By jmon on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 10:46 pm: Edit

auto europa in san francisco is threatening to take me to small claims court (for their f--ck up)for work i did not aurthorize..i took my car in to auto e for warranty work to be done on my brakes..another nation wide shop messed up breaks, bearings , a hub etc etc...well i authorized for him to do front brake pads and front rotors thats it plus the warranty work...the owner of the shop was dealing with regional representive from the other company..the owner of auto europa apparently under their own assumption that the company would reimburse them for their "extra work" well it turns out they are not going to pay for the extra work and now he wants to charge me the extra 1100 dollars!!! the dude is bogus!! i did not authorize the work..he just did the ol "insurance thing" thinking that they would flip the entire bill....please help whoever can

By PerroneFord on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:06 pm: Edit

What extra work did they do?

By Robert Mann (Oldscout) on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:11 pm: Edit

Get in touch with The Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) is part of the California Department of Consumer Affairs. They can close a shop because they hold the license. Most owners don't mess around when it comes to the B.A.R. Here is a link:
http://www.AutoRepair.ca.gov

By jmon on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:20 pm: Edit

he said it needed to be done to make it safe...but before we brought to him..it was braking fine...except for the abs light on and a squeeking coming out of the right rear wheel..
extra work done-
-rear brake pad set
-2 wheel bearing
-2 wheel seal
-oil seal
-axle stud
-lock washer
-joint washer
-hub assym
-dot 4
-brake clean
-rtv sealant
-wd40
-beaing seal
thats it..

all that was needed to correct the warrant work..was one rr rear bearing..and re adjust the brakes.......i authorized front rotors and pads...thats it..

By r0ver4x4 on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:30 pm: Edit

I think you should get a Lawyer

r0ver4x4

By jmon on Wednesday, October 24, 2001 - 11:41 pm: Edit

lawyers do not go to small claims court, but i am contacting one tomorrow

By Ed H on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 12:11 am: Edit

Contact Channel 4 or maybe channel 5. Didn't they have this reporter named Mike that will help people for issues like your?

By PerroneFord on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 09:53 am: Edit

Hmmm...

That parts list looks like the shop did a bearing job while they were in there. And then bled the brakes. That squeaking coming out of the right rear wheel might have been bearing failure because it really sounds "squeaky" when it fails. If you drive on it that way for awhile, the broken bearing cage will score and ruin the axle stub(which is an expensive part).

Even so, the parts should not have totalled more than $350. Did they give you a breakdown of labor vs. parts? As the other guy said, California seems to have some good legal assistance for this kind of thing.

Best of luck,

-P

By ken on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 11:42 am: Edit

Before they do any work they are supposed to give you a quote to sign with a list of service and price. That's the law. if the final bill is to exceed that price by more then 10% they have to call you for autorization. if they fail to do any of that then you have nothing to worry about. Usally Small claims court is a scare tatic but you may find you have a counter suit if they don't release your car charge them for a rental, a days lost wages for court lost wages for time on phone talking with them if anything try and build a counter suit to at least match there's on merit so mabey the while thing would be a wash or mabey you might even come out ahead.
Good luck

By blue on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 12:26 pm: Edit

You need a 2X4. Just be sure to soak it in oil first so that it doesn't splinter too quickly when you beat the shit out of these guys at "auto e".

That "well, sir, we can't let it out the shop until it's safe" (and you have to therefore pay for work you didn't authorize) is a load of crap. Hold your ground and then counter-sue.

Also go to dinner with your girlfriend and pay with a credit card while someone else is beating them to a pulp for you.

By PerroneFord on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 12:31 pm: Edit

Damn.. that was funny!

By blue on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 01:03 pm: Edit

A nat'l auto chain tried the same shit with me on a brake job on my jeep. I authorized only front pads & turn front rotors if needed (rear had drums). They did front & rear pads and new rotors without asking first. Said the law required them to do it because it was "unsafe". I had them undo the work (except for front pads which I wanted in the first place), and then they tried to hold my truck ransom because they deemed it unsafe. I simply took the keys from the man's grubby hands by force, paid for the pads, and drove away. The damn "super special" pads squeeked so much that I went back 2 weeks later and demanded that they remove the pads, replace them with OEM that I brought it, and refund ALL my money. The son of a bitch did it as long as I agreed never to come back (I had taken the liberty of explaining my situation to some of his customers in the waiting room). Some of these assholes will walk all over you if you let them. Start talking to auto e customers and then watch them snap to attention and start doing whatever it takes to get you the hell out asap.

By Cartner on Thursday, October 25, 2001 - 05:17 pm: Edit

I"m gonna go with Blue's first suggestion....Self help IS always an option...

By jmon on Friday, October 26, 2001 - 10:05 pm: Edit

thaks for all of the responses..the funny ass ones too!!! long story short..got the car back ..and the owner of auto e ate shit!!! he got screwed so hard..by the time i was done with him on the phone.with all my legal stuff his messed up invoices in my hand he was apologizing to me and telling me "thank you for having the entegrity to take care of this" meaning thanks to talking to the original brake people....anyway he got little money for it ..i got my car back and it runs great!!! autor europa in san francisco is a very questionable place now..

By D. Bagnell on Sunday, November 18, 2001 - 03:27 pm: Edit

All's well that ends well, and I like it that you stood up for what you thought was right. But I wonder... why not take it to the dealer to begin with and skip all those after market shops?

After years of living overseas, where our company leased small fleets of cars for our employees, my habits have changed. I now buy my cars from a good dealer, based almost exclusively on their garage service.

Current champ in my experience: Hornburg Jaguar/Land Rover, on Sunset in Los Angeles, where I will buy a new Discovery II or maybe a Freelander in about three weeks. I once took a rented Jaguar in for a broken retractable antenna, just about five minutes before closing time. The head mechanic grabbed a spare unit and put it in himself on the spot - no charge.

Now that's what I call service.