can she do anything?

[bubbly602]

What is the name of your state? Colorado

My friend is in a situation right now that just doesn't seem right to me... Her car broke down. Her caseworker from the transitional housing program she's in gave her the name of a mechanic and told her to have it towed to this mechanic, and the housing program would try to pay the repair cost. The mechanic said it was her fuel pump, and was going to cost $500.00 to fix. Her caseworker told her that the program would pay the bill, but she had to pay 1/2 of it back.
Her caseworker called her yesterday. She stated that the mechanic had installed the new fuel pump and the car was still not running. Upon further inspection of the old fuel pump, he discovered it was not defective. Now he says it must be an electrical problem and he doesn't feel capable of diagnosing or fixing it, due to a lack of the proper diagnosing equipment. But he still plans on billing the $500. Since the misdiagnosis was the mechanic's fault, can she insist that he put the old fuel pump back in? It just doesn't seem right that she has to pay $250 and the housing program has to pay $250 when the mechanic apparently had no clue what he was doing. If she were to take this to small claims court, would there be any chance of getting her money back?
Thanks in advance for any insights!

 

[BL]

Oh My !!

A Judge once told me when a wrong diagnostic was preformed, and an un-needed repair/parts replacement occurred,

Judge: " where is the part now " ?

Plaintiff: In the car your honor .

Judge: Well you can't have your cake and eat it too.

Who nows ? Maybe you'll get a Judge that's happy that day ?

Small claims are for monetary Awards .

This kind of stuff happens all the time with repair shops , and my
belief is , if they misdiagnose a problem such as this , they should eat the cost .

If they can't preform an electronic diagnosis up front , or they are unwilling or fail to take responsibility to take it to someone who , can, they shouldn't have excepted the service in the first place.

That's what I would argue !!

Maybe you should Complain to the Attorney General Office First to see if you can get results ?

If they are a Member of the BBB make a complaint with them also.

 

[bubbly602]

thanks

thanks, I feel the same way. My friend has already indicated that she would prefer to have the non-defective old fuel pump put back in. And that's why it did not seem right to me...Why should my friend and her housing program have to pay because this guy didn't do his job correctly...I'll mention this stuff to my friend!

 

[Ladynred]

The guy is still going to want to recover charges for his labor - as stupid as it may have been.

If I were your friend, I would also file a complaint with whichever state organization governs repair shops. My sister had a nightmare experience with a garage and her Dodge Intrepid. The car was worse after they supposedly 'fixed' it than it was when she took it to them. This place HAD the diganostic equipment, but apparently didn't have anyone there who UNDERSTOOD what the error messages meant. In the end, it cost her about $2500 to fix the problem and if it had been done right the FIRST time it would have only cost her about $300 !!

She filed a complaint with the State agency, the State investigated, found the repair shop at fault, fined them and pulled their license. My sister was compensated for the $2500 it had cost her, plus attorney's fees.

 

[bubbly602]

update...brings up more questions?

My friend had her car towed to another mechanic. He tried to start it and got nothing. no interior lights, no stereo display, no dash display...nothing. The day that the first mechanic took the car, I had gone with my friend to try and get the car started so she could drive it over to the shop. When I tried to start it, I got dash display, interior lights, all of it...the engine just wouldn't catch. The new mechanic says that something got knocked out of whack with the wiring system when the first mechanic installed the fuel pump. Can she make the old mechanic pay for the repairs to the wiring, since it was his fault it got messed up? Or at the very least, take it back to him and make him repair the wiring at no cost?

thanks

 

[BL]

Are you looking to kick yourself in the butt some more ?

Is the NEW place capable & competent enough to fix your problems ?

If so have them get you up and running.Then take the other place to small claims to recover your cost.

Before the NEW place preforms any work, have them give you a written Estimate with all vehicle info. , vin.#, etc, date , your name ,address. then have them write or type a note on it , in their opinion the wiring problem now was caused by the other shops inadequate diagnostic abilities & attempted repairs.

Use this Estimate for small claims, and your complaint to the state agency that oversees the repair shop that screwed you up .

 

[bubbly602]

thanks, I'll let my friend know about that...appreciate it