Mechanic Messed up.

[mark458]

What is the name of your state? Texas
I paid a guy 1200 to rebuild my engine not including parts he ended up messing the entire engine he said he would warranty all of his work but he wouldnt give me a receit. After a few weeks I started knoticing problems. I checked a few things and noticed some parts were installed wrong so I took it to a certified acura mechanic and he found 1800 dollars in parts damage alone. I contacted the guy who assimbled it and he is refusing to pay for the parts damaged ( didnt even ask him to pay for labor). He stated that if I sue him and win he wtill will not pay. That they cant make him no matter what and Ill never see a dime.
What can I do?

 

[CraigFL]

Unfortunately without a written receipt or warranty, it will be difficult to prove him at fault. You would need the cura dealer to swear the parts were installed wrong and that alone caused the failure. Even then, he probably would only be liable for the $1200. As he said, even if you do win it will be impossible to make him pay. Hopefully the $1200 was a small fraction of what you would have paid a legitimate business to do this job so the cost now won't be such a hardship on you.

 

[mark458]

I already got an acura dealer to look at the car and agree to come to court with me. The 1200 is only that labor add another 1500 in parts. BUt what I want to know is after I win what happens if he still wont pay?

 

[dcatz]

OP - There are a number of ways to collect against a business, even in debtor-friendly TX.
Many creditors rely on the "normal" 2-3, fail and give up
Get your judgment first, then talk to a commercial creditors' right practitioner, if you need assistance and are willing to pay a percentage of the recovery (remember, it's earning interest and statutory post-judgment costs can also be added).
If you need more information or want to try to go-it-yourself, PM me. But get the judgment. He's clearly not going to pay you voluntarily.

 

[mark458]

Hes not a business. Hes just some guy that was recommended to me that SAID he knew what he was doing.

 

[dcatz]

My first thought is Caveat Emptor.
My first response is little different from the one prior. Just delete "commercial".

Nobody with any experience in collections can give you any useful advice without at least knowing (1) everything you know about the (prospective) debtor (and probably more, since this appears to possibly be some unlicensed guy, who may do this on the side, who you hired at the recommendation of a friend) and (2) the options offered by the law of the forum.

It's just that cold and simple.

TX, as mentioned, is debtor-friendly. Your options are fewer than in some other states. Nobody who has not had the debt discharged in bankruptcy is judgment-proof, in my opinion. At the same, recovery is a cost-benefit process. Some creditors expect that, because thay have a judgment, they get paid, and it doesn't often happen that way. If no voluntary payment or payment plan is offered, you must enforce. That's often harder than getting judgment and, despite the fact that statutory costs and interest get added to the judgment, creditors see anything less that a quick return as "throwing good money after bad". That's a common but erroneous view. At the same time, you need to know when to stop, rest on what you have and wait. The reason 80% of personal judgments go uncollected is that creditors like yourself land somewhere in between.

You have 3 options:
1) Let it go as one of Life's lessons. Skip even taking a judgment.
2) Turn it over to a pro for a price or sell the judgment.
3) Try to collect yourself.

Note only that, unless you convert it to a judgment and make a reasonable effort to collect, you can't claim it as a bad debt for tax purposes.

 

[mark458]

Yesbut what can the state or I do if I win and he still wont pay? He has a job but he get paid under the table. He has no house and he has 2 cars. Which he will probably transfer into his grandmothers name before the court date. csn he be sent to jail? Can his assets be taken and sold and me given what Im owed? What options are there?

 

[dcatz]

Oh, this was about doing your homework. I’m not from TX, and I still don’t know anything about your prospective debtor in the sense that I meant it. Enforcement alternatives require knowledge of the judgment debtor to be effect and cost-effective. So this is a matter to discuss with a local creditors’ rights attorney post-judgment or learn on your own.

Read Ch. 34 of your TX statutes, and you can find that here:
http://tlo2.tlc.state.tx.us/statutes/cp.toc.htm

He can’t go to jail for a civil judgment. If he required some license or registration, he may have violated another statute or state regulation. That won’t earn him jail, but it may result in a fine and a prohibition from doing such work in the future, until properly qualified. Call you Attorney General and see if there’s a department responsible for licensing or whatever.

If you paid him by check, you have a cancelled check. Use it to identify his bank and garnish.

See if you have an Office of Consumer Affairs or Consumer Protection or whatever.

As to transferring title to the car, see if the term “fraudulent transfer” or “fraudulent conveyance” resonates for an attorney.

These are starting points. Now I suggest the use of local counsel.