In December of 2014 I took my motorhome to Vehicle Wrap, Inc. for an estimate for a vinyl wrap. I had no experience with wraps and did not know what to expect. I worked with Mike, one of the designers, and was quite pleased with his work and final design.
I made it very clear that I wanted the coach by Christmas, and would rather come back in January if that would be a problem. I was assured by Mike that they could get it done in December. When I said Christmas I should have said Dec 23, not just "by Christmas". But I didn't. When I called on Dec 22, I had to be very adamant that I wanted it the next day. Mike finally said he would have it done on the 23rd. I suppose they thought they had 'til Christmas eve, and I can't really blame them. For that I will give them one more star than I think they deserve. I believe they wanted very much to get my coach in and done to have it included in their December business totals. I wish they would have told me to wait 'til January because any delay would screw up their December schedule. In hindsight I believe they made their December schedule too tight by accommodating me. And I did delay them some as we struggled to choose the right colors.
When I picked up the coach on Dec 23, I had to wait around several hours for them to complete it. They were under the gun, but again, I was willing to have waited 'til January for the wrap, but they wanted to do it in December.
When the coach was delivered to me, supposedly done, I found several things wrong: a grill on the hot water heater access door was missing, an outdoor electric plug was taped back in place instead of being properly attached, screens over exhausts on the furnace and hot water vents were missing. The workers had forced them off, ruining the attachment devices. Hinges and jambs of the main door, hood and access doors were left undone with the old color showing brightly and looking awful. I mentioned these items to the owner and his response was essentially no response. In the days following the wrap I discovered the windshield wipers had been reattached improperly and would not work. The right mirror was loose enough to vibrate while driving and the electrics were not reattached properly leaving the left mirror unable to be adjusted remotely. The Ford V-10 emblems were removed but not reattached. They were tossed into a small box along with the bug screens and a few other items, and left inside the coach. The unspoken message was loud and clear: the parts left over were my problem. I needed the coach for a Christmas trip, and would be living in it the following week. I could not refuse the coach because of the sloppy and incomplete work, and decided then and there that whatever the shortcomings of Vehicle Wrap, Inc. were, and whatever the undone issues were, I'd prefer to have it done elsewhere. I would not trust it to Vehicle Wrap, Inc. again. Ever.
I had to hire a professional painter to paint the many areas that were left the old color. I had to have special paint mixed to match the colors of the wrap. That cost was $600.
I had the side rear view mirrors tightened and the electric wires reattached so both worked. That cost was $100.
Earlier this week I took the coach in to another wrap company to fix several areas that had bubbled or come unattached. The gal who fixed that was very good and had the job done in just 40 minutes. I could have taken the coach back to Vehicle Wrap, Inc. for those items and I'm sure they would have fixed them. However, after the many issues listed above, I was not about to have Vehicle Wrap, Inc. get their hands on my coach again.
I saw several big name companies represented by their vehicles at Vehicle Wrap, Inc.'s lot during the time they worked on my coach, and have read the five star ratings on this site. I'm sure Vehicle Wrap, Inc. is capable of good work, and saw some nice examples of it while on their premises. Even so, the shoddy and careless work shown on my coach has convinced me that I would never, under any circumstance, let them touch anything of mine again. I am thoroughly disgusted with the sloppy job they did for me.
I paid the balance due of the agreed $5600. Mike asked me to pay an extra $200 for the delay and I suppressed my laughter. He also asked me to sign a document stating that the coach was complete and I was happy with it. Naturally, I refused.
I have posted photos to the Internet of some of the issues I mentioned above. Those photos may be viewed here:
I expect that if Vehicle Wrap responds to my review they will blame the issues on my insistence that the coach be completed on Dec 23. Still, they could have recognized the tight schedule they created for themselves and agreed to have me wait 'til January for the work to be done. As mentioned above, I had made it very clear I was willing to wait 'til then.
I have learned most things the hard way, and this has been one hell of a lesson!