Can a mechanic refuse to "release" my car due to lack of a part?

In My Humble Opinion
21

I might be tempted to get the service manager on the phone, and – paying particular attention to not sound demanding, unreasonable, or combative – ask them for more information: what’s the policy here ? Is it liability ? Is it money ? Is it safety ? Help me understand why you can’t release the car to me without this seemingly inconsequential part.

The suggestion about calling your insurance agent may be the right path, but it may wind up being something boilerplate that – once you understand the rationale a bit more – you can work with them to get past.

Good luck !

22

Given that the vehicle is a 2020, there may not be very many (or any) in junkyards just yet.

23

Good advice above and ask the insurance agent for a discount or rebate of premium since your car has been parked, essentially in storage for 7 weeks and counting.

24

So the shop can just keep his car forever…since he didn’t negotiate it?

That’s what I would have thought as well. But I have a 2021 Kia and was looking for some interior parts for it. Every parts person I called said they didn’t have any of the parts and couldn’t get them in. A few told me to check junk yards. When I made the same comment, they basically said ‘you’d be surprised’. Also, they don’t just have to check local junk yards, they can search them on a national level and have the parts shipped to them.

25

A couple of years ago I was driving my daughter to school, and was turning onto the side road where her school was located. I was turning into it from a turn lane on a major road, and someone stopped at the side road (at a stop sign) pulled out as I was pulling in and hit me. 100% their fault, she just “didn’t see me” (as if my bright blue car was invisible). There was zero dispute as to fault in the case, and her insurance company was willing to pay for the whole thing.

I took my car in a shop for repairs. The repairs weren’t too extensive, it was all cosmetic stuff except for my window washing fluid tank which broke. (Of all things, that was the only thing to malfunction, it’s like a battleship taking damage and the coffee maker is out of commission.) Anyway, just my luck that my car is a Chevy and about the same time my car was taken in, GM workers went on strike. What was going to be a week to fix took 2 months.

In my case the other insurance company got me a rental car. The car sucked; it was clunky to drive, smelled vaguely of cigarettes (enough to set off my allergies on longer drives, and my daughter said it smelled like her great-uncle). But it got me around.

It seems completely unreasonable that they can’t get you a vehicle. Someone must have dropped the ball. Your car is damaged by someone else, everyone is insured, you are not at fault, yet you have no car for months. That just doesn’t seem right.

26

Car-Part.com–Used Auto Parts Market

This website is a clearing house for junkyards across the country, and is the first place to look when looking for used parts. (eBay can also be helpful, and tends to have lower shipping costs.)

It’s an interesting juxtaposition. Anyone who has ever visited a junkyard will tend to think of them as the lowest of the low tech, bunch of grizzled blue collar guy with car parts and rusty cars in various states of decomposition all over the place. But the internet has had a huge impact on the junkyard business. The likelihood that you can find such-and-such car part in your local junkyard is much much lower than the likelihood that it’s available somewhere across the nation. And the same goes for junkyards in terms of finding buyers for their parts.

27

With a newer car, insurance involved, and it being a dealership, you’d want to verify in advance that they would put a used part on your car.

28

That might be the issue - if the insurance company is going to pay the dealership directly, they might not be willing to pay until the repairs are completed. But that doesn’t mean the OP can’t can’t pay the dealer for the work that has been done and get reimbursed by the insurance company.

I would speak to the service manager and find out exactly why they aren’t releasing the car to you - after all, if it’s a cosmetic part and doesn’t affect any mandatory equipment , you don’t even have any obligation to have it fixed.

29

I think that’s unlikely to be a sensible path to take. Insurance companies generally want to verify exactly what work is being done and who is doing it and pay them direct. For obvious reasons.

30

Okay, I was an insurance adjuster for a few years, so what I think has happened, is that you’re going through your insurance, and they’re going to subrogate against the other parties coverage once the repairs are complete. If you had been willing to delay, and had gone through the other party’s coverage, it would likely have had the rental included as part of the liability (in most states, rental car coverage only applies to the owner of the policy, but applies regardless of fault).

If this is the case, you can try to contact the other party’s carrier and see if (since they’ve now applied fault apparently) if they can provide coverage. Not super likely, but it might be possible. The other option would be to talk to them about reimbursement - you provide the contact info of the shop, confirm timeframe on no vehicle, and using the other party’s preferred rental agency, pay out of pocket for a rental and submit the bill to them for reimbursement. It’s work, and it isn’t fair, but it should work. Just keep that other carrier in the loop, because they have ‘reasonable and customary’ costs for what they’ll pay for a rental, and anything above that they likely won’t reimburse.

This strikes me as extremely unfair. It’s not that they want to delay work (after all, it’s taking up space at their shop) per the OP, they’re stuck waiting on parts which are likely coming from China, which is having multiple shutdowns while they struggle with their own COVID politics, in a world disrupted by COVID and a not-so-minor war. And the part has sensors, which probably require chips, which are in a world-wide shortage as well. So you’d be taking action against the dealer for something beyond their control.

If they don’t have loaners (and most dealers have so few as to be non-existent) it won’t do any good - because their liability as far as letting the OP risk an unsafe vehicle and get sued is far worse. Again, much better off to lean on the other parties insurance company.

31

Sure, the OPs insurance will want to verify the repair - but paying the shop directly is a different issue. I’ve had cars repaired under my own insurance where they sent me the check and I had to arrange to have the car seen/photographed by my insurance company or else they wouldn’t cover any future damage in the same area. But this isn’t even the OP’s insurance paying - the at-fault vehicle’s insurer will have to pay for the OP’s loss whether he actually gets it repaired or not and since it’s not his insurance, there’s no issue about future coverage.

32

But the big question is, why can’t they return the car to the OP while they’re waiting?

When my car was rear ended last summer (doing something like 9k worth of damages), once it was road worthy again, they offered to let me have it back until the rest of the parts were in*.
Also, at least in my case, the insurance company mailed a check as soon as they had a quote from the shop.

*I declined since, at the time, rental cars were extremely hard to come by and I figured if I returned the rental car, I might not be able to get another one when it was time to bring my car back in. Even one of the insurance people mentioned they were surprised I actually managed to get one.

33

Somebody has to pay for it. If he wants it back now he can go get it and put the insurance company on the spot, they’re the people who have a continuing obligation to him.

They can keep it forever if he won’t pay for it. This is not the shop’s problem, it’s the OP’s problem. The OP can go after the insurance company if he wants to be compensated for his inconvenience.

Also, I don’t know what the shop has done so far, the OP may not owe them anything for the incomplete work. The state will have a consumer division that can advise him on that.

34

You are correct.

We did check if the party at fault had rental coverage in his policy and were told - by his insurance - that he did not. (And he had just taken the policy out 10 days before. AND he got in another accident one week after ours. Not relevant, but just for added flavor).

35

This does not seem right. Choosing to waive rental coverage determines what you get if your own insurance is paying. But the obligation of the at-fault driver’s insurance to provide a rental car to you does not depend on his choice. That should only mean that he does not get a rental car.

Did you ask them “am I entitled to a rental car?” I’m wondering if they disingenuously answered the exact question you asked, without informing you that it’s irrelevant to whether you are actually entitled to a rental car.

36

It’s a good question and one that I plan to ask my own insurance agent when I call her. Thanks!

(ETA: My wife originally spoke with both insurance agents, so I am not 100% sure exactly what question she asked.)

37

Yup, that was what I was saying, and glad you double checked @Riemann and that @ShadowFacts will be checking as well. Again, worst case, I don’t see how that it wouldn’t be legitimate damages (again in MOST) states for your lose of use - and again, if they won’t provide it ask if they will pay to reimburse you if you rent for your own usage as this has been an extended loss.

If the car is deemed unsafe w/out the bumper cover and other supplements (and the OP specified sensors included) then the dealer would be on the hook for any issues that occurred after they released the vehicle back to the OP, when they have no obligation to take those risks. For an extreme example, but one that isn’t exactly unheard of, the OP is driving the 95% intact car and is rear ended AGAIN, but this time has a cervical injury. Now, the OP can sue the daylights out of the dealer for the unsafe vehicle, including pain and suffering, and the limits are off due to comparative negligence.

Speaking from the dealer’s POV - why take the risk? I’m sure the repair contract has one or more clauses that specify that the dealer has to do good-faith repairs and return the vehicle in a safe condition if possible. Now, if the delay had been due to an error on the dealer’s part, then I’d argue that they would have an obligation to make other arrangements*, but for a (world wide) shortage on parts? Almost certainly not.

In fact, this is probably at least in part due to changing legislation designed to protect the customer from loss - the whole OEM part controversy changed a lot of how repairs were handled, and often not for the better. Especially on a 2020 model, there’s probably a requirement to have new parts in some areas.

*an example I had personal experience with, customer took car to shop after vandalism damages, which were repaired quickly, but the exclusive limited edition paint (which was specific to that model) required ordering paint from Japan. They pre-ordered it while doing the rest of repairs, and so it wasn’t much delayed, until someone in the shop was showing off the just painted car and not-realizing it wasn’t fully set/dried, put their hand on it. :roll_eyes: So they needed another week to order paint from Japan and to repaint the vehicle, all on their own heads.

38

I can see some bean counter being difficult and arguing that the missing bumper cover has altered the aerodynamic characteristics and could now redirect the exhaust into the cabin and blahblahblah. Or that it’s slightly more likely for a rock to get kicked up and hit another car behind. Or a minor parking scrape now impacts the hatch or tail light or something. Ridiculous, of course, but it’s easier to just say no.

39

I once stupidly took my car to Midas for brakes. After the brake work was complete, the grifter/mechanic took me back to show me my car’s exhaust. He said he could repair it while it was on the lift for $50.

I declined and wanted to go. He told me he couldn’t legally allow me to take my car without repair, as it was dangerous to drive.

This was pre-cellphone, so I walked down the highway to a phone booth and called the police, reporting my car stolen. I said I could see my car and the thief who stole it.

Cops showed up, got the story from all parties involved, and gave Midas hell. I drove home with my dangerous exhaust.

40

In seven weeks they couldn’t scrounge one up? FFS are they so low on inventory they can’t pull a new car from the lot into the loaner pool? Isn’t that what most dealers do anyway? It’s an extended test drive after all, so it raises the likelihood of a purchase later. My Mazda dealer would put me in a loaner for an oil change if they could, but I’ll grant that some companies have handled Covid and the supply chain issues better than others, so maybe that’s a factor here.