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mechanic troubles

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cabo

Junior Member
Virginia

Ok so this mechanic did work for me under the table. I had two (2) vehicles towed to his "shop".

Vehicle A is worth $4k. After spending $1600 fixing the engine problem, the car broke down one week later. The mechanic met me on-site, and insisted that the problem was not related to his fix. My wife begged me to not put any more money into the car (we've had some rough luck). So i placed the car for sale as-is. Being that the mechanic told me the engine was shot, I sold the car for $1k to another "mechanic". This new guy later informed me that the issue was fixed in half an hour, and that it was indeed related to the original repair (i have this voice mail saved). So if the original mechanic had wanted to help me, and admit that perhaps he made a mistake, I could have still sold the car for $4k.

Vehicle B: To make matters worse, he is now holding the second vehicle. He already removed the engine from it, which was part of the deal, but since I got the shaft on the first car I don't have the cash to fix the second car. He insisted that I gave him the go-ahead to start repairs on the second vehicle, but i have no memory of this. So now I want to sell the second car for whatever I can get for it (i am so done with these cars), however the guy says i now owe him $300 for removing the engine, and then today said that "storage fees" start tomorrow if I don't do something.

Questions are:

1) Do i have a case in small claims for the losses on the first vehicle? (im skeptical because there are no written records of anything, and I no longer own the car)
2) Do i want to make an worse enemy of this guy? (he knows where i live).
3) If I want to have the car towed away from his shop (without the engine in it), will he be able to force me to the pay him?. Can I call the police, since it's property?

I plan to act tomorrow to have the car removed from his lot while he is not there. I have a buyer for the car (even without the engine in it). I have the title.

Thank you for any help.
 


justalayman

Senior Member
1) Do i have a case in small claims for the losses on the first vehicle? (im skeptical because there are no written records of anything, and I no longer own the car)
no
2) Do i want to make an worse enemy of this guy? (he knows where i live).
that is a personal issue.
3) If I want to have the car towed away from his shop (without the engine in it), will he be able to force me to the pay him?. Can I call the police, since it's property?
do NOT remove the car from his shop without paying what you owe. That can get you into criminal trouble.

I plan to act tomorrow to have the car removed from his lot while he is not there. I have a buyer for the car (even without the engine in it). I have the title.
if you do it, you better get back and pay what you owe before the guy has an opportunity to call the police.
 

cabo

Junior Member
no
that is a personal issue.
do NOT remove the car from his shop without paying what you owe. That can get you into criminal trouble.

if you do it, you better get back and pay what you owe before the guy has an opportunity to call the police.
Even though it's an illegitimate business, and everything is hearsay? I am the owner of the car... where are my rights?
 

justalayman

Senior Member
Even though it's an illegitimate business, and everything is hearsay? I am the owner of the car... where are my rights?

so now you say it is an illegal business. Why didn't you say that in the beginning?

and where are your rights? well, when you sleep with dogs, you wake up with fleas.



If you want to ignore the fact it was an illegal business and you knew it was an illegal business but still chose to take your cars there:


your rights as the owner are to pay for whatever you contracted to pay. If you are not happy with that, you can sue the guy. Since he is intending charging for storage if you do not retrieve the car expeditiously, it would be wise to pay for the car, retrieve it, and then sue the guy for whatever damages you believe are owed.
 

cabo

Junior Member
I thought i was clear when i said "under the table".

Thank you for your advice. If anyone else has any (besides the obvious life-lessons i am learning here), I would appreciate it.
 

BL

Senior Member
I thought i was clear when i said "under the table".

Thank you for your advice. If anyone else has any (besides the obvious life-lessons i am learning here), I would appreciate it.
Next time a mechanic works on your vehicle and after using it for a short period and something isn't right , get a second opinion/estimate of repairs from a reputable repair shop . Manufacture approved dealership cost a bit more for an estimate ,but then you have good documentation to use.

If the first guy screwed up and you can get the second reputable guy to state so ,even on reputable letterhead or as a witness in court ,sue for the repair cost it took to get it running right.

It would be called theft of services and you can be arrested if you take you auto without paying the bill.

Bad in my younger days , my auto was towed at night.

A bit later I found out where to. Had an extra set of keys and took it.

Next day my local police officer came to the door and said , if you do not get back up there and pay them today, they are pressing charges. ;)
 

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