Need thoughtful advice on dealing with car repair business owner

[crenfro]

Hello.

I am praying to God to not let my usual faults of anger and greed get the best of me.

Here’s the situation:

I asked the owner of the auto repair shop some advice about what to do with my older car. After I finished explaining about my car, the car shop owner himself got interested in buying my car, and towed it, free of charge, to his shop. After looking it over for a while, he decided not to buy it.

Now there’s someone else who’s going to buy it, and the car repair shop owner said that he now feels he deserves to be paid $84.63 or something similar to that amount, because he said he spent a good 2 hours looking over it, put air in the tires, and is going to remove the license tags for me and look for the registration. I don’t feel that’s worth any $84.00, especially when he initially told me that the towing of my car was free and not to worry about it.

Any constructive comments coming from a genuine Christian perspective are appreciated. I’d like to do the right thing for once.

Thanks for listening and please pray for me.

 

[puzzleannie]

the man gave you 2 hours worth of his professional services, not to mention free towing, so at the minimum give him the standard 2 hour service fee for his shop. Good business practice, good ethics, and good for your soul.

 

[txstm]

the man gave you 2 hours worth of his professional services, not to mention free towing, so at the minimum give him the standard 2 hour service fee for his shop. Good business practice, good ethics, and good for your soul.

Unless the OP authorized the ‘service’, he doesn’t owe anything. It appears the time and expense the service shop owner put into it was to decide if he wanted to buy the car. He reconsidered buying it. The only thing the owner did was put air in the tires. The owner of the shop I take my cars to wouldn’t consider charging me for that.

OP, you didn’t mention receiving an invoice from the owner. You should insist on receiving one that shows exactly what work was performed on the car, other than just inspecting it. If there is in fact some value to you, (I don’t see it), then you should pay something. Otherwise, stand your ground.

 

[revert_jen]

It seems to me that if he was looking over the car because he wanted to buy it himself, that isn’t something you should pay for. Anyway, shouldn’t he have told you that he was going to charge you (and how much) before doing the work? I mean it can’t take more than 5-10 minutes to take the license plates off.

I wasn’t there of course, but that is how it seems to me from your post.

May God guide you to whatever the correct action is!

–Jen

 

[daeve]

It seems to me that if he was looking over the car because he wanted to buy it himself, that isn’t something you should pay for. Anyway, shouldn’t he have told you that he was going to charge you (and how much) before doing the work? I mean it can’t take more than 5-10 minutes to take the license plates off.

I wasn’t there of course, but that is how it seems to me from your post.

May God guide you to whatever the correct action is!

–Jen

My thoughts too. He inspected the car for his benefit, not yours. He decided not to buy it, but other than taking off the tags what did he do for you. I’m not sure how he’d find the registration for it. Don’t you already have that?

 

[crenfro]

You are correct. His intention was to buy the car. Just before the car was towed I asked the car shop owner, “how much do I owe you for the tow?” and he replied “no charge.”

He wants to be paid for the time he took to look it over, he said it was about for 2 hours. This looking over of the car was for him to decide if he wanted to buy it.

I know it’s proper to do ethical business practices, but it’s also proper not to confirm another in sin, which I wonder if I’ll be doing that by paying him money for something that wasn’t agreed upon.

Isn’t demanding money for something not agreed upon a form of theft or fraud?

Or am I wrong? I don’t feel like I can be objective about this situation at this time.

It seems to me that if he was looking over the car because he wanted to buy it himself, that isn’t something you should pay for. Anyway, shouldn’t he have told you that he was going to charge you (and how much) before doing the work? I mean it can’t take more than 5-10 minutes to take the license plates off.

I wasn’t there of course, but that is how it seems to me from your post.

May God guide you to whatever the correct action is!

–Jen

 

[revert_jen]

Isn’t demanding money for something not agreed upon a form of theft or fraud?

Not really. It’s only fraud if he is demanding money for something he didn’t actually do. And it’s only theft if he takes the money, not if he talks you into giving it to him. That does’t mean you owe him the money, just that it’s not theft or fraud.

Or am I wrong? I don’t feel like I can be objective about this situation at this time.

I’d argue against it for a while, but in the end you might agree to compromise on half the amount, unless it is a hardship.

–Jen

 

[camerong]

How did he spend 2 hours looking at the car? Did he actually start taking things apart? I can’t imagine looking at a vehicle more than 30 minutes. Is it a really old car, or a really expensive car? I think that 2 hour rate sounds pretty fishy; a decent mechanic can do a LOT in 2 hours.

I don’t think your morally or legally bound to pay these charges. You simply never asked to have the work done, and you didn’t even receive a benefit (except to have air in the tires, the value of which is roughly free). It is decidedly NOT the Christian thing to do to let scummy mechanics take advantage of people.

 

[Newbie2]

I’d have to agree that you are not morally obligated to pay him anything.

Let’s say he wasn’t a professonal mechanic, but a “shadetree” mechanic, who drove your car over to his house to look it over and see if he wanted to buy it, then asked you for money for the time he spent looking it over. Would that change things?

Of course not. The fact that this guy is a mechanic has nothing to do with the morality of him asking you to pay him for something which you never agreed to pay for, not to mention it was for his benefit, not in any way yours.

Unless he told you something like: “You should probably fix the XYZ before you try to sell it to someone else” or “You really shouldn’t drive this without fixing the ABC”, you have no obligation to pay him a single cent.

Remember, IF he’s asking you for money for a look-over, then he owes you the information he obtained while looking that over, and that includes what’s OK as well as what’s not OK. He’s asking you to pay for information that you didn’t ask for and was only beneficial to him, if he didn’t give you a report.

Now if he gave you useful information on your car, i.e. that your XYZ needs replacing, you should probably think about negotiating paying him at least something, and chalk it up as a misunderstanding. Before doing that, though, you should insist on a complete written report as to what’s OK and what’s not OK with the car. Any mechanic who spent*** two hours*** on a checkup should provide that.

If he is unwilling to do so, don’t pay him a cent and walk away with a clear conscience. If he does, then negotiate at least a partial payment, maybe half, and you’ve gone the distance as a Christian.

 

[Zatzat]

Hello.

I am praying to God to not let my usual faults of anger and greed get the best of me.

Here’s the situation:

I asked the owner of the auto repair shop some advice about what to do with my older car. After I finished explaining about my car, the car shop owner himself got interested in buying my car, and towed it, free of charge, to his shop. After looking it over for a while, he decided not to buy it.

Now there’s someone else who’s going to buy it, and the car repair shop owner said that he now feels he deserves to be paid $84.63 or something similar to that amount, because he said he spent a good 2 hours looking over it, put air in the tires, and is going to remove the license tags for me and look for the registration. I don’t feel that’s worth any $84.00, especially when he initially told me that the towing of my car was free and not to worry about it.

Any constructive comments coming from a genuine Christian perspective are appreciated. I’d like to do the right thing for once.

Thanks for listening and please pray for me.

You’ve got to pick your battles. You are involved in a civil dispute.

You have two choices, pay the man, get your car.

Refuse to pay the man, take him to small claims court.

If the man refuses to reason with you, pay the man and lesson learned. You could also pay the man, get your car back and then take him to small claims court.

That’d be a hassle! Yes?

 

[Zatzat]

How did he spend 2 hours looking at the car? Did he actually start taking things apart? I can’t imagine looking at a vehicle more than 30 minutes. Is it a really old car, or a really expensive car? I think that 2 hour rate sounds pretty fishy; a decent mechanic can do a LOT in 2 hours.

I don’t think your morally or legally bound to pay these charges. You simply never asked to have the work done, and you didn’t even receive a benefit (except to have air in the tires, the value of which is roughly free). It is decidedly NOT the Christian thing to do to let scummy mechanics take advantage of people.

That’s why it’s a civil dispute. The mechanic says he is legally owed the money. The op says he owes him nothing.

If the mechanic has possession of the car, at least where I live, the mechanics and liens act allows for the mechanic to retain possession of the vehicle until payment is received. Further, in the abscence of a court injunction, the mechanic becomes the owner of the vehicle after three months.

I’m not certain as to the status of the car…who has it.
, the OP or the mechanic?

If the OP has possession the car and he chooses not to pay, the mechanics only legal recourse is to take him to small claims court. What mechanic would do that for $85?

If I didnlt authorize work done on my car and I had a verbal contract that he would tow my car for free to look it over and no agreement was reached that money would be owed and no agreement was made that services would be rendered. I’d not feel that I didn’t have a legal or moral obligatiuon to pay.

But to get my car back, I’d pay.

 

[Catholic1954]

I do not see where you agreed to pay this guy $84.00 to tow your car, put air in the tires and look for the registration; he offered to do for free. I think you owe him nothing. Maybe you guys could just split the difference and be on your way?

 

[crenfro]

Thank you all for your considerate replies.

I own the car, I have the title, it’s all paid for. After the car repair man looked over my car he found that the fuel pump wasn’t working and that’s when he decided he no longer wanted the car.

I also called up my dad about this, and my dad said when he was young, he would have been enraged if a mechanic had done something like this, but now that my dad is a well-established senior citizen, he said he understands where the car repair man is “coming from” and that he (my dad) too would charge someone just as the car repair man did to me.

That sounds like a form of entitlement to me, something I believe I’m afflicted with and wish I weren’t - I want, in my heart, to rely on God - but old habits are hard to break even with God on my side. Anyway, what my dad said bothered me, first, because I respect his opinion and also because I don’t think he’s right on this.

I dunno.

I hear “pay the guy and avoid the hassle” and “stick up for your rights, no matter what,” and I don’t like either of these. Aren’t we supposed to show mercy to each other? But aren’t we supposed to correct, with love, those who wrong us?

I know this is a small thing, but it’s eating at me. I asked my husband to meet with the auto repair man and stuff because it upsets me and he’s agreed to.

Sorry to be so long-winded. Thank you all again for your (name removed by moderator)ut. Many blessings.

 

[PatriceA]

Thank you all for your considerate replies.

I own the car, I have the title, it’s all paid for. After the car repair man looked over my car he found that the fuel pump wasn’t working and that’s when he decided he no longer wanted the car.

I also called up my dad about this, and my dad said when he was young, he would have been enraged if a mechanic had done something like this, but now that my dad is a well-established senior citizen, he said he understands where the car repair man is “coming from” and that he (my dad) too would charge someone just as the car repair man did to me.

That sounds like a form of entitlement to me, something I believe I’m afflicted with and wish I weren’t - I want, in my heart, to rely on God - but old habits are hard to break even with God on my side. Anyway, what my dad said bothered me, first, because I respect his opinion and also because I don’t think he’s right on this.

I dunno.

I hear “pay the guy and avoid the hassle” and “stick up for your rights, no matter what,” and I don’t like either of these. Aren’t we supposed to show mercy to each other? But aren’t we supposed to correct, with love, those who wrong us?

I know this is a small thing, but it’s eating at me. I asked my husband to meet with the auto repair man and stuff because it upsets me and he’s agreed to.

Sorry to be so long-winded. Thank you all again for your (name removed by moderator)ut. Many blessings.

I think at the point you asked the car repair guy for advice about your old car is when you entered into a situation that you were going to have to owe him some money at some point for his services. It would be different if say you had a for sale sign on the car someplace, he wanted to look at it before he bought it and took it back to his shop on his own, with your approval of course. But you approached him for his advice because of his experience as a repair man. If you had driven the car to the actual repair shop and asked him for advice you still probably would have ended up with a fee for him looking over the car, whether he wanted to buy it or not. And the the sum he charged you for, is pretty standard around here for labor at a car service center.

 

[Zatzat]

You didn’t answer the question…who has possession of the car?

If it’s you, tell him if wants his $84, that he can take you to court.

As far as all your talk about mercy…money doesn’t care about mercy.

 

[Zatzat]

I think at the point you asked the car repair guy for advice about your old car is when you entered into a situation that you were going to have to owe him some money at some point for his services. It would be different if say you had a for sale sign on the car someplace, he wanted to look at it before he bought it and took it back to his shop on his own, with your approval of course. But you approached him for his advice because of his experience as a repair man. If you had driven the car to the actual repair shop and asked him for advice you still probably would have ended up with a fee for him looking over the car, whether he wanted to buy it or not. And the the sum he charged you for, is pretty standard around here for labor at a car service center.

This advice is off themark. Your suggesting that if someone asks a mechanic a question, they’re entitled to payment? Have you gotten a mechanic confused with a lawyer on retainer?

You’re missing main point…the sole reason the mechanic looked at the car was to decide if he wanted to buy it!

Am I to believe that you think I can go around looking at cars for sale and then demand that the seller pay me for the time I spent looking at the car?

To the op, you asked if the mechanic is committing fraud or theft…no, neither. It’a contract dispute…( verbal). Civil dispute.

 

[PatriceA]

This advice is off themark. Your suggesting that if someone asks a mechanic a question, they’re entitled to payment? Have you gotten a mechanic confused with a lawyer on retainer?

You’re missing main point…the sole reason the mechanic looked at the car was to decide if he wanted to buy it!

Am I to believe that you think I can go around looking at cars for sale and then demand that the seller pay me for the time I spent looking at the car?

To the op, you asked if the mechanic is committing fraud or theft…no, neither. It’a contract dispute…( verbal). Civil dispute.

No, go back and read the OP. She said she asked the repair guy for advice about what to do with her old car. After talking to her about it, it was THEN he decided he was thinking about buying it himself. And yes it is similar to asking advice from a lawyer, if I’m seeking advice from any professional person knowledgeable in the area I’m interested in, you better believe I think he’s going to charge at some point for that advice or else I wouldn’t ask him in the first place.

 

[Zatzat]

No, go back and read the OP. She said she asked the repair guy for advice about what to do with her old car. After talking to her about it, it was THEN he decided he was thinking about buying it himself. And yes it is similar to asking advice from a lawyer, if I’m seeking advice from any professional person knowledgeable in the area I’m interested in, you better believe I think he’s going to charge at some point for that advice or else I wouldn’t ask him in the first place.

Hmmm…

No, she had a conversation, not an agrrement, signed, verbal or otherwise that her conversation would cost $84.

Now you go back and read the original post…the mechanic is charging her for the two hours he spent looking over the car so that he could make a decision to buy it from her.

The mechanic, at no time, ever suggested he was billing her for answering a question.

…and an $84 question at that!

 

[PatriceA]

Hmmm…

No, she had a conversation, not an agrrement, signed, verbal or otherwise that her conversation would cost $84.

Now you go back and read the original post…the mechanic is charging her for the two hours he spent looking over the car so that he could make a decision to buy it from her.

The mechanic, at no time, ever suggested he was billing her for answering a question.

…and an $84 question at that!

I would argue that she entered a verbal agreement at the very least when she sought him out for his expert advice.

I just know in my mind, I would not have been surprised that he billed me for some kind of services at some point the minute I sought him out.

 

[Zatzat]

I would argue that she entered a verbal agreement at the very least when she sought him out for his expert advice.

I just know in my mind, I would not have been surprised that he billed me for some kind of services at some point the minute I sought him out.

I agree withu there. He feels entitled to payment…hence my insistence that this is a civil / contractual dispute.