I own a 40 plymouth and even though I am willing to work on the car myself and have done a few small things, (plugs, rebuild the carb, changed belts including the one for the blower, minor wiring, etc.) I fell ill back in november and was unable to work on my own car. This being the case, I decided to take the car to a local shop to have some work done (Jan 30th). They kept the car for 3 months and in the end did what looked like a good job however they did some strange things like eliminating my one and only fuse box when replacing my dash and gauges. When asked about why they did not install a new or reuse the old fusebox I was told that fuseboxes are old school and that fusible links are the new way of doing things. I have yet to locate any fusible links. They also replaced the none leaking oil pan and trans pan gaskets, and installed a new oil pressure gauge. In doing so, they claimed that they had to cut the intake manifold to install the cl***ic instruments oil pressure sending unit. The list goes on with things that they did but long story short, when I got the car back it was leaking oil and antifreeze like it a sieve. This was not the case before I took it in and I have a concrete driveway and there is no way my wife would allow me to park a car that leaked oil on it to make it's make. Anyway, I took the car back and had to fight not a lot but some to get the shot to recognize that some of the leaking was caused by their work. We did agree that some of the oil was coming from the valve covers so I agreed to have the shop fix all the leaks and since it was there, go ahead and address the exhaust leaks. When I dropped to car back off (June 1st) and after the agreement of what would be covered under warranty and what was new issues was settled, I asked how long the repairs would take. I was told by the owner and son that I should only take a few weeks as they don't have anything in line before my car and that they were just wrapping up the previous car and would be bale to jump right on task. Since then I have continued to check the status of my car and keep getting different excuses as to why my car is not done. Every week it is something different. First month it was "we ordered the exhaust headers but they sent the wrong parts". Two weeks later it was "we got the right headers in however we had to to a show will get back to it after the weekend but everything else is done". I called 2 weeks later "everything is done except we are going to replace one of the shift indicator lights in the dash, should have you wrapped up next week". Called one week later and told everything is done except "X". I now call every two weeks and and told the same thing, "Everything is done except....weill have you wrapped up next week" It is to the point now that they can not keep their lies straight as they have told me that to same part needs to be fixed that at one time was already fixed multiple times. Now being told that business is booming and that they don't have the staff to work all the cars they have taken. Really? In this economy work in a hot rod/restoration shop is booming? Especially for one that has not one a single riddler/national award? It has over 3 months now and I have no idea when the shop will be done. What recourse does one have in this type of situation. Can I have the car towed out of their shop (as it is not a fenced in area as they store customer cars out in an open public parking lot shared with other stores). Do I have no choice but to have to car sit at their mercy and just be glad when they do get around to working on it? What can be done? What are my rights? They don't seem to care about BBB complaints nor internet complaints.
You're asking a hot rod forum what your rights are? You have the same rights as every other American. Take your car back. Don't ask, DO. Be proactive.
Call the police and tell them these guys have stollen your car. Take them to court after you get your car back.
show up with a tow truck and get your car back, and next time you choose a shop, do alot more research before you take your car there, don`t worry about riddler awards either, thousands of shops out there that do quality work without any awards to show......
If I do take to car back in the middle of the night, what legal action could to repair shop come after me for? As for riddler, don't care about that but have a hard time believing that any shop like this would be booming with business right now.
my advice would be to talk to a lawyer familiar with your states laws. if you owe money to the shop for repairs you may end up in court yourself. or at least a shop owners lien with inflated charges. especially if you dont have a written agreement of when car will be done and at what cost. best to find out from someone that knows before you take action. i am sure laws differ from state to state. my opinion for what is worth
Nobody here can answer these questions, as nobody here knows exactly what you have agreed to, signed for, contracted for, paid for etc. YOU need to handle it. You have our permission.
There should be no need for police, or to play games. Go there in person and tell hem you need your car back today - finished or not - pay them for what they did and get it out of there. Find yourself a good shop, or even better a mechanic that will work on it in your driveway or garage. Working on old cars can be tough, as you never know what may crop up - but if you are unhappy with their work, and the time they are taking - get it out of there asap - why leave the car there any longer.
ANYONE who can't fix their own damn car should get another hobby that they can do. Building a hotrod is like stamp collecting...You don't pay someone else to put the stamps in the book for you, do you? Maybe you shoud switch to porcelain doll collecting... OK I skipped over the second sentence...My bad..
Go get the car. Take it to a shop that does quality work on time. Keep good records. The first shop may come after you for money for a repair they did, but if you have good records of what they screwed up and what you paid them, you will win in court. Get a written invoice from the second shop as to what they had to fix. If the first shop threatens to take you to court tell them you would welcome the opportunity to have a judge look at your paperwork.
If you were that unhappy with their work the first time why take it back for another round of pain? Sometimes it's just better to accept something as a loss instead of pushing the issue.
And don't forget to file a complaint with the Bureau of Automotive Repairs or your states equivalent. I have seen them do "stings" on shoddy shops and their license gets pulled.
WOW, so you're that know-it-all ***hat that so many people complain about that they meet at car shows. Original PO said he does some work but got ill. Since when is illness the dictating factor in this hobby. The physically challenged members on this forum, thank you for your support.
I don't think you should go get it in the middle of the night. That's just asking for more trouble. Settle up and take it somewhere else. They will most likely be happy not having to B.S. you anymore.
maybe he should change is name to DR***hat Back to the original question...yeah I would just go and pick it up, file a complaint, and if they try to put a mechanics lean on the vehicle just have a lawyer in your back pocket..... they know your rights, not a bunch of randoms on the HAMB, no offense to anyone on here... except DR***hat
Good advise : go settle up and get it Bad advise : go kick someones *** I would go with the bad advise but sometimes I do real dumb ****
sorry to here about your troubles ecspecially being ill.its your car do what you feel you need to.sounds like no matter what they do your in a bad situation.i hope you repair agreement wasnt just verbal.my dad used to have a garage and we got some nice cars because customers couldnt or wouldnt pay for work done on there cars.ive heard people say just fix it not knowing the cost first.good luck
What I would do is to go there and confront the management to get a number on exactly what you owe them ( if anything) . If you need to tow it out of there , arrange for that and if you think there might be any trouble when you go to pick it up arrange for the local police , deputy ,etc to accompany you there. Don't go taking your car back in the middle of the night.....that puts you in the same cl*** as them. Be up front , pay what you owe , and learn from your mistake.
In my opinion your first mistake was going to them the second time . The second visit would have been from my lawyer.
DrJ - Exactly WHO do you think YOU are? The guy fell ill and you're going to give him a hard time?? Even if he DIDN'T fall ill and paid someone else to work on his car, who are YOU to tell him to get out of the hobby? I guess YOU never paid anyone to do ANYTHING? Roofing? Lanscape? Legal help? Doctor? Dentist? You can do it ALL, huh? Guys like you piss me off. Kngfisher - Notwithstanding DrJ's comments, what you have is a civil issue, not criminal. I am not familiar with civil law in Va. but I DO have experience with laws in Pa. Get your car back! Pay the shop for the 'work' they've done. Consult an attorney that practices in CIVIL law (not criminal) to determine if a civil action is warranted. If it is, (and on the surface, it sounds like it...) follow thourgh. Shops like this need to be held responsible the their (lack of) actions. Feel free to PM me if needed.... Best of luck.
oh yeah? Good job it's not my hobby, my Kustom is part of my way of life. Just where the hell do guys like you get off? Paul
I think I'd go talk to the guy in person, and calmly tell him when you'd like to pick the car up, since he can't get the job done in a timely manner. Forget about going there in the middle of the night, filing a false police report, or any of that other ****. Brian
You said the first visit was "to have some work done". What was on your list? Did you ask them to do electrical repairs? I see no reason to have cut your intake manifold unless you had an old corroded sender or something. A lot of hot rod shops are run by non-mechanics who mean well, but don't get it right. Other shops have unsupervised helpers who aren't trained other than trial and error. Pay your bill, if any, get your car back and best of luck on your next shop choice.
This is IMO the best option, get it out and deal with the whatever billing issues you have later. It is hard to make ***essments over the internet, but you had me at "fusible link"... These guys MUST ****.
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