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Car repair question

Sphexi

Sphexi

Diamond Member
Reading another forum I frequent, a poster brought up a situation he was in. Basically he got some work done on his car, which neither fixed it, and turned out costing more than he was originally told by the owner of the repair shop. He was upset and told the guy he wouldn't pay more than was originally quoted to him, the owner told him that they didn't hold to quotes and he had to pay. It basically escalated to the point where the repair shop owner said he would simply come get the guy's car until he paid, possibly charging him for a tow and "storage" on top of anything.


Now, I haven't been to school in a few years, and the only real law I ever studied was business law, but unless the repair shop owner is the lien holder, does he really have a right, legally or otherwise, to simply take possession of a car? I understand that money is owed for services, and obviously it could be taken to court and dealt with that way, but I wouldn't think someone can simply take a vehicle, unless money is owed on the actual ownership of the vehicle itself.

 
I'm going to go with no. If the shop would have refused to release the vehicle in the first place, that may have been a different matter.

Then again, I could be wrong.
 
A buddy of mine works at a bodyshop and they're currently holding a stealth because the owner doesn't have the cash to pay for it yet. They can't sell it until a certain amount of time has expired, I believe. Mind you, this doesn't mean they're legally entitled to do so, I'm just giving a real life example.

EDIT : Wait, they let him take the car, then asked for the money? 😕
 
Originally posted by: LoKe
A buddy of mine works at a bodyshop and they're currently holding a stealth because the owner doesn't have the cash to pay for it yet. They can't sell it until a certain amount of time has expired, I believe. Mind you, this doesn't mean they're legally entitled to do so, I'm just giving a real life example.

EDIT : Wait, they let him take the car, then asked for the money? 😕
Click to expand...

Apparantly, he has his car, and has not paid them yet. The dispute is over how much he's going to pay them, I'm not sure of the details on what repairs were done or how much it cost.
 
Originally posted by: Sphexi
Originally posted by: LoKe
A buddy of mine works at a bodyshop and they're currently holding a stealth because the owner doesn't have the cash to pay for it yet. They can't sell it until a certain amount of time has expired, I believe. Mind you, this doesn't mean they're legally entitled to do so, I'm just giving a real life example.

EDIT : Wait, they let him take the car, then asked for the money? 😕
Click to expand...

Apparantly, he has his car, and has not paid them yet. The dispute is over how much he's going to pay them, I'm not sure of the details on what repairs were done or how much it cost.
Click to expand...

Then it was the shop's mistake to release the vehicle before they were paid for services rendered. Sucks for them. 😛

This isn't really my area of expertise..but I imagine they'd have to take him to small claims court..?
 
I'm not entirely sure, but I believe they have to agree on a service and price before doing the actual work. Meaning, if they, say, replaced his radiator without telling him they would, nor giving him the cost, then he's not liable to pay for it. I don't know...maybe he should just talk to a lawyer.
 
Originally posted by: LoKe
I'm not entirely sure, but I believe they have to agree on a service and price before doing the actual work. Meaning, if they, say, replaced his radiator without telling him they would, nor giving him the cost, then he's not liable to pay for it. I don't know...maybe he should just talk to a lawyer.
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lol you know how it is though, everybody comes to the web for legal advice these days 😛...I was just curious about it myself, obviously the shop owner can't come take back the bits and pieces he replaced, or maybe he could I dunno. But taking the whole car, without having a legal right to it? Seems like stealing to me, he should just go to court, it'd be a pretty open and shut case in his favor I'd think.
 
in Indiana they can put a mechanics lien on a car.....and if its not paid, I suppose they would take it just like they would take a repo
 
Originally posted by: huberm
in Indiana they can put a mechanics lien on a car.....and if its not paid, I suppose they would take it just like they would take a repo
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Generally something like that has to be signed on to count, but I suppose it might hold up in court.
 
I'd call the cops right away and ask them about it. And then let him take it and then go to jail for stealing a car.

I'd also contacct the local TV stations to get the word out about this person so others don't get screwed.

And saying they don't hold to quotes is BS. That's what a quote is is stating how much something will cost. Now if it was just an estimate, then that's different. I always get the pric eup front and tell them to not do anything more than what we discussed.
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
I'd call the cops right away and ask them about it. And then let him take it and then go to jail for stealing a car.

I'd also contacct the local TV stations to get the word out about this person so others don't get screwed.

And saying they don't hold to quotes is BS. That's what a quote is is stating how much something will cost. Now if it was just an estimate, then that's different. I always get the pric eup front and tell them to not do anything more than what we discussed.
Click to expand...

I'm the same way, if something else needs to be done then tell me first, let me decide if I want it done or not. If it's something vital, then I'll probably do it, but if the car still runs I won't worry too much lol
 
Originally posted by: FrankyJunior
And saying they don't hold to quotes is BS. That's what a quote is is stating how much something will cost. Now if it was just an estimate, then that's different. I always get the pric eup front and tell them to not do anything more than what we discussed.
Click to expand...
Too true. I haven't had a repair yet that differed from the cost. If the mechanic found something that was beyond the original repair, I was contacted before any more work was done so that the quote could be adjusted accordingly. Pretty sure most work like that.
 
In Texas, you must authorize all repairs that go over your initial written estimate. They just dont fix whatever they feel like and then get you to pay for it. Thats sounds like a stinkin' ripoff to me. Mechanics liens are quite real and will be enforced. They probably are very good at doing it too. 🙁
 
When a car goes in for repair it is legally under a "mechanic's lein" and if you refuse to pay for the repairs is it 100% legal for the shop to hold the car. After a certain amount of time, they can file paperwork and receive legal ownership of the vehicle.

Your friend is an idiot for not getting the estimate in writing and not requireing them to phone him before performing work that would be more than the estimate.

ZV
 
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