Advice needed

[suttonh]

Hi

i am after some advice. My car is being held to ransom by a garage.
The story goes ...... engine in my car blew up and it needed an engine. my next door neighbour suggested the garage he went to so we called him and he said that it would cost around £600 to take out the old engine and fit and supply a new engine so we thought that was a fair price.

2 days later we get a call saying that he has took out the engine (we didn't acutually agree for him to take out the engine to start with but he went ahead anyway.) and the price was going to be £1200 instead as it was a different sort of engine than he originally thought.

we said could he hang fire until we had saved some more money up to get it fixed the next thing i know he wants the car moved cos it is in his way which we arranged to do but he said he will not allow the car to leave the garage until we pay him £200 for him removing the engine. I thought this was a bit excessive as he told us it only took him 40 mins to do the job but he said he is not budging on the price and he is going to a solictor and we cannot have the car back.

any advice please would be great.

[powelll]

I'm not sure of all the issues surrounding this, but the below info may be handy as a starting point:

Disputing the bill

If the client considers the bill is unreasonable in the light of any of the above factors, s/he can dispute it. This will involve negotiation with the garage explaining why the client thinks the bill is too high and what s/he is prepared to pay.
While the client is disputing the bill, the garage can refuse to release the car. This right to keep possession of goods until payment has been made is known as a 'lien'. If the client needs her/his car urgently s/he should only pay 'under protest', otherwise it will be very difficult to reclaim the money later.
At the time of paying, the client should state in writing that s/he is paying under protest. S/he should then send a letter to the garage, repeating that s/he has paid under protest, stating why s/he thinks the bill is too high, and indicating her/his intention to pursue the claim through the county court (sheriff court in Scotland).

Is the garage charging more than was agreed
If the garage gave the client a price before doing the work, but is now asking for more, check whether the price was an estimate or a quotation. A quotation is a promise to do the work at the price agreed. Provided s/he had this in writing, the client can hold the garage to it.
An estimate is only a prediction of the total cost, which may or may not be exceeded. If the final bill exceeds the estimate by more than a reasonable amount, the client can dispute it. The estimate may be used as evidence of what a reasonable charge would be.

Hope this helps... the garage also has a 'duty of care' to your car while it is in it's possession

[Rob S]

It might be worth contacting the local Trading Standards office to see if they can help. They may well have received complaints in the past about this particular garage.

[breadline]

Hi Powell
just had a thought and wanted to ask.
If the car was duel owner ship and only one owner agreed to teh work on teh car, could the other owner insist on the car being returned as they were not consulted.

As this is a common problem just trying to find a slip in the ruling? anything anywhere to help people in this position.

Bl

[powelll]

Am really not sure on that one... anyone else a bit more clued up on this than me??

[mauricio bustillos]

hi.first of all how much is the normal value of your car?
call around ask for estimate to fit a second hand engine or re con-engine.
you can try to fight the garage but you can lose i have seen it.
If the car is worth £2000 the repair is going to cost you £800 offer it to a mechanic or advertise it in the loot for around £1400 you loose £600 but it could be worse.
I hate typing otherwise i could go on and on.

[All I want is Justice]

Hi

I'm new please bear with me. If you need the car and have not got any alternative other than the pay, now this is just a suggestion you can "pay under protest" I think you should check out your rights by using this method. The reason why is because you should be able then claim compensation as you have been forced to pay and recover your costs. Don't quote me just check it out and see where that gets you.