Hi,
I'm not going to defend these mechanics, as I have no idea about what
actually transpired. I will offer the following.
Sure there are scammers out there. There are also legit repair shops out
there. I don't know if this is still true, but auto repairs wind up being
very high on the list of consumer complaints every year. So the fact that
some of us run into issues with mechanics is not surprising.
What is surprising is how easy it seems to be get into disputes with the
mechanics. A word of advice when you are getting work done. Get everything
in writing and then have both parties sign in agreement and give a copy to
each party. This way, when there is a dispute, it's all there to hand over
to a third party should things get out of control.
The number of shops that work on these cars is diminishing. The folks that
run the shops may be opportunists. Look at the demographics about car
enthusiasts - we all tend to fall into the group with fairly good cash
flow, many from dual income homes. If you're a marginal business and you
smell cash.... draw your own conclusions.
Cover your bases (by documenting) and you should be all set.
I've (unfortunately) been brought into several disputes along these lines.
In every case, the dispute could have been avoided with proper
documentation. Interestingly, at least one case that I am familiar with
involved a client who was totally unreasonable about the transaction. As
you might imagine, the situation wound up in court with the judgement
going to the client. But the situation was resolved in a civil manner.
I've always approached the shop doing work with me with some trepedation.
In same cases, my fears were realized and I wound up re-fixing things
after the shop screwed it up. When I find a shop that I can work with, I
try to keep the "relationship" going.
When you find a good mechanic - stick with them... finding them is the
hard part!
rml
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