SHOP TALK: WHEN A CUSTOMER DECIDES TO CHANGE THE PRICE OF REPAIRS AFTER THE REPAIRS ARE DONE!

never release a car and quote in writing.

Bring the $700
Ok great now your balance is $300
You have till end of week before i put a lien on the vehicle
Thankyou dont come again

You forgot your phone ok no problem just run across the road and come back , ill still be here as will your car , we arent going anywhere

You appear to be a very ethical and honest guy and businessman. You did the rigjt thing in the end. That guy is slowly destrying himself in the eyes of others. Very self destructive individual. Good job and good lesson for you! Likely his business will fail in the end.

Don't be a punk make sure you get paid up front every time or the car keys don't leave your hands.

Learn to turn down work ,don't act desperate

I have walked away from repairs many times when it just doesn’t make sense. You know dam well your repair can’t fix a sh!t box and you also know your gonna own that sh!tbox if you touch it.

Be careful for the nice ones.

I had a customer who owed me money and wanted me to release her car to her so that she could go get cash. I offered to take her to the ATM right down the street because, at the time we only took cash, and she had a bad foot that was in a boot. She became angry and told me about losing her husband and a whole bunch of things that were not my business. At that point, I tuned her out, and she left and came back with the cash. Never trust an angry customer.

Trust everyone trust no one

i would walk across to him and pull the plates on that jeep until he pays...what a loser

Well said

I think you handled it just fine. That said, IMO as soon as you dug into it and saw how bad it was, you should have NO BID the thing. Sad to say, that is sometimes the only way to handle it, because some customers can't recognize when they're on a sinking ship. That Jeep sounds like it had been neglected for a long time. Tell the guy that you can try to help him find someone who will work on it, but that would be the extent of it. Just tell him, "Hey, we're new friends, I'd like for us to stay that way." 😄

Mistakes were made and hopefully you learned enough from it to make the "tuition" you paid worthwhile. Customer is a scoundrel, but you could have handled things much better than you did. But I'm not going to get into more details on that transaction.

But I will add that there is one glaring mistake that is completely on you which reflects poorly on your entire profession. In describing your business and how you operate it and what you do you should focus on what you do and don't do and never compare yourself with the competition unless the potential customer raises a specific situation which invites your reply. Stating that other shops, be they indies, franchises, or dealers are dishonest or unfair is simply an inappropriate thing to do, and is also insulting to all the honest mechanics out there.

There I nothing I can do to fix your customer, but hopefully I can offer some constructive criticism to help you improve.

I wouldn’t have filled out that emissions paperwork lmao

Customer doesn't get the vehicle until you get paid. Period.

That last part of the story 100% didn't happen. You're an NPC, stop acting like you're not.

Not an idiot, just trusting people will keep their word. I got out of the army with a ‘85 bronco and needed trans work bad, I didn’t have 2 nickels to rub together at the time. Went to a local aamco shop told the owner I had 500 cash and could bring 400 in 2 weeks and 400 in another 2 weeks. I was respectful called him sir but didn’t talk buddy buddy. He called me after a week work done, gave me my truck, when I paid him my final payment he said he wished he had more customers like that. I didn’t want any troubles or a work lien on my truck. I just never knew any other way to operate. We just can’t operate with trust these days.🤷‍♂️ just the way things are today.

In God We Trust! All others pay cash. Put a big sign on your business stating his business name, Doesn't Pay His Bills.

I would have told him that is the discounted price. I've been in the business about 46 years and this story happens so often.

They act like being friends should get cheaper rates but simple fact of the matter is that you have to charge your friends because your enemies won't do business with you.

You explain way too much.

We naturally want to trust people. Sad you cannot. In reality only a couple hundred dollars to discover an a**hole not bad.

That’s an age old tactic that they try to use on nieve contractors. Always have signed contracts on everything you do, maybe mechanics should start doing the same if haven’t already . Dont ever trust anyone including friends and family.

They should record all their calls too, there are inexpensive services for that

you did your best in a terrible situation. You did great! Just get cash before the vehicle leaves. Ive been in your shoes. You are a honorable man!

You run a business not a charity or a hobby. Tighten up your sales finalization process.

Tell him to come back for free oil change and don’t put oil in it.😂😂😂😂😂😂

Years ago, I was part of a music band who was hired to play a gig from a man who was bringing over from Saudi Arabia a prince, who he was hoping would buy into a winery business he was going to open. The guy put the prince and his entourage up at the Sheridan Inn. When the prince chose not to invest in his business, he stiffed my band and the Sheridan. We decided to sue him in small claims court, and he didn't show up, so we won a judgment by default . The Sheridan chose to just forget it, even though he owed them a lot more than he owed us (but was still within the limit set by the small claims court). Six months later he tried to get a loan and was refused because of our judgment, so he sent us a check for all that he owed us plus interest. So we got paid in full and the Sheridan lost out altogether. A judgment is easy to get and stays with him forever or until he pays it off.

You are a " damn good" egg. They fudged it up. I have a fairly decent group and wished I had you when I really needed a you. I have a scenario now that I have to interview perspective mechanics. They want to put me through a process I guess to determine if what I need is up to snuff. And I have an estimation of the average cost so we will both be in agreement. I am so sorry. But you are the winner on this. Well done

I would have done exactly what you did. Someone once asked me, "What do you do for a living?"

I replied, "I own a non-profit auto repair facility."

He said, "I've never heard of such a thing."

I told him, "Well, when I started, that wasn't my intent."

I wouldn't even touch something you are describing here!

Anyone who does work for someone else is at risk if they don’t pay before they leave. Wait until shops start asking for a deposit after estimate and before repairs.

"No one else wants to work on it" (after it starts leaking). Probably because you scammed every mechanic in town?

Once i did a minor service on a car for an old lady wearing a nun outfit she looked 70+ years old, that afternoon she came in to pay and pick the car up, she said can she use the car to go to the bank to get the money, me thinking yea thats ok shes a nice old lady and she a nun, end result i never saw her again all over a $139 service, if ya cant trust a nun who can ya trust.

The dude who ripped you off is a loser and the relative he sent over was a loser. You took your loss and should not beat yourself up for having faith in another human. It's honest decent people like you who make it easier for us to contend with the few bad apples in this world. Keep on keeping on and never look back...

Never release the car until paid in full period.

You are 1000% right

The worst experiences I’ve had are with people that I went out of the way to help.

I'm a retired remodeling contractor, shadetree mechanic. From a carpenter to a mechanic Trust No One! (Grew up in Hickory Hills)

I usually think everyone is honest until they prove otherwise except when money is involved.

I know how important your gut feelings are and personally I regret every time I ignore mine. I am also a great believer in karma

Good decision don't throw good money to bad. Wise decision.

I don’t get it. Mech says you could almost buy another one for the price of repairs. Cust says I have no choice. Well you do have a choice. Go buy a $4000 Car and walk away from the Jeep. Usually a 50% down on cost of repairs will make their choice.

Why do people think they can steal your labor? I bet they wouldn’t like it .

My dad used to say no good deed goes unpunished . It’s burned in my brain

Thank bob I only let this guy rip me off for 14 minutes of blathering on about his tale of stupidity.

Luckily for you the cost of tuition was only a couple of hundred bucks. It could have been way worse. Unfortunately you're probably not the only one who has experienced this situation with this guy. He's most likely burning his bridges all over town. Lesson learned. And rather cheaply I might add.

You learned a hard lesson. No pay no car