It costs HOW much when it was repaired under recall?

December 31, 2010 3:56 PM

Should I try to negotiate this car repair bill? If so, how?

I'll try to keep this short and answer any questions that come up.

My car was stalling while driving; yes, stalling in traffic causing dangerous situations. It was pretty random with no easily discernible pattern.

Took car to the Volvo-specialist garage I've trusted for almost 20 years. We (they) started on a long road in replacing parts in an attempt to fix the problem.

Eight garage visits and a couple months later, multiple parts replaced (air sensor, fuel sensor etc.), days without a car, car still stalls in traffic. I finally get frustrated and search online.

And find that there's a recall on my car with this symptom (there's also a similar issue that hasn't had a recall issued yet). I print both out and bring them to my garage and ask if these have been ruled out yet. The owner says, oh! this could be it, but the car will need to go to the dealer for the fix. They take the car to the dealer, it is fixed at no charge because of the recall, and return the car to me. The car is now running fine, no issues. Terrific, right?

But. Garage wants to charge me over 1200 dollars for the parts and labor I didn't need. They didn't know about the recall from 2007, even though they work on Volvos only.

I have not been in this situation before. I would like to do the right thing, and I would like to maintain a workable relationship with the garage if I can because of our long business relationship. But I am not feeling good about how they have handled the issue or the amount due. Do I suck up and pay (and take my business to other limited options) or is there a way to successfully negotiate this for both sides?

All advice welcome.

posted by vers to grab bag (14 answers total)

It's likely that your state has a "Bureau of Automotive Repair" like the one in California, for example. They can facilitate negotiation like this.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 4:01 PM on December 31, 2010

That sounds like massive incompetence on their part and I wouldn't a) be paying or b) going there again. If they've got a problem with that, I'd be happy to let small claims court decide. I'm all for doing the right thing, but it would have been better if they had done the right thing from the start. They're the professionals, and it's their business to know this stuff.
posted by sageleaf at 4:06 PM on December 31, 2010

If future business dealings are desired, I suggest you make your case to the garage, and then offer them a "meet me halfway on this" scenario... That shows them that you want to continue to do business with them, that you realize everyone can make a mistake, and that you're willing to work with them a bit on it... I say this from the perspective of a man that's in business for himself. If they're decent folks, they should work with you, and they should definitely admit to their mistakes... If they're unwilling to meet you halfway (which would be a pretty seriously awesome act, on your part, btw..) then they don't deserve your business in the future!
posted by Glendale at 4:12 PM on December 31, 2010

Before making any moves, google your state/country plus "mechanic's lien".
posted by Houstonian at 5:26 PM on December 31, 2010 [2 favorites]

I'd be more likely to try first in a more asynchronous communication method, like email ideally, or a postal letter. The reason is, his money is already spent. The parts were bought, the mechanics paid. He may have to think about if/how he can afford to be cool about it and make a fair offer to you. As much as he might want to drop the whole charge, that might not be possible for him right now. (note: I'm not saying you're in the wrong; on the other hand, if he did his best, he deserves to get paid something for that even if not the full amount.) If you put him on the spot on the phone or in person you may not get as good a result. At least, if you have to call him, tell him the scoop and let him call you back later rather than demanding what he's going to do about it right then and there.

It may not work, but it's worth a try first, I think.
posted by ctmf at 7:11 PM on December 31, 2010

As dumb as they are, they tried in good faith to fix your problem, so you should pay the bill. This being said, you should pester them to bring the bill down as much as possible; perhaps they could only charge you their cost (on labour and parts), since their incompetence caused you to spend money you didn't need to spend.
posted by Simon Barclay at 7:18 PM on December 31, 2010

As part of your negotiations, offer to pay the negotiated amount in cash. This will somewhat sweeten the deal as far as the mechanic is concerned. My mechanic has knocked off a good amount off the bill when I pay cash for major work.
posted by a humble nudibranch at 8:12 PM on December 31, 2010

It depends on whether or not this shop has access to a program that looks up recalls. A lot of smaller shops don't but all dealerships do. The thing about recalls, they are so VIN specific that there is no way that any shop without access to this information is going to be able to possible remember every single recall. If they don't have access to this information, pay up, it's not their fault. For future reference, you can call the dealership up and provide your VIN and they can look up any recalls that your car may have.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:15 PM on December 31, 2010

I'd also be happy to put unneeded parts in your car in good faith, as long as you pay me too.

A mechanic who has an established relationship with a client who has likely spent many hundreds or thousands of dollars over the course of 20 years has a duty to have a better-than-middling knowledge about the vehicle he claims to specialize in, including being aware of recalls, particularly those that have the potential to kill people when the problem goes unfixed, and to not stick the client with the full cost of repairs that did exactly nothing to fix the problem. That's a big Hell No in my book. (So are run-on sentences, but I'm dumbfounded that there are people who think you should pay anything.) He should pay for his incompetence, not you.
posted by sageleaf at 9:16 PM on December 31, 2010 [1 favorite]

But. Garage wants to charge me over 1200 dollars for the parts and labor I didn't need.

Mechanics are not magic workers. When presented with a problem, you do not go for the most expensive and complicated fix first. You start with the most simple fix, because that's usually what does it. So you don't learn that you didn't need it until after it's done. I'm sorry, but you should have learned after 3 or 4 visits to the garage that you needed to take it to someone else. You need to provide us with some more information on this garage. How big is it and how modern is it? Call them up and ask them if they have access to Volvo recalls. If they do have access, then they should cut you some slack. If not, then I'm sorry, but you have to cough up the money. A lot of people in this thread are pretty ignorant about mechanics, shops and car work in general.
posted by MaryDellamorte at 9:31 PM on December 31, 2010

Stay away from the garage, the next recall is going to be a security risk. If they don't know about the recalls of their specialist brand, then they have no business being in the business. How much you pay in this case is irrelevant. The only thing that might have allowed you to remain a customer is if they had already at this point stated that they are completely reworking their processes to take recalls into account, i.e., if they had shown some shame rather than, or at least together with, a bill.
posted by labberdasher at 1:05 AM on January 1, 2011

I think it's important to note that the OP mentioned that he'd like to continue to do business with the garage. I don't know anything about running a garage, but I do know a thing or two about running a business, and if he wants to maintain a good working relationship with them, then he should consider compromising on the bill. I say this because I don't think the garage has a case for charging you the full amount (where's the negligence line here?) but you did authorize them to work on the vehicle a number of times....

I don't have any idea what the process is to gain access to recall information, but I personally wouldn't open a specialized shop (ie, working on only Volvos) if I didn't have access to that information, specifically. Seems like it would open you up to lawsuits/pissed off customers.

The fact of the matter is, humans don't always get it right the first time. If the OP recognizes this and values the previous relationship he's had with this garage, then it makes the most sense for him to have a man-to-man conversation in which he compromises a bit with the owner. If the business owner is an intelligent man, he'll recognize that a 600-800 dollar loss here translates into another 20 years of business with the OP.
posted by Glendale at 7:51 AM on January 1, 2011

nthing that the garage does not have a clear-cut obligation to reduce the bill, but there is enough of a business case for doing so ("I'd like to work with you guys again, but I'm feeling a bit stiffed here") that it's certainly fair to ask.

From the timing of the events, it appears you a) have the car in your possession and b) have not paid the bill yet? That's unusual, but frankly presents a bit of leverage on your part. Don't get me wrong; they could probably sue you for the bill so I'm not saying you can just walk away, but part of the issue is "I'll pay you $800 with no fuss, or we can dicker about this for a month or two." Perhaps not explicately stated, but implied.
posted by randomkeystrike at 1:36 PM on January 1, 2011

Thank you all for weighing in. It is interesting to see the range of responses, which somehow echo the ways in which I've been feeling conflicted about this. I am planning to call the owner of the garage again at the beginning of the week to get a few more details and try to open a negotiation. Yes, I have given them thousands in business over the years as well as many good references. Until now, I've been any business's ideal customer with this shop and they have done right by me.

I am fairly certain that the garage ran my car's VIN for recalls, since they asked me for it twice. I'll doublecheck that. It just burns me a bit that it was my novice, non-mechanic self that found the recall, but that point I was probably just looking harder than they were.

Yes, the car is in my possession and the charges are not paid in full -- and that is because the last repair might not have worked to fix the issue, again (and I've been a longtime customer). I have paid the garage about $700 of the total so far (could have put that in the original post, but didn't want to muddy things). I do still want to do the right thing and still not feel screwed over by what was likely bad luck more than incompetence.

I do realize that mechanical troubleshooting and repairs can be difficult and sometimes fallible. But this was hands down the most trying experience I've ever had with trying to get something fixed.

Hopefully, the owner and I will be able to reach a compromise. Pro negotiating tips will be welcome.
posted by vers at 2:14 PM on January 1, 2011