O/T Mechanic Issues, Please Advise

gnosis · Aug 1, 2012

Hey Everyone,

My brother just called me from NJ saying that he's having a problem with his mechanic. He dropped his car off for an estimate on some front end noise and as far as he was concerned he was supposed to be called before any work was done to be told the cost etc etc. His mechanic usually did it this way before.

Well he didn't hear back from the guy for a day or two and called to find out that the mechanic was waiting for the guy to come get it to do an alignment lol. Not only did he not get an estimate but the guy went ahead and did over 1000$ of work to his car.

Now to make a long story short...my brother starts a new job and was going to have some stuff done before he started with a commute. He did talk to the mechanic who thinks he's in the right blah blah, but my brother wasn't ready for a 1200$ bill.

My question is, what if he just goes and picks up his car anyway? Obviously yes the mechanic still has the spare key to his car and I don't know if he can repo the thing or whatever. What legal issues would my brother face if he just picked his car up and started mailing the guy checks? Also, what can the mechanic do if he wanted to push the issue? Court etc?

Thanks guys.

BOOMSHAKER · Aug 1, 2012

#1 if your brother needed the work done in order to get thru his new daily commute, then I would say, pay the guy. He needs the car ASAP in order to get to his new job right?

#2 your brother needs to ask for a "itemized bill". stating every single thing that was done to his car and how much it was item by item.

#3 tell your brother to call the local Pep Boys and price each item the mechanic put in his car, and see if the price is dramatically cheaper.

if it is

#4 have your brother take him to small claims court in order to get the difference in money back, he will basically tell the judge or arbitrary panel, THAT HE NEVER AUTHORIZED THE WORK TO BE DONE ON HIS CAR, he simply wanted an estimate, thus the reason why he is in court. Becuase he found the prices cheaper at Pep Boys and could have gotten it done cheaper had the mechanic not taken it upon himself to let your brother know the cost first. And so you are in court to get the difference back.

Most judges know mechanics can be a bit shady and your brother should have no problem getting some money back.

Good luck.

Axxess · Aug 1, 2012

I don't know about NJ but here, because of such shady things going on, when you take your car to a reputable place, you have to sign stating you want the work done. No signature, then you are not responsible for the repair and the mechanic is SOL. The mechanic cannot keep your car if you did not authorize the work, you could call the local PD and ask, even ask for a officer to meet you there and walk in and drive your car home.

TNH · Aug 1, 2012

Here in CA, if a mechanic works on your car and you don't pay, they can do what's called a 'Mechanic's Lien' where they essentially take ownership of your car legally until you pay up, or the car is sold and they keep their portion that is owed to them.
I'm not sure if the work is required to have a signature beforehand though, that would make more sense.
I know my mechanic calls me before doing any work, and it sounds like he is doing it by law, he always asks before working after giving me a quote.

gnosis · Aug 1, 2012

Thanks

Ok, thanks for the replies guys.

Yes..he does need the car for a commute, but wasn't going to have everything totally done like that haha. The guy did, brakes rotors calipers and tie rods when all that was asked was check the front end.

No, there wasn't a signature at all. In fact, this guy is a 'cash' guy. He has a decent place but he's in the middle of a long divorce and actually chooses to keep things off the books. There's not itemized bill.

I have a feeling my brother is leaning towards taking the car back himself (there's no storage yard, just a parking lot) and he can get it whenever...and paying the guy in increments down the road. Idk, I just wanted to make sure the mechanic can't call the cops and have my brother pulled over someday and arrested or put a lien against the car etc.

BOOMSHAKER · Aug 1, 2012

gnosis said:
Ok, thanks for the replies guys.

Yes..he does need the car for a commute, but wasn't going to have everything totally done like that haha. The guy did, brakes rotors calipers and tie rods when all that was asked was check the front end.

No, there wasn't a signature at all. In fact, this guy is a 'cash' guy. He has a decent place but he's in the middle of a long divorce and actually chooses to keep things off the books. There's not itemized bill.

I have a feeling my brother is leaning towards taking the car back himself (there's no storage yard, just a parking lot) and he can get it whenever...and paying the guy in increments down the road. Idk, I just wanted to make sure the mechanic can't call the cops and have my brother pulled over someday and arrested or put a lien against the car etc.

**broken link removed** this is the New Jersey Bar Associations website, there is a number listed to get free legal help. Have your brother call them and ask BEFORE HE GOES AND TOUCHES HIS CAR ON PRIVATE PROPERTY!!!! I realize it's his car, but he will be taking it off private property. So have him call the NJBA first.............

gnosis · Aug 1, 2012

BOOMSHAKER said:
**broken link removed** this is the New Jersey Bar Associations website, there is a number listed to get free legal help. Have your brother call them and ask BEFORE HE GOES AND TOUCHES HIS CAR ON PRIVATE PROPERTY!!!! I realize it's his car, but he will be taking it off private property. So have him call the NJBA first.............

Awesome thanks!

I know he'll pay him, as the job he just got is a good paycheck. I just want to make sure the mechanic can't have the police come to the house or anything embarrassing.

Axxess · Aug 1, 2012

gnosis said:
Ok, thanks for the replies guys.

Yes..he does need the car for a commute, but wasn't going to have everything totally done like that haha. The guy did, brakes rotors calipers and tie rods when all that was asked was check the front end.

No, there wasn't a signature at all. In fact, this guy is a 'cash' guy. He has a decent place but he's in the middle of a long divorce and actually chooses to keep things off the books. There's not itemized bill.

I have a feeling my brother is leaning towards taking the car back himself (there's no storage yard, just a parking lot) and he can get it whenever...and paying the guy in increments down the road. Idk, I just wanted to make sure the mechanic can't call the cops and have my brother pulled over someday and arrested or put a lien against the car etc.

Beware of the JYD!!!!

gnosis · Aug 1, 2012

Axxess said:
Beware of the JYD!!!!

What's JYD axxess?

The_Boss · Aug 2, 2012

gnosis said:
Ok, thanks for the replies guys.

No, there wasn't a signature at all. In fact, this guy is a 'cash' guy. He has a decent place but he's in the middle of a long divorce and actually chooses to keep things off the books. There's not itemized bill.

If there is no signature get your spare key and get your car back, let the mechanic file a claim for work that you did not authorize :lightbulb:

Jello · Aug 2, 2012

Unless they have a signed estimate, or a phone approval with something like last 4 digits of SSN then all he has to do is call the local PD and go get his car. There is nothing the shop will be able to do about it.

You can PM me with any help you need on specifics about this since you're dealing with my line of work.

renewlyf · Aug 2, 2012

I own a couple of body shops in AZ. We don't touch a car without a signature to authorize the work. Sounds shady. If I was your brother I would try to negotiate something with this guy on the grounds he did not authorize the repairs but he is willing to pay some now and some later.

BOOMSHAKER · Aug 2, 2012

gnosis said:
What's JYD axxess?

hahahahahaha Junk Yard dog!

gnosis · Aug 2, 2012

ok thanks for all the replies guys. As far as I know, he's going to pick the car up sometime tomorrow. It's an open type lot so I'm pretty sure he's just going to drive off at this point. The mechanic is still saying he can't take it etc etc but whatever.

Thanks for the offer Jello, will pm should anything arise.

tenny · Aug 2, 2012

lol.....all he needs is to call the police

and they HAVE TO release his car to him

they CANNOT hold it.......they can however
make a claim in small claims court for the money

and if he did do the work????, your brother WILL have to pay

gnosis · Aug 2, 2012

Yea my brother's not trying to get out of paying, not in the slightest. Just wondering what timeline he's going to have. You know, will he have 30 days to pay..more/less/?

tenny · Aug 2, 2012

gnosis said:
Yea my brother's not trying to get out of paying, not in the slightest. Just wondering what timeline he's going to have. You know, will he have 30 days to pay..more/less/?

however long it takes to go through the court processes

he could have a year or more to pay

small claims is alittle different.....
you can miss your court date up to 3 times
without any repercussion.....

but once it goes through, and its in writting
that "he has to pay".........he still has time
and can prolly pay very low installments

gnosis · Aug 2, 2012

lol, I figured he'd be fine. He's commuting to web development job starting him @ 40k or so I think and wanted to know what was up with his car before taking the hour+ drive 2 times everyday. It'll be settled up soon, probably within a few weeks. Just never had anything go on like this and needed to make sure you can't be arrested etc.

He's thinking on moving here to Florida with me sometime soon lol. I didn't tell him this, but I was thinking...screw it, move here, what'll they do then? lol, I'm sure they can garnish wages or something lmao

massive1975 · Aug 2, 2012

I have worked at plenty of dealerships and small independent garages and if the customer gives the signature to ok the work, then the garage can keep it if the bill is not paid. We have kept a lot of cars because the customer could not afford it or did not want the work done and didn''t want to pay the bill. Then the garage usually sells the car for the cost of the work that was done. Before a mechanic can even touch a car, he has to have the signature of the owner, even if its just to look it over or diagnose it, if not, the customer can come get the car, and take it right off the lot because the he did not ok any work done, We have had that happen a lot. If there is a estimate, the service advisor has to call the customer to get a verbal ok from him, if he does, then the work can be performed. He is supposed to keep what time he called and who he talked to wrote down at all times. Garages are shady, you have to watch yourself, they are like car salesman, they will tell you anything, and turn words around to get your money.

Jello · Aug 3, 2012

gnosis said:
ok thanks for all the replies guys. As far as I know, he's going to pick the car up sometime tomorrow. It's an open type lot so I'm pretty sure he's just going to drive off at this point. The mechanic is still saying he can't take it etc etc but whatever.

Thanks for the offer Jello, will pm should anything arise.

If he just shows up and takes it without having the cops come in with him they could possibly get a theft of services charge against him.