We have all seen the stories on the news where you take your car in for service, they inform you that you require thousands of dollars worth of repairs, when in reality you do not need anything done. So what happens if your one of those poor fellows that ended up paying $750 when all you thought you needed was an oil change? Time to lawyer up my friend. Don’t worry about the attorney’s fees, you’ll most likely get the other side to pay for them. So when can you sue an auto body shop?
Faulty or Negligent Repairs To Your Vehicle
If an auto body shop fails to do competent and good work equal to that of others in the industry than they have failed you. This means you can sue an auto body shop whenever they make this mistake. Likewise, they have also failed you if they have charged you for repairs you did not need, for time they did not work, or by deceiving you into believing you need extra work completed.
Misrepresenting Fees
Nearly every state has laws that have the sole purpose to protect consumers. These laws and regulations tend to require the auto body shop to inform you of the services that your vehicle requires. They must also inform you how much each part is, if the part is brand new or refurbished, and the length of time that it takes to complete the install. Any failure a good faith estimate means the auto body shop can be liable and that means you sue an auto body shop for such a failure.
Failure to Honor A Warranty
This is mainly reserved for auto body shops at dealerships. Rarely will an independent auto body shop give you a warranty. However, many dealerships will if you purchase a new vehicle or a pre-owned car. If you do have a warranty, and the dealership auto body shop fails to honor it or say you have breached some clause of it and you do not believe you have, grab yourself an attorney. Failure to properly adhere to a warranty as promised is a breach of their contract to you and you have a right to sue.
Straight Deceit, Lying, Fraud
We’re not sure about you, but whenever we head to a dealership just to look at a new car we are immediately on the lookout for the car salesman. They surround you quick like you’re a minnow and they’re the shark. The same can be said with the auto body shop. The auto body shop may seem to have hardworking down to earth guys but some (not all) will try to squeeze you for every dollar they can. If you find anything was fraudulent when you were at the shop, or if they lied to you regarding a repair and it was not an honest mistake, boom, they are liable.
Violation Of Vehicle Repair Lien’ Laws.
In many states an auto body shop has the ability to hold your vehicle until you pay them if they have worked on your vehicle. If you believe an auto body shop is wrongly holding your vehicle for work you believe faulty, or not done correctly, or are just unjustly holding it they are not correctly following the law to hold your vehicle. They are thus liable for damages. Time to bring them to court.
Remedies
The first thing you can do is have your attorney write a demand letter. Most auto body shops tend to apologize if they have good customer service and right the wrong as best as they can. If the body refuses to adhere to your demands (which were reasonable…we hope) than you can file a complaint with the court and notice to the auto body shop. If that does not tell them your serious nothing will. Of course remember you make sure you consult an attorney!
There are a lot of legal issues that are involved when it comes to vehicles period. Feel free to check out some of our information regarding car accidents and insurance.
