Phantom Auto Works Folds

[Bo Markham]

Is this new to anyone else, or have I missed something in recent weeks? Just heard that Will Sanders has bought them out, moved the inventory and equipment to Colorado and joined it with the inventory from SASCO he bought from SI.

[mbstude]

Will got the NOS. Rene got the new production stuff.

[JBOYLE]

That's sad. They seemed to be nice people, I thought it was neat some younger people buying an established business like that.
I bought my Avanti carpet from them and had them re-do my sun visors.

Who is Rene, the former owner?

[avantilover]

Probably Rene and Bonita Harger, the original owners who sold the business then moved to Tennessee I think and started another upholstery business. Not an easy time to be in business and I wish all concerned well.

[Bill Pressler]

I live in N.E. Ohio and I hadn't heard this. I'm sorry to hear it. I was happy that a business like that was operating up near us. I had heard good things about them, too.

[lschuc]

Sorry to hear that they sold the business. Phantom in Ohio did great work and were quick to process and complete orders.

[JDP]

Sorry to hear that they sold the business. Phantom in Ohio did great work and were quick to process and complete orders.

Rene was a big part of Phantom Auto works, he sold the business, but without him, it was a uphill climb. Maybe he'll reclaim the name.

[Dads Baby]

I hated seeing the pissing match in Turning Wheels every month. Made me not look at their ad. Sometimes businesses get too consumed on what the other person is doing, they lose focus on what is really important. It is sad to see a company close its doors. BTDT.

[Bob Andrews]

That's too bad. They seemed like nice people. I had been discussing having them make replacement canvas for Skytops. We talked about my brining them my complete roof of the parts car so they could make proper patterns. Hopefully Rene or somebody else will tackle this...

[Bish]

I just got my order of carpet, visors, kicks, and windlace from them yesterday (10-28) and the invoice has the Ohio address. Strange. Perhaps they're filling existing orders? Bish

[Dan White]

I got a carpet for one of my GTs a few years ago from them. They worked hard to make sure I had the right red. Real fine folks to deal with and their work was first rate. As much as we would like to think the Stude hobby is a big one it is not big enough for some repro items like interiors. I found it a bit tough that Rene sold them the business then jumped back in and competed with the very folks he set up. Not what I would call exactly an up and up way to deal with people. I won’t be buying anything from Rene and company going forward.

[JoeHall]

I too, thought it was strange when Rene began competing with the same people he sold the business to. Not having the monopoly anymore, he became a lot more congenial on the phone, and order-ship time was only a few weeks for a set of carpet I ordered from him a year ago. If he (Rene) has cornered the market again, I guess we are back to sarcasm and 2-4 years' order-ship time.

[studefan]

Kevin Haines from Phantom was an absolutely wonderful gentlemen to work with. I purchased seats and door/quarter panels from him. I am really sorry that he had to sell the business. Knowing the earlier history of this company, aside from the hardware, I hope that Keith's stellar communication and customer service skills were also transferred to the new owners.

[StudeRich]

Kevin Haines from Phantom was an absolutely wonderful gentlemen to work with. I purchased seats and door/quarter panels from him. I am really sorry that he had to sell the business. Knowing the earlier history of this company, aside from the hardware, I hope that Keith's stellar communication and customer service skills were also transferred to the new owners.

Huh? Keith? New owners?
The Business was purchased by the same people the Hargers, that used to own it, so nothing will change, back to business as usual.

[JDP]

Huh? Keith? New owners?
The Business was purchased by the same people the Hargers, that used to own it, so nothing will change, back to business as usual.

I stopped advertizing my interior business, but I still do it with word of mouth. With maybe a 15% margin on $300 covers, I could not afford to pay $100's a month for TW ad's. That and my seat cover factory buy out buy out by Labaron Bonney taking 6 weeks instead of two for delivery. Even on my low end business, I lost sales to other big name guys that sold the covers made by the same factory I use for double my price.