Do these autobody shop people deserve payment?

Question

Hi.
About 2 months ago, my dad's car stopped starting. It's a 2002 Mitsubishi Galant by the way. My dad brought it to an autobody shop nearby to get it fixed. These so called 'autobody specialists' said that they didn't know what the problem was with the car, and that they would get new parts for each of the parts that they suspected of causing the problem. So first they ordered a new starter which wasn't actually the problem and after getting new parts for this and that, in the end they assumed that there was a problem with the ECU. They told my dad that if that isn't the problem, they wouldn't know what else to replace to get the car started. About a week ago, they did get it fixed which took like 2 months, and including all the parts that they replaced and the labor fee, my mom told me that they first charged my dad about $1,300, but I don't know if my dad really paid that much. However, the car failed to start again yesterday! Do these people deserve payment? I'm really pissed!

Answer 1

from what iv understood,,from ur question and what experience from workin on cars,,,is,
They should not charge for 50 hours of "Tryin" to fix it,,but for the few hours that took to fix it,plus part cost.
Since the car is still having the same problem,,after that big bill,,see ur local magistrates office.U can find one in the goverment section of ur local phone book,,the blue pages.
Many people do not use them,,they are there to help you legally.Very cheap,,depends on what it is,,some wont charge,,(they r suspost to) but Magistrates are really cool,most have been or are a judge that does it to be involved with the public,,(thats cool as h@ll),,
Lawyers can charge $350 to $1000 an hour,for paper work etc,,Magistrates can be free,,or most case $100 or so.(Their opions are highly respected,,)
Aftter seeing a magistrate and telling him about the problem,u will get a good legal idea of where u stand,if u havent paid for it yet,,,good,(since he didnt fix it)--if u have to pay sumthing,,,bring a 5 gallon can of pennies to pay it,,its legal,,hehehe.
Regardless put the garage name on yahoo and tell how they done u and ask people to e-mail them with what their opion is of their shop..(please put garage e-mail)-
If u just refuse paymant without getting legal advice first,,if or when they get legal help to get u to pay it,then u guys look like the crooks,,not them.
Of course u didnt say how much the part waz,or how long it took to change.
Shops charge by a BOOK,,it tells they can make $25 an hour for this and $50 hour for that,etc,,shops get parts at cheaper prices than u can,,but they also charge for a mark up,so they make $ on that,(not all do,most do)-so if it waz a $1000 dollar part,$300 labor,they are in legal limits to get that.
But off the record,sounds to me like they screwed u,most magistrates have dealings with crooked mechanics and car dealers,,and when they can,,yes they like busting their @ss...
I had a car dealer screw me over,seen a magistrate,,he help me for free,and pissed that car dealer off.I had a great time,,lol,
Hope this helps,,take care and good luck

Answer 2

Not trying to insult you but why did he take it to an auto body shop to fix something mechanical ? But anyway, NO they don't deserve payment for a car that isn't fixed. I would have the car towed to a good repair shop or the dealer. If they were already paid, take them to court and sue for your money back.

Answer 3

if mechanics and body shops took payments, they would not be in business very long...... you will have to get a personal loan from a bank or credit union or a couple of credit cards keep in mind, a body shop charging $2000 would probably really cost you $300 in junk yard parts. The rest of the cost is in labor and paint, etc. What is the current labor rate? $75 per hour? i would fix it myself or just put used parts on it from a junk yard until i could get afford to get it painted, etc

Answer 4

your father should have gone to the dealership with the veh where specialists could have worked on it.
he at any point with in the last 2 months could have said ya know don't do anything else to it.... i'm taking it elsewhere. and paid for the work they did to that point.
if it's still not working he should, again, go to the dealership for a diagnostic. then he can decide if he wants to take it back for repairs from the other location or go elsewhere

but as the other poster states- auto body shops aren't auto repair shops.
you don't go to mcdonalds for a quality meal do you ? - you go to a restaurant... think of it that way

Answer 5

Aside from the obvious of taking a mechanical repair to a body shop like everyone else said. Yes the do deserve to get paid. They told you what they were going to do. I'm going to guess your dad agreed to it or they wouldn't have done it. They deserve to get paid for what they did since it was agreed to.

Answer 6

First off, Why take the car to an Auto Body shop to troubleshoot and repair a mechanical problem? An auto body shop does sheet metal and paint!

Would you ask a plumber to fix your refrigerator?

Take it to a Mitsubishi dealer, where they know how to find and fix the real problem!

Answer 7

Why did he take it to a body shop? He should have taken it to a mechanic. Usually body techs are idiots when it comes to mechanical repair. And NO! don't pay them! Take it to a mechanic next time. May I suggest Meineke Car Care Center?

Answer 8

sadly this is a stellar case of "saving money cost a lot more money". i work for a dodge dealership...cant tell you how many THOUSANDS of dollars people have spent trying to avoid bringing the vehicle to someone that can actually fix it, not just guess.
cut your losses and take it to a dealership or COMPETENT private shop.