Advice on disputed garage bill please

tripled

Hi,

I would be grateful if anyone could give me advice on the situation I am in.

I took my car to a mechanic I have used previously a few weeks before my MOT was due, as it needed new tyres and I wanted to know if it was worth doing or to just scrap the car. I asked the mechanic (who is an MOT tester) to look over the vehicle and advised him I was planning to scrap the vehicle if it would need much work doing to get through the MOT, as I couldn't afford to throw good money after bad (the year before I spent nearly £1,000 with him keeping the vehicle on the road).

The mechanic looked over the vehicle and told me it wouldn't cost much to get through (didn't say a price) and also he knew someone with 2nd hand tyres he may be able to get cheaply. Based on his advice I gave him the go-ahead to fit the tyres and also weld the exhaust.

Around three weeks later a front brake siezed on the vehicle, resulting in it needing new pads and discs. At the time he again assured me it was still worth getting the work done, so I authorised him to go ahead with this.

A couple of weeks after this a front brake hose ruptured. At the time of the initial inspection he had advised me new a new hose would be needed for the MOT (so would have been included in his initial 'costing'), as I needed the car back on the road I collected the brake hose and fitted it myself.

I then left the car with him for the MOT, this would be around 8 weeks after his initial assessment but the vehicle was off the road for the last 2 weeks as the MOT had expired and I was driving another vehicle. When I went to pick up the car, I was astonished to find a final invoice for £630 - significantly more than the value of the car. I removed all my possessions from the car and put in all spares/documentation I had (a new fuel filter, a new brake hose, old MOT certs, two worn spare tyres, the new keeper suppliment and the owner's manual). I wrote across the top of the invoice "I can't afford this, you'll have to take the car".

Around a month later, I recieved an updated bill through the post - the car had sold for £400 at auction, auction fees were £30 and he had added on £170 of expenses! These included new wiper blades, valeting and 'out of pocket expenses'. So he still wanted £425 off me.

I ignored the invoice to see if he would persue it, I have now had a letter from a solicitors saying I need to pay within 7 days or I will be taken to court.

At this point I assume I need to dispute the bill in writing and need to know the best course of action. I am planning first of all to ask for a breakdown of the labour costs (they are one lump on the bill), stating I dispute the charges but nothing else at this point, which is a reasonable request which should also buy me some time. Once this has come through I then planned to write a more detailed explanation of why I dispute the charges (see below), and if he launches court action I will counter claim for the scrap value of the vehicle.

The reasons I dispute the bill are:

• The mechanic assured me it was worth getting the repairs done on the car, although no quote was agreed it would be reasonable to assume it wasn't worth paying 60% more than the value of the car once repaired
• At no stage did he contact me to advise me the bill would be more than expected, accordingly I never authorised him to run up a bill that size, nor was able to cut my losses and tell him to stop work on the vehicle
• He ran up costs of £200 selling a car for £400, much of the expense would seem to be unnecessary so he hasn't tried to mitigate his losses
• If wasn't prepared to accept the car in exchange for the work, he should have notified me rather than sell it anyway
• I have lost out to the tune of £50 - £70 (scrap value of the vehicle) based on his advice

Sorry this is so long winded, any advice would be gratefully accepted!

Note: I have also posted on cag - http://www.consumeractiongroup.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?282459-Refused-to-pay-unexpectedly-high-car-repair-bill-garage-trying-to-sue&p=3183262#post3183262

Keith

The question is then is a years motoring worth £590, £630 less test fee.

Sounds like your car was at the end of it's life, lacked servicing and needed a fair bit of work. You've not detailed what it needed for the mot.

As it stands, you've perhaps have an invoice for services rendered, given the car in exchange, auction has added fees and you are left with a balance to pay.

Scrap value doesn't apply, you handed the vehicle over in exchange for the service you had, he's got that back by selling the car and the sale fee minus auction fees is the value he's discounted from the sum you owe.

atrixblue.-MFR-.

to be honest the OP asked the mecanic of his professional opinion regarding the fitness of the vehicle, cost of repairs and economical of repairing given age and state, the op also told mechanic that she/he couldnt afford allot of work to be carried out in order for it to pass.

i would seek a solicitor, ask you solicitor to get the reciept of works carried out on the vehicle, his out of pocket expenses etc and see where you go from there.

tripled

Keith wrote: »

The question is then is a years motoring worth £590, £630 less test fee.

No, as I I had another vehicle (a van), although it is more expensive to run. Also the welded exhaust would have needed replacing at some point and the 2nd hand tyres wouldn't have had a year's use in them either, so a couple of hundred quid or more would probably have to have been spent in the next 6 months.

Sounds like your car was at the end of it's life, lacked servicing and needed a fair bit of work. You've not detailed what it needed for the mot.

Which is why I was thinking of scrapping it.

As it stands, you've perhaps have an invoice for services rendered, given the car in exchange, auction has added fees and you are left with a balance to pay.

Auction fees were £30 out of the £400 it sold for. The rest is various other charges he's added on.

Scrap value doesn't apply, you handed the vehicle over in exchange for the service you had, he's got that back by selling the car and the sale fee minus auction fees is the value he's discounted from the sum you owe.

I have a quantifiable financial loss as a result of his bad advice and him carrying out expensive repairs without my authorisation. I had no intention of asking him for it or persuing it but writing it off to experience, however if he wants to chase me then I can't see any harm in asking a court to consider it.

Kefte

I'd also ring round a couple of other garages and have a quote done for the same work on the same model/year car. As that quote seems like a lot of money in my past experience.

I had bee using a garage regularly for my car for simple works, mainly as they were quick. When my clutch went I dropped it off, I rang up for a quote told me they didn't know yet, when they eventually did tell me it was almost £900, I told them I didn't want it doing but apparently they'd already started, rang around a couple of garages and got prices between £500-£600, in the end we negotiated £600.. So I would ring around to see if that price is "fair" considering they didn't give you an initial quote.

I don't know make/model etc.. of car or if where you live is particularly expensive but similar repairs plus MOT on my cars have been half that price.

LandyAndy

If you'd wanted a detailed analysis of how much it would cost to MoT you should have had him MoT it in the first instance and provide a written quotation at that point. That you drove it between his initial assesment and the time of the MoT repairs weakens your position as there is no telling what you did to it in that period.

He hasn't issued proceedings yet but I suspect he will. What he is looking to recoup must be chiefly his time costs. Personally I would approach him and offer £100 to settle or at least try to negotiate a settlement. I think your chances in court are no better than 50/50 and probably considerably worse..

tripled

I've written a letter saying I dispute the amount owing and asking for a breakdown of the charges on there along with supporting evidence (e.g. reciepts for the 'out of pocket expenses'). Once I've had that through then I can make a more informed desicion on how to proceed. Thanks for the advice!