Automobile Repairs

The bottom line when it comes to keeping your car in good working order is that you are ultimately responsible, even if you don't know a gasket from a hubcap.  Suppose you take your car in for brake repairs, but the repair shop fails to repair them.  You think your brakes have been fixed, but when you come to a stop sign and try to stop, your brakes fail and you slam into another car.  That driver is injured and sues you.  You claim that your brakes were not properly repaired and that the accident is not your fault.  You say that the repair shop should be held liable, not you.  Unfortunately, this will not work because you are the one ultimately responsible for keeping your car in good working order.  You can, however, sue the repair shop yourself.

When you take your automobile to a repair shop for repairs, the shop often places a lien on it to ensure that you will pay the bill.  If you do not for some reason, for example you do not think the repairs have been done correctly, the repair shop can charge you storage fees for the days you leave the car there, or, after a certain number of days, they can sell the car to pay for the repairs.   What can you do?  Usually, you will just have to pay the bill so you can retrieve your car and then sue the car repair shop in small claims court.  If you pay with a major credit card, you can take your car home and then call the credit card company to dispute the charge.  They will investigate your claim and you may end up winning.

If you get your car home and realize the repairs were improperly done, take the car back to the shop as soon as you can, and try not to drive it in the meantime.  If you got a written warranty of the work before it began, you will be in a much better position than if you got no warranty.  Most states have laws, though, that at least state that the work must be done in a skillful manner.  If it wasn't, you can demand a refund, but you may not get it.  Put your demand in writing and send it to the shop's owner or manager.  If this doesn't work, send a second letter.  If that doesn't work, take your car to another shop to have it repaired and send the bill to the original repair shop.  If you still do not receive a refund, you may have no recourse but to file a lawsuit against the shop.  This can be done in small claims court.

To avoid the above problems, do these things before having anyone repair your vehicle:

• Use a recommended, reputable repair shop or investigate through the BBB the one(s) you are considering using

• Get a written estimate.  Tell the shop that it is just an estimate, that you are not authorizing any work yet.  Then go to another shop and get a second estimate.  The estimates should itemize parts and labor costs.

• Make sure the shop will warranty (guarantee) its work.  If not, find another shop.

• Once you choose a shop to do the work, add two things to the estimate you received earlier.  1)  That the shop is to call you and get your consent to continue with the repairs if the cost of the repairs is to exceed the estimate and 2) that the shop is to return to you (or let you see) all the parts it replaced.  Even if you have no idea what to look for when you see these, telling a shop that you intend to inspect the replaced parts will help keep them honest.

Visit here if you need to talk to a lawyer about suing a car repair shop.