So in a nutshell, took my wifes 2001 nissan pathfinder to my mechanic I've been dealing with for almost 20 years, car was over heating and needed an inspection, after all said and done I was quoted (othe misc stuff) $1800, got a call the car was fine and the price was already more than I wanted to pay, i get a call yesterday telling me the car is still overheating and I need a new headgasket, whic is not cheap, what are my legal rights if I was quoted an amount to fix the problem now they've added more on to it that I cannot afford and which would make the repair more than the car, sounds like a bait and switch to me, an advice would help because if I pay$1800 and bring the car home, I will have the same problem and wont be able to drive it.

 

So misc stuff done for 1800 ?? and was this quote suppose to take care of the overheating problem too?? if does.. they misdiagnose and you should negotiate the final pricing.. OR take your loss and head to another shop

 

Yep was supposed to fix everything, just spoke to them and they are now telling me when they take the thermostat out it does not overheat, does that make sense

 

That's I would do in the first place. it is not efficient, but it gives you time until you can it get fixed properly. You could have replaced your radiator and thermostat in the first place. Assuming there is no leaks.

 

They did change the thermostat and the radiatora at the same time, so I will be good without it for now?

 

Maybe if you had a substantial coolant leak and the cooling system wouldn't hold enough pressure to test for head gaskets, they'd have an excuse. They still should have told you that having a blown head gasket was a possibility. At that point you know that repairs might exceed $3000 or so and might have decided to do none of the work. Like closetprisoner said; try to negotiate with them. If not, involve the bureau of automotive regulation.(assuming your state has one) Let the shop know that you intend to do this as well. I don't know how effective your bar is, but I've seen them make a shop return the entire amount over a paperwork error. The $3000 is for the stuff you needed along with head gaskets. Taking out the thermostat is a band-aid; forget about that.

 

Yeah, if you've done business for 20 years with this mechanic.....you should be able to work something out. The overheating caused by a coolant system problem has caused the head gasket to go bad along with possible head warpage. This is expensive work !

Anytime you notice the normal running temperature go high, the cooling system needs to be checked promptly for leaks or other issues such as a bad sensor or fan. Hopefully, your negligence didn't contribute to the current problem. There's usually warning signs of some sort.

Today's motors with alloy heads don't hold up well to overheating. Lot's of things get compromised by the extreme exposure to heat when the cooling system goes bad. Talk to your mechanic about the present options and he may adjust the initial charges accordingly.

 

Funny, seems like this always happens at the repair shop.

I mean C'mon, you don't go out to dinner only to have the chef come out and say, "Well, that steak was really hard to cook. I'm gonna need to charge you more for your food than what the menu says."

 

I don't think your own negligence caused the problem. If the quote was based on fixing the problem, and the problem was not corrected by the repairs you paid for then you have some ground to refuse to pay anything further. You may also have a claim against the mechanic for payment of additional sums of money you spend to get the problem fixed. I would explain that to him and negotiate a reasonable solution.

If not, pay for the work with a check and on the note line write "Payment under protest with a full reservation of rights to recoup further funds expended to complete repair work not performed." Then go get the work done by a mechanic. Present the old mechanic with the bill and a letter stating you are requesting he pay the amount needed to complete repairs he contracted to perform but failed to deliver. If he does not pay, get that in writing. At that point, you have enough documentation to visit an attorney to go after the shop for amounts you spent to fix the car.

That is how I would handle it. Document everything, you will be happy you did at a later time.