What can you do if you think an auto-repairman stole a part from your car?

Question

My boyfriend recently had his car fixed by a friend of a friend and paid cash to have his clutch worked on. Lately, his car has not been running as smoothly as it used to and it is having problems starting. We looked under the hood to see if there was fluid leaking or something like that and noticed that his alternator looked like it had been switched. My boyfriend got a brand new alternator not too long ago and it had a barcode and sticker on the front and looked very new overall. The one that is in his car now is old and completely different looking. He called the guy up and asked about it and the guy denied even touching the alternator. Then we looked again and decided it really is a different alternator, and my boyfriend called again and the guy hung up on him. We are sure that this guy did something to his car...maybe even more than the alternator. Is there anything we can do to bust this guy?

Answer 1

Not unless you can prove it. If you have the paperwork for purchasing the alternator the only thing you can do is report a property theft report with the police. Make sure you have your receipt. The only thing the police can do is go over to the dudes house and look for what matches your reciept if the guy has already hid it or stole it you are just screwed.


Good luck though seriously.... and if it doesnt work out right....

Remember....

Karma's a bi*ch.

Answer 2

Honestly, not much. But:

1. Do you have a receipt for the alternator, from the place that did the work?

2. Can you take your car back to the shop that put in the alternator, and have them write an affadavit that says "this is not the alternator that we put in"?

Without that, you probably can't make a decent case for it, so small claims court is out of the question. So here's what else you can do:

1. If this is an actual licensed repairguy (rather than someone operating in his driveway) you can report him to the Better Business Bureau. Granted, it won't accomplish much, but at least some of his potential customers will avoid him.

2. Be glad that you learned this lesson in a relatively cheap way -- alternators aren't that expensive, and they're simple to put in yourself. People who have been burned by mechanics before have learned to only take their car to trusted, licensed places (not "friends of a friend") for just this reason.

3. Consider the possibility that it's the same alternator. You say "not too long ago" and that this alternator looks "old". It may very well be a different alternator, but it might also be that "not too long ago" was a year, and it looks old because it's got an aluminum housing that is powdering -- and the sticker(s) fell off because of the powdering, or the heat of everyday use.

Heck, I had to get an engine replaced in a nearly brand new car (less than 8,000 miles and the dealer paid for it) -- but when they started it up for the first time, the radiator hose sprung a leak and hot coolant sprayed on the engine. All of the labels started curling up and bubbling, and the parts of the engine that got hit were coated with an awful looking film that made the engine look like it had 100,000 miles. Similarly, one of my cars now is 13 years old, but only has 18,000 miles (purchased new by my father, so I know the mileage is real) -- and the engine looks dirtier and nastier than other cars with over 100,000 miles on the clock.

In short, the appearance of a piece under the hood is not necessarily an accurate indication of its age, although it might be.

Oh, last but not least: is this car new enough to have one or more airbags? If so, take it to the dealer or a *trusted* mechanic and have them check to see if the airbags are still intact -- those go for a pretty penny on the black market these days, and you'll never know if they're gone until you get in an accident, unless you look.

Answer 3

i have seen people use a friend and a hidden cam to catch people like this may be you need to start a "sting" get a friend to have work done on there car but hide a small cam (you can get them cheep now) or something like this with out an witness or a receipt and part # to prove the part was taken its tough you would even have to catch him with your part but the next is to make your self such a pain in his *** like telling everyone what he did make up sings and hang them around take out a add in the local free paper telling your story leave him 100 messages send a certified letter he has to sing for stating that you are demanding restitution for the loss...contact his boss, wife, mother,father, call all the names in the phone book that mack his and explain what he did all this would make me PAY YOU....good luck

Answer 4

My Sister in simple terms were given in a motor vehicle coincidence in simple terms like you same variety of harm. the vehicle turned right into a 04 and in undemanding words fee $3000 to fix. you may settle on body paintings it really is pricey yet relies upon on the organisation and your more effective positive off having someone see what you pick paying for thoughs from a organization like keystone then you actually do all the paintings besides the body paintings. Then take it to a body paintings save which will restoration the body and align it for you

Answer 5

setup hidden cam under hood on diff. car then have someone else pref. female take the car and catch him in the act then file both civil and criminal charges

Answer 6

this is why they have ASE CERTIFIED techs-figuring lost time and lost alt,did you REALLY save any money by having this MUHKANIK work on your car?

Answer 7

sorry had to chuckle.....hubby says grab a baseball bat and go over there!

Answer 8

kick his a%&