car shop repair mistakes

fanqi203

New Member
Jurisdiction
South Carolina
I sent my car to an auto shop for repair. They gave me a phone call for diagnostics and cost estimation. When I picked up the car several days later, they claimed the car has been repaired and tested. But after I drove the car for 10 minutes, the same problem happened again. I had to send the car back to their shop. They came up with a new problem of the car and another cost estimation, which I had no choice but to approve. When I came again to pick up the car, they claimed again the car had been repaired and tested on a 15-minute drive. But after I drove the "repaired" car for 10 minutes, the same problem occurred again. I had to send it back again. They came up with another new problem and another cost estimation, which, again, I had no choice but to let them do. Finally after the 3rd repair, the car is running okay now; but I paid for the 3 repairs.

so my questions are (1) on their service policy, they should have given a written estimation, but I have never received any written estimation. On all the phone estimations, they claimed they found "THE" problem. (2) do I have reason to suspect they mis-diagnosed for the 1st and 2nd attempts of repairing the car, because the identical problems happened within minutes of my driving? (3) For the 1st time and 2nd time I picked up the car, they should have scanned the code and found there were still problems, but the obviously didn't bother to do that , when they said they "tested" the car (4) For the 1st and 2nd repairs, they obviously lied when they said they tested the car, especially for the 2nd time when they said they had done a long 15-min test, because the exactly same problem happened within my 5-minute driving.

Had the mechanics have any responsibilities during this process?
 
Had the mechanics have any responsibilities during this process?

You had choices.
You CHOSE to allow the same shop to make THREE repairs.

The time to THINK about your options is BEFORE you AGREE to something.

If paying for three repairs bothers you now, you are free to hire yourself a lawyer and see if she or he can achieve whatever it is you think you are owed.

You can also take the matter to small claims court and try to convince the judge that you were wronged and must be made whole.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice. May I ask, after I found that their first repair was unsuccessful (same problem came back within minutes), could I just walk away without paying? Not familiar with the law on this aspect.
 
Okay, thanks for the advice. May I ask, after I found that their first repair was unsuccessful (same problem came back within minutes), could I just walk away without paying? Not familiar with the law on this aspect.
Any repair shop worth its salt would make you pay before leaving with the car. Then again, any repair shop worth its salt would guarantee its work too...
 
Any repair shop worth its salt would make you pay before leaving with the car. Then again, any repair shop worth its salt would guarantee its work too...

So I guess the bottom-line question is "should I pay for the 3 repairs?, if not, which one should I pay"?
 
So I guess the bottom-line question is "should I pay for the 3 repairs?, if not, which one should I pay"?
Negotiate. Personally, I'd say you should pay for the first repair, and pay parts only for #2 and #3.
 
Thanks for the advice
I think I will go to try the small claims court.

Have you offered to pay labor on the first repair and parts for repairs #2 & #3? I suspect that's the best you'd get out of small claims court (but, who knows?)
 
Walk away? Sure. Driving away without paying...that's a different matter.

Of course, you would have ended up on the losing end of a lawsuit and, quite possibly, lose your car. (Not necessarily in that order.)
 
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