 - I was billed $160.50 for a vehicle assessment, which I paid on upon receipt - on 12/19/19 I was given an estimate of $17,888.26 to restore the mechanical portion of my vehicle. On 2/17/2020 I was given an estimate for a total restoration- mechanical/body/upholstery of $58,008. Work commenced on my vehicle in March of 2020. Due to covid delays, turnover, not being able to find parts, etc. this project took almost 4 years. I finally pulled my vehicle from Fort Pitt after over 3 years of them "restoring" it- they did body work and mechanical only and I ended up paying over $130,000 for their "work" and considerable out of pocket expense for parts I sourced myself.
We had numerous conversations about cost containment to no avail. Even after the cost containment conversations they they decided to tell me that there we thousands of hours where I was not charged their $5/hr shop supply fee. I told them I was unwilling to pay this charge, however the owner fought to make me pay this but eventually gave me a "credit" for this amount- it was their oversight!
I instructed them from the onset of the project not to do anything with the windshield wiper/spray system as this was going to be a CA car- I told this to the body shop crew, the mechanical crew and sales crew. I was still charged for this and when I brought it to the owner's attention I was told their policy was to comply with PA State law/inspections and I would be charged as this was their "policy". I explained to him, I told him, his sales manager, body employee and mechanical employee that I told everyone this from the onset of the project, this was going to be a California car and I would expect them to do what their clients want.
Our contract clearly states they will charge 125% for materials, and they charged 130%. They did not source most parts- I had to source them myself and have them sent to Fort Pitt. They never actually fixed/restored most of the issues with my car. They were unable to diagnose most things and even when they did their diagnosis was incorrect or their fix was incorrect and the issues had to be re-worked multiple times, clearly churning my bill.
I was also charged 3 hours labor- over $300 for labeling an inoperable parking brake and putting it in the trunk of my vehicle. I told them I would pay 5 minutes for this but was still billed for 18 minutes.
Fort Pitt unable to fabricate door gaskets but I was still charged for this work- and they were available for purchase (attached). I told them not to do anything with the power antenna but work was still performed on this (I told mechanical shop and body shop). Also door gaskets unsuccessfully fabricated by Fort Pitt, however I was charged and I did find them for sale and we used those.
Lots more to be upset about, check out the pictures and my google review- take your care elsewhere!
