Hi everybody, My name is Ashlie Williams. This December my girlfriend Laura and I were cheated out of $3700 that was owed to me by a customer. We have been left with no way to pay our bills this month, and we won't have enough to make it through to the end of January.  

 

Before I go into the details of what I'm posting this fundraiser for, I will need to fill you in on everything.

 

 

This is me. I am 26 years old and have been practicing autobody mechanics and classic car restoration for nearly 10 years. This is my girlfriend Laura and our four cats Indigo (black), Genji (tabby), Pumpkin (tortoiseshell), and Gibson (tuxedo).

 

 

 

I first started learning autobody when I begged for a job at a local shop when I was seventeen years old. Restoring cars is something I have always been interested in, so I wanted to take on some sort of apprenticeship. Over the years (Bobby) the man I learned from has become a good lifelong friend and a great mentor. I owe a great deal to this man and of all the body mechanics I have ever met I have never known one to be more honest or trustworthy. He taught me  to enjoy and take pride in my work and be proud of being a female body mechanic.


This year with the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself in the same situation as many others. With lockdowns coming into effect, there were hardly any customers. This left me without work, as the shop couldn't afford to keep me around.  After a friend of mine came to me to ask me to repair their classic 1996 MX5 Mazda Miata that he had recently bought, I decided that doing cosmetic bodywork and rust repair on my own could be a way to keep me afloat. 

 

I have always loved the MX5 Miata and was saddened when I was forced to sell mine due to financial issues due to lack of work. Mine, like many other Miata's, was very rusty and needed a lot of work so I know the struggle all too well that other Miata owners face. I saw the opportunity to use my knowledge of autobody and my passion for classic cars to help other Miata owners fix their rusty cars with quality cosmetic bodywork or rust work that they could afford. I wouldn't be doing fancy brand new restorations but it would save these great cars that were destined for a rusty grave.

 

 

These are just some of the cars that I have done extensive work on and painted myself. Every one of their owners has always been very happy with the work and many have become good friends as a result.

 

 

For those interested in looking at the progress photos for most of these jobs I have all the photos uploaded into a collection of google drive folders that can be found here.

Black MX5 Miata - https://photos.app.goo.gl/RmHD7DyscaX5ejp9A

Red MX5 Miata - https://photos.app.goo.gl/6eDZ4ZJUjEgUMX2e6

Orange Datsun 280z - https://photos.app.goo.gl/3g4A1xnjXbMPzuUc8

Blue 1967 Impala - https://photos.app.goo.gl/Ye5KuQ1fMHK7XEQq6

Purple 96 Civic - https://photos.app.goo.gl/aLhzDVNALxLznDxc7

Purple MX5 Miata - https://photos.app.goo.gl/WxTjWL29e7H5YSGG7

 

This Blue 1990 MX5 Miata - https://photos.app.goo.gl/TJTwjN2WPjL27fUM8

 

This brings us to the current day in which, I was contacted by a fellow shop owner (whom I will not name out of respect for his own business) who specializes in the mechanical side of classic Miatas. The shop owner saw the work I was doing online (in a Miata-themed Facebook group) and claimed he wanted to help and that he had a job for me to do. He provided a video of the floor of the car and explained to me what he was looking to have repaired on the vehicle. I gave him an approximate quote for the repair of the floor, as well as the driver and passenger side quarter panels based solely on what I could see in the video and the questions I had asked him about it.

 

Here are the photos he provided as well as the video he sent me.

 

 

At this point, it's not like he was unaware of the work that I do, as I had sent him many photos and links to the folders of photos containing all of the jobs I had done on prior Miatas, as well as many other cars. He was also well aware of what my workshop is like and what the limitations of my workshop are.

 

I had quoted the repair of the rusty floors and both quarter panels to the best of my ability at $2000 ~ $2500 based on the photos and video he sent. We then made arrangements for the vehicle to be delivered to me on October 2nd. I also informed him that I was busy dealing with some other things at the moment and it would be about a week before I could really start working on the car. It was around then that I began having sharp stabbing pains in my spine which I later discovered were a pair of herniated discs. I was completely unable to work and hardly able to even walk for three weeks while I went through physiotherapy to lessen the pain and heal. This brings us to the start of November.

 

As I continued to work on the vehicle I was able to have a better analysis of the rust damage and the repair work needed and had informed him that it would be prudent to look at spot sandblasting the underside to remove loose flaking rust and chemically treat it with rust converter and inhibitor. He said that this was all fine and that the cost would not be an issue and to just do the best I can for this poor rusty car. Based on our conversations, and the examples of the previous work I had done, it could not possibly be misunderstood that the repair I can provide would be equivalent to a true ground-up restoration, nor was it ever stated that this is what the customer was seeking. I had always expressed that I aimed to provide the best affordable middle ground repair to deal with as much rust as possible, and in an affordable way to make the vehicle drivable again for many years as long as it is cared for properly. 

 

These are my photos of the repair work made to the car.

 

 

 

I spent a total of 97 hours working on this vehicle over the past six weeks, most of which was done in just the final two weeks, including 30 hours non-stop trying to get the car done as quickly as possible as the other shop owner was getting frustrated with me over the delays, despite me always being very forthcoming about any setbacks I faced and assurances that I am truly working as fast as I can to complete this car.

 

While it may not be necessary to say so, here is a complete list of all the work I have done to this vehicle.

Upon completion of the vehicle, I provided a final invoice for $3627 (discounted from $4375 approx due to complications with the painting and detailing) as well as itemizing the extra work done and why it was needed). He sent his tow truck driver to pick up the vehicle and informed me that he would be finishing the needed mechanical work that week and would be sending me payment for the car.

 

After a few days with no communication or response, he pointed out a couple of issues that he had with the work and procedes to tell me that the work I have done is worthless, and refuses to pay me a single cent for the job.

 

Here he pointed out that the jack points of the car were bending slightly under the weight of the vehicle, and that the clear coat around the hardtop was bumpy and had an orange peel texture to it.

 

 

Following this, we had the following texts in which he asked me to call him. (My messages are in blue)

 

 

I kindly offered to come to his shop with my polishing equipment and address the orange peel in the paint (explaining that I was unable to remove the hardtop from the car since I was unable to get anyone to help me remove it) and if the jack points were of such a major concern to his customer I would gladly fabricate and weld in some more than capable reinforcements (should be noted here that obviously the vehicle has been jacked into the air using other areas just as I had done when repairing the car.)

He refused my offer and said that he refuses to pay for what he considers worthless work that he will now have to have redone elsewhere.

The day after our conversation he sends me the rest of the text message and asks me to call him again. I asked him what he wants from me since he refused my offer in our first conversation, to which he responded saying he wants me to find a reputable body shop and pay them to redo the work. I explain that's not possible as I'm flat broke and all the money I had is invested in materials in this car to which he claims is not his problem and that if I can't find my own funding for my business then I shouldn't be in business.

 

So that's my story and that brings us to today. December 24th where my girlfriend Laura and I have been left with no money to cover our bills for this month or my half of the three months of phone and internet I have fallen behind on while struggling to get work done. We are struggling to find ways to come up with the money to feed our cats and I have been forced to take a payday loan to pay for groceries this month and now have no way to repay it. I have had to resort to using a cash money line of credit to pay for a lot of materials for this Miata, and we are left with nothing.

 

If you donate to help us out this holiday season, know that I'm not one to take handouts. It is very difficult for me to ask for help. All we want is to not be left financially crippled and if we can achieve our fundraising goal it would be a true holiday miracle for us. If somehow we exceed our fundraising goal any additional money will be used to help my girlfriend and I pay off the rest of our debts and save the rest (if any is left). Thank you for taking the time to read my story and I hope that you have a Happy Holiday.