When is enough, enough?

[thenewuser]

I recently had my transmission rebuilt at a mom/pop shop because it was about $500 cheaper than other places, and told me the turn around time would be about 2 days. Well, after 2 weeks I finally get my truck back. At first I notice when its cold it wont go into gear. I rev it and it will barely move. Once it warmed up it would shift, but would pop into 2nd and 4th gear pretty hard. He told me it could just be a bubble in the line. So 500 miles later it is getting pretty violent and I tell him to fix it, he says it should be 2 days. So here I am a week and a half later still waiting for it.

My question is, if he doesn't fix it right this time (which is my guess) what legal actions should I take? Its not like I can just keep giving him my car for weeks at a time, I need it to be fixed and running properly. Any suggestions?

 

[VolcanoT4R]

I think you should have asked for a rental when you took it back in to get it fixed the second time.

As far as legal action goes, I'm not a lawyer, but the only thing I think you could do is sue for expenses incurred (like having to rent a car) as a direct result of the shops "negligence". At the end of the day, I think you'll find it won't be worth the time and effort to pursue legal action. When you go to pick it up, be polite and see if the owner will work with you for the lengthy repair(s). Possible refund? Maybe pay to have it detailed?

My experience with "mom-and-pop" shops with other vehicles is that you are trading your time for your money. Yeah, they'll do it for $500 cheaper, but they basically have to teach themselves how to do the repair which is why (imho) it takes longer for them to complete the repair.

I think your best bet is to chalk it up as a learning experience and not go back to that shop for such a complicated repair. Just my .02.

 

[who done it]

Hopefully you've paid with a credit card. I've learned to use all the credit car for most of these types of expenses because when the mechanic fudges up, you can hold them to some type of accountability. Not saying to abuse the system, but your time is valuable also.

 

[thenewuser]

Yea I would definitely rather not take legal action, but if he can't fix it then I won't have much of a choice. I would consider this a lesson learned but at the same time I need my car to work. I don't want to blow $2500 on something that is going to break on me within a few thousand miles and take it back to someone who isn't competent enough to fix it.

I did pay with a credit card, are you saying contact the company and ask to reverse the charges if he continues to not fix the problem?

 

[who done it]

I'm not saying reverse the entire charge, because lets face it he did the work and it may not be his fault completely. But you should ask him for some type of a refund. I had an issue with my alignment (went back twice) and they wouldn't give me my money back so I had the charges reversed as I had to get it aligned somewhere else.

I know the money differences between an alignment and tranny work are quite different, but if your looking into hiring a lawyer, reversing the charges may be a better route if he can't fix the problem.