I dropped off my car at a mechanic after the wheel fell off. I never told them to start work, but they went ahead and replaced a rotor and then put the spare back on. I picked it up yesterday because I didn’t have the money for replacing the rotor and getting a new wheel, so I was just going to take it home (about .25 miles away) and leave it in the garage with the spare and broken rotor until I had the money. Well, I paid them the money for new studs but nothing else since I never told them to start working. They called me back today saying I owe more because they put on a new rotor and for labor. On the work invoice it simply says that they suggested the other fixes, not that they were performed. Am I legally responsible for the additional charges since I already paid them?
Usually, you would only need to pay for work that you specifically approved. I once had a mechanic replace my muffler without my approval or permission, I refused to pay for it, and he didn’t argue the point. (He said it was bad, but my guess is that they just replaced the muffler on the wrong car, and then tried to bill me for the work rather than admit their mistake.)
In the case of brakes and rotors though, I have been told by the tire people before that they legally could not let me leave with my car with the brakes in the condition they were in. Whether or not that was entirely true, I don’t know for sure, but they certainly were not going to let me get out of paying for that work.
Arguably, the shop has a right to refuse to let you leave with a car that is not safe to drive. If they let you drive it out, they could face liability for any consequences. You did agree to pay them to make it legally roadworthy, in order to drive home, which they did. They are now charging you for work performed.
Did you mean they replaced the lugs, or the lug nuts?
Both.
I didn’t agree to pay them to make it roadworthy - I dropped my key in their drop box and left my phone/email. They sent me an estimate via email but I told them I’d bring in my own wheel for $60 instead of the $300 they wanted to charge me for a refurb wheel. When I went there in person to tell them I just wanted the spare put on, it had already been done and was sitting in the parking lot. I paid them for what I thought was just new lugs and lug nuts.
Every state is going to have different laws about this. In MA, shops must provide a written estimate before beginning work, and may not exceed that estimate by more than $10 without another authorization (verbal or written).
I think it is only fair that you pay the shop for the work that they did. You say you were going to leave it there until you had the money to pay for it? You’re expecting them to store your car for some indefinite period while you get the money together? If you don’t have the money now I’d suggest you contact the shop and let them know that you intend to pay but won’t be able to do so until your next paycheck (or whenever). Legally, you probably don’t have to pay them since you didn’t authorize the work. Do you believe in karma?
He was going to store the car at home, not at the shop, while gathering the money.
No. He said “I was just going to take it home (about .25 miles away) and leave it in the garage…” That’s his garage at home, not at the repair shop.
If you didn’t authorize the work, you are not liable for the bill. That’s certainly the law in Missouri, and I’d be shocked if it’s different anywhere in the U.S… The shop was presumptuous in doing the repair without authorization. They should know better.
I had a Midas Muffler shop try really hard to up-sell me during a “free” exhaust inspection. The mechanic told me he couldn’t, in good conscious, let me leave without his suggested repairs. I walked out into the parking lot and called the cops, reporting a car-theft in progress.
The police arrived and the shop returned my car damn fast. I was probably lucky that the cop who responded was totally on my side.
(My local mechanic later replace my muffler, and showed me that the additional stuff Midas wanted to do was entirely unnecessary)
This scam is as old as there have been both laws and mechanics.
Now, it’s one thing if they’ve already performed the (customer-approved) work and the customer refuses to pay, but it’s entirely another if you drive into a shop, they look at your brakes, then, having done no repair, tell you he can’t legally allow you to leave unless you agree to pay him to fix your brakes. If the latter happens to you, ask them to put it in writing. When they refuse to put it in writing (which they will, because they know it’s bullshit) call the police.
I’m curious how they let you leave without paying the entire bill. Because the cashier only saw the “suggested” work and didn’t bill for it?
Any time I’ve had work done, I’ve had to sign the work order authorizing all the work and also pay in full before leaving with the car.
And if you didn’t authorize the work, I’m thinking they are out of luck.
I had the opposite happen. One time when I took my car in, they replaced an oxygen sensor without my express consent and and without asking beforehand (I was at the dealership). The service manager came to me and was almost scared to admit it (it was a Saturn, who prided themselves on asking beforehand).
The sensor cost an extra $0.75, but the guy was very apologetic.
Good to know. But there is the fact that my brakes were in fact shot. My car didn’t really stop when I wanted it to. So, driving out of there would have been pretty unsafe.
I didn’t really question it, as I had no plans on leaving without fixing my brakes, but is that really the case that they can’t hold you for having an unsafe car?
IANAL, but I can find no reference to any law in any state that says a mechanic has the right to keep your property from you for the sole reason of “it’s unsafe.” It’s you’re property and it’s entirely your choice to approve work or not; as long as no approved work has been performed, you are free to leave with your property, no matter how unsafe it may well in fact be.
To indemnify himself the mechanic may request you sign some sort of waiver or note indicating he advised you of the unsafe state of your vehicle before handing back the keys, and it’s both clearly in his best interest to do so and perfectly legal, AFAIK.
Agreed.
This doesn’t make sense. Seventy-five dollars, I could see. But seventy-five cents for an oxygen sensor? No way.
What if a mechanic knowingly lets you drive away in a car with absolutely no brakes at all, and you kill somebody out in the street? What is the mechanic’s liability to being an accessory to the homicide? How would that be different than, say, if you came to pick up your repaired car totally drunk, and the shop let you drive it away?
What police powers does a mechanic have to impound your property and prevent you taking it home with you? How can the mechanic be liable when the mechanic has no power to prevent you?
In the cases you have probably heard of relating to bars and drunk drivers, the driver has probably got drunk by being served at that bar, so they have greater risk of liability. This would be more analogous to the mechanic damaging the brakes and then NOT telling you about it.
Well, as a citizen, the mechanic certainly has a right to call the police and report you if you attempt to drive away in a car with no brakes (and he probably should), but I don’t know that he has any specific legal responsibility to report it like, say emergency room personnel or a therapist must report gunshots or patients confessing to committing (or express an intention to commit) crimes.