ninjaspacecomba
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Oregon
(background)
I purchased a motorcycle from my friend in 2012 with a clean title for 400 bucks, 2001 honda cbr600, the bike was in bad shape with all sorts of electrical problems. Took it to a well reputable shop to get it fixed and tuned up, it costed me about 1500 bucks. After riding it for a while, I wanted to install some new headlights and fully repaint the fairings, this time I used a mechanic from craigslist. I drafted a contract and both of us signed for the services he is performing, and the pay. A few weeks later, he returned my bike back and I can tell he did good work. I paid him in full and gave him a sizable tip in total of 1500 dollars. My thoughts were never hurt to make friends with a good mechanic.
(Current situation)
I lost my job during summer of 2013 and i had to dramatically cut my spending. Around the middle of August I laid the bike down going about 5 MPH. The left side shifting pedal was bend, and the pedal bracket snapped. Since i was unemployed so I just kept the bike in the garage. February of this year, I had to move to an apartment so i can be closer to school, I am getting financial aid now and also receiving scholarship, so I called the mechanic guy again and asked to see what are the routes to get my bike back to running. Since its getting close to spring time, my thoughts are the motorcycle will be a lot cheaper in gas to and from school.
He came by and told me the parts i needed to order, and said most of the fairly scratches can be fixed by spot paint since he put such a thick coat of clear on the first time, I told him my change of life situation and I dont really care about the cosmetic damage, as long as the bike is running then I am happy. He assured me that it wouldn't be more than 4-5 hours total to get it all done, and total of about 150 bucks since he charges 30 dollar a hour. I agreed to the charge and he came with a truck to picked up my bike, and since i was dealing with moving, relocating and prior good experience with him, I made the stupid mistake of not signing another contract with him. After February moving, and following march finals, i had no time to really check up on my bike, with the constant rain we were getting in oregon, I wasn't in a big hurry.
By mid march, I started to inquire about the status of my motorcycle, he assured me that he is working on it but he has been really busy, and he appreciates my patience etc etc. By beginning of April, I became a lot more assertive that i would like to pick up my bike soon, so we arranged to pick up my bike on April 15th. When that day came, He begin dodge my calls, and not returning my text etc, and a few days later his voicemail has changed to he is back home in Utah for a week, and will not receive any signal where he is going.
When he came back on the 24th, he called me and apologize and promised to have my bike ready to get picked up by the 28th. On the 28th, he told me that he had strip the whole paint and do all the repair, and redo all the paint all over again, and the bike is definitely not ready for a few days as the paint needs to cure. I was shocked to learn that he would take the liberty upon him to repaint my whole bike without checking with me, I told him i cant really afford that since I am a student and attending school full time, and my financial situation has changed dramatically from before. That's when he became extremely aggressive and rude, calling me a scam artist and told me that he is holding my bike until i can pay him in the amount of 650 dollars, and that is he doing me a favor, knocking 300 off. I told him I don't have that kind of money, and I certainly did not authorize the full strip and repaint. He then informs me that he is going to store my bike somewhere else, and he has other project to work on.
After talking over with my girlfriend, We discussed the option to take him to court or make him an offer to get the bike back, we decided to cut our loses and make him an offer to get the bike back and not have to deal with the trouble. We tried to contact him multiple times on the 29th, and finally he answered and told me he will not speak to me again because i have insulted him and his wife is now going to handle the situation. I had no choice but letting him know I want to resolve this peacefully but i wont hesitate to take him to court. I didn't hear from him for half of the day, then his wife got in contact with me and offered to "allow me to pick up the bike as is for 350 dollars or they will see me in court for the full repair fee", i inquire what the status of the bike is, and she said it is not assembled and they are not planning on assembling it. So my fairings, and my headlights, and my bike is all in parts all over the place, and i have to agree to take that offer then and there, so i declined because she was obviously trying to rip me off. I have no way of verifying if the bike was able to even start.
Let me just say that when he picked up the bike, the bike was running. Since the left foot shift pedal was bend and left foot bracket snapped, you couldn't ride it since there is no way to shift gear without the bracket and pedal.
My girlfriend and I have decided to take this matter to small claims court, here are the information i was able to discover during my research.
1. Its probably no surprise that this guy is not licensed to repair automotive in the State of Oregon, and he also does not have a business license in the city where he is performing the repairs.
2. Under Oregon law, vehicle repair shops must provide consumers with a written estimate for vehicle repair costs, and receive the owner�s approval based upon the written estimate, prior to repairing or tearing down their motor vehicle. I was never presented any documentation for the extra repairs done.
3. Because he is not licensed with The Bureau of Automotive Repair, he can't legally holding my motorcycle for balance unpaid or apply for a lien against my motorcycle, since he isn't sanctioned to perform these services in Oregon.
4. The location where he is performing the repair is a residential zone, and he is in violation with code enforcement for using it commercially.
5. He was in Utah for court appearance, and had to pay a fine of 5000 dollars, which i am suspecting is the motivation to rip me off.
If you have any advice for me, I would greatly appreciated. I don't know what else to do but take him to court.
(background)
I purchased a motorcycle from my friend in 2012 with a clean title for 400 bucks, 2001 honda cbr600, the bike was in bad shape with all sorts of electrical problems. Took it to a well reputable shop to get it fixed and tuned up, it costed me about 1500 bucks. After riding it for a while, I wanted to install some new headlights and fully repaint the fairings, this time I used a mechanic from craigslist. I drafted a contract and both of us signed for the services he is performing, and the pay. A few weeks later, he returned my bike back and I can tell he did good work. I paid him in full and gave him a sizable tip in total of 1500 dollars. My thoughts were never hurt to make friends with a good mechanic.
(Current situation)
I lost my job during summer of 2013 and i had to dramatically cut my spending. Around the middle of August I laid the bike down going about 5 MPH. The left side shifting pedal was bend, and the pedal bracket snapped. Since i was unemployed so I just kept the bike in the garage. February of this year, I had to move to an apartment so i can be closer to school, I am getting financial aid now and also receiving scholarship, so I called the mechanic guy again and asked to see what are the routes to get my bike back to running. Since its getting close to spring time, my thoughts are the motorcycle will be a lot cheaper in gas to and from school.
He came by and told me the parts i needed to order, and said most of the fairly scratches can be fixed by spot paint since he put such a thick coat of clear on the first time, I told him my change of life situation and I dont really care about the cosmetic damage, as long as the bike is running then I am happy. He assured me that it wouldn't be more than 4-5 hours total to get it all done, and total of about 150 bucks since he charges 30 dollar a hour. I agreed to the charge and he came with a truck to picked up my bike, and since i was dealing with moving, relocating and prior good experience with him, I made the stupid mistake of not signing another contract with him. After February moving, and following march finals, i had no time to really check up on my bike, with the constant rain we were getting in oregon, I wasn't in a big hurry.
By mid march, I started to inquire about the status of my motorcycle, he assured me that he is working on it but he has been really busy, and he appreciates my patience etc etc. By beginning of April, I became a lot more assertive that i would like to pick up my bike soon, so we arranged to pick up my bike on April 15th. When that day came, He begin dodge my calls, and not returning my text etc, and a few days later his voicemail has changed to he is back home in Utah for a week, and will not receive any signal where he is going.
When he came back on the 24th, he called me and apologize and promised to have my bike ready to get picked up by the 28th. On the 28th, he told me that he had strip the whole paint and do all the repair, and redo all the paint all over again, and the bike is definitely not ready for a few days as the paint needs to cure. I was shocked to learn that he would take the liberty upon him to repaint my whole bike without checking with me, I told him i cant really afford that since I am a student and attending school full time, and my financial situation has changed dramatically from before. That's when he became extremely aggressive and rude, calling me a scam artist and told me that he is holding my bike until i can pay him in the amount of 650 dollars, and that is he doing me a favor, knocking 300 off. I told him I don't have that kind of money, and I certainly did not authorize the full strip and repaint. He then informs me that he is going to store my bike somewhere else, and he has other project to work on.
After talking over with my girlfriend, We discussed the option to take him to court or make him an offer to get the bike back, we decided to cut our loses and make him an offer to get the bike back and not have to deal with the trouble. We tried to contact him multiple times on the 29th, and finally he answered and told me he will not speak to me again because i have insulted him and his wife is now going to handle the situation. I had no choice but letting him know I want to resolve this peacefully but i wont hesitate to take him to court. I didn't hear from him for half of the day, then his wife got in contact with me and offered to "allow me to pick up the bike as is for 350 dollars or they will see me in court for the full repair fee", i inquire what the status of the bike is, and she said it is not assembled and they are not planning on assembling it. So my fairings, and my headlights, and my bike is all in parts all over the place, and i have to agree to take that offer then and there, so i declined because she was obviously trying to rip me off. I have no way of verifying if the bike was able to even start.
Let me just say that when he picked up the bike, the bike was running. Since the left foot shift pedal was bend and left foot bracket snapped, you couldn't ride it since there is no way to shift gear without the bracket and pedal.
My girlfriend and I have decided to take this matter to small claims court, here are the information i was able to discover during my research.
1. Its probably no surprise that this guy is not licensed to repair automotive in the State of Oregon, and he also does not have a business license in the city where he is performing the repairs.
2. Under Oregon law, vehicle repair shops must provide consumers with a written estimate for vehicle repair costs, and receive the owner�s approval based upon the written estimate, prior to repairing or tearing down their motor vehicle. I was never presented any documentation for the extra repairs done.
3. Because he is not licensed with The Bureau of Automotive Repair, he can't legally holding my motorcycle for balance unpaid or apply for a lien against my motorcycle, since he isn't sanctioned to perform these services in Oregon.
4. The location where he is performing the repair is a residential zone, and he is in violation with code enforcement for using it commercially.
5. He was in Utah for court appearance, and had to pay a fine of 5000 dollars, which i am suspecting is the motivation to rip me off.
If you have any advice for me, I would greatly appreciated. I don't know what else to do but take him to court.