Elevation7

My car (97 Nissan Maxima) was in a Repair shop from August 25, until yesterday Sept. 13. Yes, if that doesn't sound like a long time what is? Now I could possible see an engine replacement taking that long or maybe even some extreme conversion. But for crying out loud, this is just an air-conditioning unit.

I took it to a shop to fix my a/c unit which went out. It's a very long and complicated story. I'll give you guys some of the details, but not all of them. Here's a sort-of-stab at some of it:

The guy who ran the shop basically lied to me about being able to fix my a/c unit. He came up with all kinds of different excuses as to why they couldn't get it done.

Again, this is a long complicated story. The guy at the shop basically gave me at least 12 different estimates as to when my car would be finished. He used the Hurricane and Labor Day weekend as part of his excuse.

The point is, I'm pretty sure I caught this guy lieing to me more than once. Last Saturday, he promised he would call me the following Sunday at 10:30am and never did.

I was completely livid at that. I got on the phone with my warranty company(I have an extended aftermarket warranty). The Shop claims it's the Warranty companies fault since they would not approve of his parts.

The Warranty company claims that his cost estimates were too high, that he provided improper documentation on the warranty of the parts themselves...etc.

It's a much, much longer and complicated story that would take me several paragraphs to write up.

I was so disappointed with the service and beyond myself at the timeliness of my car repair.

After he claims he had to replace my expansion valve, the tubing, the muffler(it had a hole in it, replaced a new compressor more than once, replace the expansion valve more than once...and apparently had a problem with the condensor holding the right pressure after swapping it out...6 times he finally concluded it was a pressure control valve.

I was livid it took so long and just really laid into him on the phone at not being able to diagnose the exact problem from the start.

He claimed it was the warranty companies fault, that they would not approve of him replacing the parts he needed.

After several phone calls with my warranty company and the shop, I finally called my warranty company again yesterday.

My warranty company got the shop, on the phone with us. Again, the Shop tried to say it was the warranty companies fault for not letting him get the parts he claimed he needed...which was the story he was going with all along.

To make things more interesting...with his point made...the warranty company threw it right back in his face and said they did not talk to him after the first week my car was in his shop. The last time they claimed to have been in contact with him was Saturday August 27(my car was first left there August 25).

The story gets more twisted and there are more details, but here's what I am left to deal with, because the guy running the shop kept giving me different estimates as to what(and when) he could give me my car back.

I went as far as trying to just get him to release my car. He threatened to charge me for parts and labor. I told him that that wasn't acceptable, because he couldn't fix the problem from the start. But he wanted to hold $1200 worth of parts and labor over my head.

Anyways...here's where I am really screwed:

The warranty company has a deal where they will re-imburse me, the customer for 7 days time of a rental car. My schedule is very busy between my school commute, and work since I have to drive out to the city of Greenville for work fomr here in town Richardson.

The Warranty company originally empathized with my situation and extended my coverage to 10 days.

So, with that said...I am left with nearly $250-400(my original estimate as of right now) out of my wallet to pay for the rest of the time that I had to have a car to get around town because the shop could not fix my car. I even burned two hours of PTO(vacation time from work) thinking(as I was lead to believe again) I would get my car back from the shop one day.

I have called the owner of the shop twice. Once being last week, and again being yesterday. My warranty company called the owner as well. Apparently, the owner is too good to call either of us back.

When I went to get my car back yesterday...I told the the guy running the desk(who I had dealt with all along), that it was very important and I absolutely had to speak with the owner.

I showed him my estimate of what I am going to have to pay out of pocket for his ****-up on not being able to get my car back. He basically told me I will not be able to speak to the shop owner until Friday of this week, and also told me that he was not going to pay that extra fee.

Now, I'm not a Foccacia bread-eater...I am more like a wonder-bread eater..at least in terms of my income..I live paycheck to paycheck. Every dollar I earn has to last because of all the bills I have to pay currently.

So basically since I am going to be out my estimates of $250-400 for a rental car(maybe even more I don't know the exact cost as of yet), because the shop could not fix my problem within an acceptable time frame, I am going to have to take a real hit on my credit, and basically tell my student loans, my utility company, my car financier, my creditors..."sorry I just can't afford to pay you." I even drained my savings account.

Enterprise also didn't have any standard size or economy cars available for me to drive either...so I was stuck with the choice of an SUV or truck. Though I got charged with the standard size fee, the gas-guzzlers also killed me, due to my commute around town and to work...I was putting in anywhere from $20-30 a day in my rentals. Yes, I was very happy with that.

I will be stuck with late fees as well. At very least I am not happy with that, and I find it completely unacceptable.

So, I think I am going to be left with the inevitable. Taking this shop owner to small claims court to re-compensate me for my loss.

So, I guess my question to the forum is, what is the maximum amount I am allowed to litigate for in small claims court? Do any of you know?

When you go to small claims court do you have to represent yourself, or can a lawyer accompany you? Does anyone know a decent lawyer as well if possible?

The warranty company has our conversations recorded. So they may be able to prove he was lying from the start. My other question is, in Texas does anyone know what the laws of privacy are, regarding recording a telephone conversation when it may need to be used in a legal venue?

All states differ which is why I ask. In Colorado, only one party has to know the conversation is being recorded. But in some states both parties must consent.

I am basically going to have to ask this guy to pay. He will most likely refuse. I will have to pursue litigation most likely.

When I speak to the shop owner(if I get to at all) I think I am going to have to get the conversation recorded.

At any rate, I think I am also going to need to complain to the Better Business Bureau as well.

His shop had 4 different BBB stickers on it, so I was lead to believe he did good service in a timely matter. That was not the case at all.

Umrswimr

Let it go. You will find yourself spending a lot more than $400 in hassle to get it back.

$4k, I'd look into it. $400? Not worth even thinking twice about it.

RedBaronII

iTrader: (4)

Have you ever read the Saga of Vick and GG???????
If you did, by now you should be an expert on the subject and know what to do.
Hint: read the post above

infinitebass

Talk to your warranty company, its possible they might be willing to assist you in taking them to court.

Elevation7

I guess the best thing to do would prolly be to just nag the Better Business Bureau to death about it.

RedBaronII

iTrader: (4)

BBB has NO power or authority over the business to make them do anything.
They can only call or write to the business, to try resolve matters.
If this has no resolution, they will have a scar on their record.
That is it.
BTW, the BBB sells those stickers to businesses and that means nothing about the business.
Go figure it out.

rx7gslse

next time do some research before you decide what shop to take it too... there's good places and bad places...


In this case, just suck it up and move on... It's *not* going to be worth the headaches. And as much as I do hate them, these types of situations are what make credit cards worth it.

DamonB

I agree with the other guys who say to just drop it. What would really make you feel better is to throw a brick through their window. That's much cheaper!

mar3

iTrader: (8)

Since no one will actually answer your questions...

So, I guess my question to the forum is, what is the maximum amount I am allowed to litigate for in small claims court? Do any of you know?

I know....the answer is $5000...making them pay the $75 court fee will be above that if you win.



When you go to small claims court do you have to represent yourself, or can a lawyer accompany you?

You can represent yourself but that is not mandatory, just cheaper. You can have a lawyer. For a little extra, you can even have a sitting jury of your "peers."



Does anyone know a decent lawyer as well if possible?

Not for shop muggings like this.



The warranty company has our conversations recorded. So they may be able to prove he was lying from the start. My other question is, in Texas does anyone know what the laws of privacy are, regarding recording a telephone conversation when it may need to be used in a legal venue?

Pretty sure you have to announce before-hand you are going to be taping the conversation or it becomes an illegal act. Normally, the warranty/insurance company announces they are taping for "quality assurance" before they start talking with you, especially if it's a conferenced call. You sure they didn't do that? Have you heard the tapes firsthand?