 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Car Forum / Driving, Maintenance, Tuning / General Car Topics / May 2005Problem with estimate for work
This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick advice. I’m hoping someone might have some insight into this situation. I’m sure it happens all the time. My dad’s car fritzed last week and they said the water pump needed replacing. This is a 1992 Chrysler Concorde (?)...I’m drawing a blank on the model acutally, Intrepid?? Old car, air conditioning not working, etc. The water pump fix was $800, which seemed high, but I guess labor is expensive. So they replaced the water pump, and now they tell him they found a crack and leak somewhere and that there might also be an electrical problem and it will be an additional $1500 at least. Well, no way, not on a car that isn’t worth as much. The question is...what recourse is there? Is he obligated to pay the $800 even though the car is not fixed? It seems like they may have made a diagnostic error if now they say there is a crack that is leaking. It makes me wonder if the problem was even the water pump? Maybe the problem was the crack and leak. The car was overheating. So, we don’t want to fix the car because it isn’t worth the investment. My parents are broke and living on SS income only. As far as we are concerned the garage can keep the car. We get to figure out where to find the $$ to buy them a new one. Just wondering about the legal end of things? Anyone know? Is he legally obligated to pay the $800 because he authorized the work to be done, even though the car won’t run after this work? We hope he is not responsible for this bill...at least not the full amount. Hoping someone can fill me in on what his liabilities are. Thanks Cara > The question >is...what recourse is there? Is he obligated to pay the $800 even >though the car is not fixed? Yes, pay it. They said they'd replace the water pump for $800, not recondition or rebuild the entire car. >It seems like they may have made a >diagnostic error if now they say there is a crack that is leaking. >It >makes me wonder if the problem was even the water pump? Maybe the >problem was the crack and leak. The car was overheating. Maybe it was the crack. Probably the waterpump was bad as well. >So, we dont want to fix the car because it isnt worth the >investment. My parents are broke and living on SS income only. As far >as we are concerned the garage can keep the car. We get to figure out >where to find the $$ to buy them a new one. And to pay the 800 you owe the shop. It is not the shop's fault you don't want to fix it, or that your parents are on SS. The shop has to pay their bills, too. >Just wondering about the legal end of things? Anyone know? Is he >legally obligated to pay the $800 because he authorized the work to be >done, even though the car wont run after this work? Of course he is obligated to pay... It is his car. >We hope he is not responsible for this bill...at least not the full >amount. Hoping someone can fill me in on what his liabilities are. Go talk to the shop. Maybe (big maybe) if you are really nice, they'll take the car and partial payment. True it would have been micer of them to stop the repair when they discovered further failures (they could have returned the pump then, and saved you the parts cost.) >Thanks > >Cara In article <1_572752_2cc0a013b75611431ce4c56e1212fb24@autoforumz.com>, > This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick advice. > I’m hoping someone might have some insight into this situation. I’m [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > might also be an electrical problem and it will be an additional $1500 > at least. $800 might be high, it depends on which engine is in your fathers car. Worst case scenario, it's a 3.5 liter so; [roughly] $100 for the pump, $100 for the timing belt, $100 for the tensioner, that leaves $500 for four hours labor. > Well, no way, not on a car that isn’t worth as much. Whoa... the retail value of the car has no relationship to what the repairs will cost. The -value- of pursuing those repairs was your fathers decision to begin with. > The question > is...what recourse is there? Is he obligated to pay the $800 even > though the car is not fixed? It seems like they may have made a > diagnostic error if now they say there is a crack that is leaking. It > makes me wonder if the problem was even the water pump? Maybe the > problem was the crack and leak. The car was overheating. Your father knew the car was overheating, unless he's totally clueless, he'd have known that there might be collateral damage from driving while the engine is overheating. If the car now does not run -after- the water pump replacement, it's the repair shops responsibility to figure out what they might have messed up. It's entirely possible that the coolant leak (suspected crack) is from the three O-rings that are sandwiched between the rear half of the timing cover and the engine block, the repair shop should have included the replacement of these O-rings in their initial estimate and charged accordingly though. > So, we don’t want to fix the car because it isn’t worth the > investment. Really? is this thing a total piece of run down neglected crap? You can't buy much for $1500 these days, certainly nothing that would be considered reliable. . My parents are broke and living on SS income only. Sorry to hear that, but your parents failure to plan accordingly for their financial needs is irrelevant to the situation. Credit cards, when used responsibly can be quite handy when emergencies pop up and cash is short. > As far > as we are concerned the garage can keep the car. Smart move. This is certain to insure that in the future, the repair shop will require payment up front before any diagnosis or work begins. This benefits how? > We get to figure out > where to find the $$ to buy them a new one. Job+save money is the most efficient way. > Just wondering about the legal end of things? Anyone know? Is he > legally obligated to pay the $800 because he authorized the work to be > done, even though the car won’t run after this work? If the car ran when he brought it in for repair, and now doesn't run, the shop (in all fairness) should be responsible for correcting -that- situation (there may be a few coincidental exceptions). If your father ignored the overheat situation to the point where the block/heads cracked and/or the head gaskets blew, then yes, he is obligated to pay the $800, unless he went to great lengths to explain to the shop that he suspects that he cooked the motor severely, in which case, the shop should work out some sort of compromise. > We hope he is not responsible for this bill...at least not the full > amount. Hoping someone can fill me in on what his liabilities are. You really haven't given enough concrete information to make a sound determination, but almost universally, he is responsible for whatever work he authorized. A lot depends on whether or not dads car was towed in or was driven in under it's own power and what exactly is meant by 'something might be cracked and there is an electrical problem.' That stinks to high heaven! It sure looks like an expensive 'mistake' on the garage's part by figuring the pump was the problem when in fact the overheating was caused by the leak. If you have any newspapers or news shows in your area that go after rip off auto repair shops, now would be the time to make some phone calls. Otherwise if he signed for the repair, he is stuck with it. Where was the real problem leak? Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's > This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick advice. > Im hoping someone might have some insight into this situation. Im [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] > ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** > ---------------------------------------------------------- Honestly a simple replacement of a waterpump by itself should not run anywhere close to $800.00... But I have never owned a Crysler product and do not know how much labor is involved ... BUT you Dad is still legally obligated to pay the bill....if the shop will take the car off his hands for partial or full payment is entirely up to Your Dad and the shop... Just my opinion... and I am not a Lawyer for sure... nor do I do mechanical work for a living... Bob Griffiths >This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick advice. >Im hoping someone might have some insight into this situation. Im [quoted text clipped - 31 lines] > >Cara > This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick > advice. [quoted text clipped - 36 lines] > > Cara Thanks everyone. I figured we’d have to pay the bill, just looking for an outside chance that we’d be able to negotiate it. The $800 fix would have been worth it, but and additional $1500...at least...upwards of $2300...not so much. I guess thats the tough luck. He thought at the end of the $800 his car would run, otherwise he would have never agreed to the fix. If it truly is a situation where they did not and could not have known in advance that the fix could explode like this, I don’t have so much a problem. My problem is the feeling that they might be taking advantage of vulnerable elderly people. This same garage took $1000 a summer for three summers in a row trying to get the air conditioning working. It would work for one summer, and the next summer not work again. On the fourth summer my folks decided to live without air. So it has been the money pit for some time. It has a broken front seat, and a few other not so great things...so definitely not worth investing. For $1500 we can probably find something that runs and has air. We have a car to hand down to him in a year, so we were trying to make this one last a little longer. . I know...thats irrelevant, too. Yep. I know the garage doesn’t care about their financial problems, nor should they. Nor should any of you. It was irrelevant. Sorry. Just part of my misery. Thanks for taking the time to offer comments. Cara >Thanks for taking the time to offer comments. > >Cara Good luck, Cara... And next time find a different shop? <bg> There are many shops that do take advantage of their customers any time they can. It's sad, but a fact of life. I'm more wodering about your A/C story ($3000 total in three years?) as for that money it would be possible to replace the entire thing! And the symptoms were very much like a minor refridgent leak, not a major failure... Definately, new shop time! Look for an organization that fixes and gives (or sells for a low cost) vehicles for those who can't afford one, but must have transportation. Also church groups may be helpful. My opinion is doubled, go to the media, they are rip off artists looking for suckers! Mike 86/00 CJ7 Laredo, 33x9.5 BFG Muds, 'glass nose to tail in '00 88 Cherokee 235 BFG AT's > > This is my first time posting and am looking for some quick > > advice. [quoted text clipped - 70 lines] > ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** > ---------------------------------------------------------- |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2008 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.