Dukes Paint and Body in Fort Worth

[Dhos1]

Thinking about taking my car to him to get some work done-anyone experiences with the shop..ie, cleanliness, work habits, customer service, timeliness of repairs etc....

 

[Dhos1]

Hmmmm, 46 looks and zero replies. Well, I thought about this for a while and with help decided that it was only right that I post this. I'm new to GN's and decided after hearing that he was a good person to take my car too that I would do so. I stopped by his shop to check it out a few times before actually making and confirming a day and a time to drop my car off for a routine tune and a awful ticking noise which seemed like it was coming from the oil pan area, also I had an oil leak. I also wanted him to install a oil pressure gauge and swap out a boost gauge. I provided the boost gauge and he was to order the oil gauge. These items were clearly on the receipt that he wrote me up for. We made the agreement to drop my car off in about a week to let him clear some cars out of his shop. My thoughts on his shop-very dirty, and most of the maintenance on cars is done in the parking lot outside, so there is not enough space to park your car anywhere...but outside, so if you care about your paint-forget it as your car will be there for a while. Regardless, I trusted him to start work when he said he would or around that time. I understand, things happen. Anyway, I dropped my car off in the morning...outside of course because guess what...space wasn't clear still and left asking when he may have a chance to look at it--the reply was this afternoon. Afternoon, no call...no issue I'm sure he was busy. Now starts the fun...2, 3, 4,5, 6 days later car is still outside and not worked on...really-not even so much as a call. Now, my car isn't priceless, but I take care of it...and am pissed that it sat outside for so long NOT BEING WORKED in the weather. Fast forward...I went up there on or around the 7th day telling him, what the heck man...he finally decided to get on it. I got an completion date that continued to be tomorrow, then the next day, then the next. I asked him about the gauges and his response was " I don't remember" . He rummaged through a stack of papers and said "oh yeah, once he came to my receipt. Right then I said "don't worry about it...just give me my car. He finally told a worker to get on it and finish up my car after me complaining about the timeframe. Oh, did I mention that my car was in the shop now, but my keys were on top of my roof...all I thought about were scratches. There was another guy up there that I spoke to that was unhappy about the time frame for his repairs as well...we chatted as well. Back to the story...on the 14th or 15th day my car was ready. Picked my car up, and there were no issues...drove the car about 15-20 miles home. I drove the car back and forth to work and noticed a bad oil leak underneath. Jacked the car up and realized that my flywheel cover was not installed (I had a torque converter bolt loose), that was the fix for the ticking sound. So I drove around for about a week with my convertor and flywheel exposed to elements. I called him up and asked was it laying around the shop...his response was "was it on when I brought it in"...really man, c'mon. He said he would look for it in the shop...after 2 days I never received a call...so I drove up to the shop and said that I could not find it. He asked a worker and the response was that it was in the trunk...lol. Opened the trunk and it was there...what the FUCK was it in the trunk for. I check the trunk for my subwoofer...not my flywheel cover. Regardless, I drove home and installed it...looked at my oil pan...and 4 bolts were half way installed sticking out about 5-6 threads...and the other 20 or so were just not tight causing a leak. Really man.... Poor customer service, dirty overcrowded shop, didn't remember my order even though he had a receipt and poor customer contact. This is not to bad mouth him as a person...do not think that! I'm sure he is a real nice guy but his service was lacking and I'm not sure whether it was an off 2 weeks for him or what. But, my experience was shitty. Too many cars and too small of a shop to provide proper service. He knows his stuff that's for sure because the car runs like a raped ape....but the issues were not worth it. I didn't expect that. I also called and left a voice mail stating that I am very unhappy with service after the loose bolts...but as always I got no answer, so I felt like I had to put this out there to check it out carefully. You will get a fast car back probably...but you may not see it for several months and deal with the conditions. Not too sure if it's worth it. Like I said, I wasn't going to write this, but I wanted everyone to know MY experience. I'm sure you care about your Regal too, so it's your choice.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Sad......The beat goes on....Jackoffs that think they are businessmen.
He'll survive, [for a time, anyway], on one time customers, such as yourself. Eventually, he'll hose the wrong guy, and it'll be the cops, the IRS, the fire marshal, that will shut his sorry ass down.

 

[Dhos1]

Yeah....I won't return.

 

[fast86gn]

Dhos1, I didn't see your post or I would have replied sorry. Your experience is right on. Bill knows his stuff no doubt but your car will be there forever and yes outside. I have never personally been to his shop but it is my understanding it's Duke Paint & Body that is his dads shop and he works on Buick's out of that shop. Maybe that has changed I don't know.

It is a shame there are not a lot of shops in N TX area that work on these cars, Bill is one and Jack Laswell is the other and the only thing they have in common is they both know Buick's inside and out. Bill is in the FTW area and Jack is east of Dallas a world away from each other. Of course there are a few guys scattered around the DFW area that have small shops that work on their own cars but only a few.

I would recommend Jack (JL Enterprises) for anything on a TR or any Hot rod for that matter but he is a one man show and always booked up.

It sounds like your happy with the performance and that's great! Good luck with your car.

 

[Dhos1]

Thanks man....I have a few good shops in mind next time I decide to either tune or whatever.

 

[SuperCPA]

I am sorry you had that experience. Similar experiences have trickled down to me from other people in the Buick community that I trust. A GN paint job from there will be spectacular, but you will need to set aside a couple of years for completion, etc, etc, and etc.

I would also highly recommend Jack and he has performed magic with my GN transmissions in the past. However, there is another option in the Benbrook Lake area of S. Fort Worth that I would also highly recommend. This shop is owned and run by another individual named Duke, but make no mistake there is no similarity. Duke M. and his son Joe run a tight ship and both have very good knowledge of tuning and the LC2 engines. Duke has a very quick white T-Type that is dipping into the 9's. I would recommend them for roll bar and other types of installations too. http://www.macs-power.com/

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Mac's Performance/@32.5914166,-97.6002693,12z/data=!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xc6a5cf8a8c9df632

 

[fast86gn]

Oh hell yeah I forgot about Duke my bad. He is a performance diesel shop for the most part but does great work on the Buick's as well. Thanks Carl.

 

[Shawn N]

So that explains the two Duke's. I was so confused last time at Redline when you said that's Dukes kid racing the white T .

 

[fast86gn]

So that explains the two Duke's. I was so confused last time at Redline when you said that's Dukes kid racing the white T .

Yep you have Billy Duke of Dukes P&B and Duke McClain of Mac's Performance.

 

[TexasT]

Just a link and a bump for those with some interest.

http://www.turbobuick.com/forums/th...erately-needs-help.435959/page-4#post-3626729

 

[TexasT]

I took these in 2011. Maybe y'all can see one of your cars there.

 

[Shawn N]

That's a really nice GN too Rich.

 

[killa]

That's a really nice GN too Rich.

Is duke still there? He still owes me money.

 

[Shawn N]

I think he has gone out of business cause the property is for sale now.

 

[fast86gn]

And if you have a TR on the property you better get it out of there, if that property sells your TR could be gone?

 

[Shawn N]

From the pic Mike sent me it's empty except for the junk cars.

 

[Chuck Leeper]

Is duke still there? He still owes me money.

I'd bet he's selling the bldg, so he can pay back the $ he's scammed folks for..
Good riddance....Another dirt bag down.

 

[Shawn N]

 

[sixgun86gn]

Yeah, I won't get into my experience with him......

Jack Laswell or Duke McClain are definitely good guys.

There isn't much I don't do on my own cars though, I even paint them myself now because bodyshops are sketchy.