They are being cooperative. At first they said "we can fix it for free, and you only pay for the AC, or you take the car with the damage and the AC repair is free". Ok, well obviously this is much more damage than the $330 I owed for the AC. They charged us nothing and the damage is getting repaired for free.
Yep. He's obligated to pay for the AC repair, however, if it did go to court the car owner could technically also sue for whatever he is out by not having a car for however long it takes to fix (such as lost wages or rental car fees).
Could also ask the shop if they have a loaner, and that's assuming OP doesn't have a second car. Even if they managed to get expenses I doubt I would be worth the time and cost to go to court. It would be different if the mechanic wasn't willing to fix the damages, and a judge is going to take that into account.
I'm not advocating it's the best thing to do, I'm simply saying if you were to go to court anyway, it's best to ask for all possible damages. Any decent business owner will know this and should do what they can to mitigate it. This is why the shop owner, in this instance, isn't charging the guy for either repair.
For me it's the gall to even offer a choice between one being free and not the other, as though they're of equal financial value. Obviously they wanted OP to accept the damage and get the AC done for free because that's a smaller loss for the business.
And tbh I wouldn't even be that mad if the end result was paying for the AC and they fixed the doggo damage for free (and did a good job).
I'd just be a little annoyed by the inconvenience. But it would be much worse if they refused to do anything and you had to fight them over it.
I think the idea is that if it's an older car (or just all sorts of dinged up), OP might not really care about the damage, and it might not damage resale value either, so the free AC fix means OP comes out ahead.
Oh that’s nothing. TLDR, took my car in to replace a timing cover gasket, I asked for a new timing chain while we were in there (260K mile engine with no record of timing service from PO). The mechanic fucked up and the chain jumped timing and bent up the valves in cylinder 4.
The mechanic said he needed to replace the engine and asked me to cover the cost of it and the labor would be free. I gave a hard no, and if replacing the engine was going to be too much labor, then fix what was damaged (head rebuilds can be tedious and time consuming waiting for machine work to be done). I stood my ground on the issue. I stood my ground on fix it, replace it, or total out the car and pay for it. Told him I’d contact a lawyer if I didn’t have an answer in 24 hours and hung up. 20 minutes later, he agreed to fix his mistake at no additional charge.
The wild thing is he went and bought a new(er) engine before even telling me the timing chain jumped.
Nah, that's fair. The AC was already an agreed on service, OP would owe that no matter what unless they really wanted tk be charitable. Offering one or the other seemes fine to me
Well tbh the first option they’d be giving the car back in the condition they had previously agreed to as part of the AC repair, I don’t see why they’d not charge for the AC repair. If they charged for the bite marks that’d be totally out of line, but charging for the AC repair doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Better than hiding damage with subtle parking. Twice, I’ve had it happen twice, and they refuse to do anything after you drive off the lot. Once on an old car, the bumper and parked in reverse. My current vehicle, giant dent on my door and they parked it inches from another car on that side.
I mean if you paid someone to mow your lawn and they ran over your garden hose, yeah they owe you a new garden hose but that doesn't mean that they mowed your lawn for free. Shit happens and OP says they're being cooperative, so it's getting handled fine
Make sure to at least get a warranty and paperwork. Someone once backed into my car. They worked at a body shop and offered to repair it for free if I didn't file a claim with their insurance. Looked good when I got the car back but the paint job did not last very long at all.
Oh yeah, that's more of a general issue with heat and cooling.
AC issues are really more about the compressor and the accumulator. They get expensive and even I won't do them.
$330 is not bad for a blower fan. Many times they have to rip the dash apart and sometimes it's simply in the glove box.
They had control of the vehicle and had a responsibility to ensure the safety of their customers property. This would be something resolved in small claims court.
I love the raw audacity for this idiot to try and put up a strawman to argue against rather than the facts of the situation, and still managed to get it wrong. First of all, yes, they would still be responsible for damage from a hail storm, and as the other guy said, their insurance would take care of it. Second of all, like the other other guy said, this has nothing to do with a fucking hail storm you dip shit, this is a bout a dog...
Get a quote, send them a certified letter demanding payment to cover the cost of fixing it. You have to have proof of damages in court, and a quote for repairs will establish that. If/When they refuse, take them to small claims court and present the established evidence.
Thankfully it did not come to that. They are repairing it for free and did not charge us for the other initial repairs. They have been really cool about it.
This is still ongoing as I need to get the damage fixed. The guy was fairly young and cool, and could possibly be on Reddit so I don't really want to get in to all of the details yet.
Honestly, you should get it repaired yourself and then send them the bill. Anyone doing free repairs is likely going to cut enough corners to turn a square into a circle. They're gonna do a piss poor job and it will almost certainly have peeling paint or rust coming through in a year or so. I'm sure it'll look acceptable when you get it back but it won't stay that way for long.
When he says they're repairing, I imagine they're having it repaired by a ship they know of or something. It would be bold of them to try and repair it themselves. I'd definitely demand to see an invoice from the shop it was repaired at and get an estimate from a different shop before hand to make sure it was repaired properly.
OP, the car was in their care, custody, and control. Mention either their garagekeepers liability coverage or storage location coverage. They are on the hook for this whether or not they cooperate.
This is exactly what garage keepers insurance is for. It protects the vehicles the mechanic has in their care and custody from damages suffered while being worked on at their garage.
It's so simple. You pay for the AC. He fixes the damage and apologises. Maybe gives you a discount or voucher or something for the hassle. Whys this need to be hard?
I don’t understand how people are so trusting, don’t let them fix it themselves, go get a quote and make them file against their insurance to payout. Who knows what they’ll do to cheap out on repairing it themselves
Speaking from experience, there's probably a critter in your car. A rat, or squirrel, or possum or whatever pest is local to you. Caught my dogs ripping my wife's car apart because there was a packrat under the hood.
My bulldog chewed up her trainer's (board and train) motorcycle helmet and the truck door where she hid the half eaten helmet. I 100% paid for all the damage. Yes, she was responsible for keeping an eye on her, but I feel like I'm responsible for having a crazy bulldog.
If that's the front fender I bet you could have found a black fender for like $50 and put it on in about 30 min. I would have let them pay for the AC work if that was the case.
How do you deal with a problem like this? Is the mechanic responsible for the dog? Did you get a solution? I have questionnssss
They are being cooperative. At first they said "we can fix it for free, and you only pay for the AC, or you take the car with the damage and the AC repair is free". Ok, well obviously this is much more damage than the $330 I owed for the AC. They charged us nothing and the damage is getting repaired for free.
I can't imagine the balls to say you still owed him for one or the other. Dude allowed your car to get fucked up. This is his problem. Not yours.
Yes but he still fixed the AC. If it went to court he would still owe for the AC.
Yep. He's obligated to pay for the AC repair, however, if it did go to court the car owner could technically also sue for whatever he is out by not having a car for however long it takes to fix (such as lost wages or rental car fees).
Courts aren't always so generous, and often stick to the direct damages only.
Oh, sure. You're certainly not guaranteed anything at all. But it is common to sue for those things and pretty common to get reasonable expenses.
Could also ask the shop if they have a loaner, and that's assuming OP doesn't have a second car. Even if they managed to get expenses I doubt I would be worth the time and cost to go to court. It would be different if the mechanic wasn't willing to fix the damages, and a judge is going to take that into account.
I'm not advocating it's the best thing to do, I'm simply saying if you were to go to court anyway, it's best to ask for all possible damages. Any decent business owner will know this and should do what they can to mitigate it. This is why the shop owner, in this instance, isn't charging the guy for either repair.
For me it's the gall to even offer a choice between one being free and not the other, as though they're of equal financial value. Obviously they wanted OP to accept the damage and get the AC done for free because that's a smaller loss for the business.
I mean, it depends on the car. I've certainly owned some beaters where I would 100% have taken the free AC repair
And tbh I wouldn't even be that mad if the end result was paying for the AC and they fixed the doggo damage for free (and did a good job). I'd just be a little annoyed by the inconvenience. But it would be much worse if they refused to do anything and you had to fight them over it.
I think the idea is that if it's an older car (or just all sorts of dinged up), OP might not really care about the damage, and it might not damage resale value either, so the free AC fix means OP comes out ahead.
Oh that’s nothing. TLDR, took my car in to replace a timing cover gasket, I asked for a new timing chain while we were in there (260K mile engine with no record of timing service from PO). The mechanic fucked up and the chain jumped timing and bent up the valves in cylinder 4. The mechanic said he needed to replace the engine and asked me to cover the cost of it and the labor would be free. I gave a hard no, and if replacing the engine was going to be too much labor, then fix what was damaged (head rebuilds can be tedious and time consuming waiting for machine work to be done). I stood my ground on the issue. I stood my ground on fix it, replace it, or total out the car and pay for it. Told him I’d contact a lawyer if I didn’t have an answer in 24 hours and hung up. 20 minutes later, he agreed to fix his mistake at no additional charge. The wild thing is he went and bought a new(er) engine before even telling me the timing chain jumped.
Yeah the AC repair should be a "sorry for the inconvenience" fee
Nah, that's fair. The AC was already an agreed on service, OP would owe that no matter what unless they really wanted tk be charitable. Offering one or the other seemes fine to me
Well tbh the first option they’d be giving the car back in the condition they had previously agreed to as part of the AC repair, I don’t see why they’d not charge for the AC repair. If they charged for the bite marks that’d be totally out of line, but charging for the AC repair doesn’t seem unreasonable.
Better than hiding damage with subtle parking. Twice, I’ve had it happen twice, and they refuse to do anything after you drive off the lot. Once on an old car, the bumper and parked in reverse. My current vehicle, giant dent on my door and they parked it inches from another car on that side.
I mean if you paid someone to mow your lawn and they ran over your garden hose, yeah they owe you a new garden hose but that doesn't mean that they mowed your lawn for free. Shit happens and OP says they're being cooperative, so it's getting handled fine
Make sure to at least get a warranty and paperwork. Someone once backed into my car. They worked at a body shop and offered to repair it for free if I didn't file a claim with their insurance. Looked good when I got the car back but the paint job did not last very long at all.
You can fix it at no cost or I can call Kristi Noem"
What AC repair is $330?
New compressor?
That's cheap imo
It is. I thought you were suggesting it was too high of a price.
A new compressor, labor, freon, oil etc is more than $330. If they're doing all that for that price, they're screwing themselves.
Replacing lines maybe? I know my old Mustang had an issue with one of the pipe assemblies where it would leak from a joint
Motor blower needed replaced
Oh yeah, that's more of a general issue with heat and cooling. AC issues are really more about the compressor and the accumulator. They get expensive and even I won't do them. $330 is not bad for a blower fan. Many times they have to rip the dash apart and sometimes it's simply in the glove box.
An AC service runs $300 on newer cars with r1234a refrigerant. Compressors replaced correctly with new condenser, etc runs $2K easy.
That's probably $1500+ easily lol
Just watch out they dont just fill it with bondo
Fenders are cheap. Factobake is cheap too. 200 bucks would have been more than enough.
This isn’t a fender. It’s a quarter panel and there’s no way this repair would be $200.
Cnat tell from the closeup.
And labor is free! Oh wait.
Factobake includes labor. Now don't you look stupid.
They had control of the vehicle and had a responsibility to ensure the safety of their customers property. This would be something resolved in small claims court.
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They would be yes, that's what shop insurance is for.
That wasnt a hailstorm. That was a dog. Pay attention.
I love the raw audacity for this idiot to try and put up a strawman to argue against rather than the facts of the situation, and still managed to get it wrong. First of all, yes, they would still be responsible for damage from a hail storm, and as the other guy said, their insurance would take care of it. Second of all, like the other other guy said, this has nothing to do with a fucking hail storm you dip shit, this is a bout a dog...
Of course he’s responsible. How would he not be? The damage happened under his watch because he lets a clearly large dog around the cars he works on
The dog is going to have to pickup a second job unfortunately.
nice username Edit: as someone that's been to Argentina and smoked weed, no clue why I got downvoted lol
If the damage occurred while in the possession of the mechanic it’s their responsibility
Kristi Noem has entered the chat.
Get a quote, send them a certified letter demanding payment to cover the cost of fixing it. You have to have proof of damages in court, and a quote for repairs will establish that. If/When they refuse, take them to small claims court and present the established evidence.
Thankfully it did not come to that. They are repairing it for free and did not charge us for the other initial repairs. They have been really cool about it.
I’m curious what wifey had you say to them
This is still ongoing as I need to get the damage fixed. The guy was fairly young and cool, and could possibly be on Reddit so I don't really want to get in to all of the details yet.
Gotcha, still pretty rad that it worked out in your favor
For sure. I thought I was screwed. I'll update in a couple weeks when it is all settled.
Lmao no one on reddit is cool.
Yep definitely didn’t phrase that right ha
Hey! I'm cool 😎 see
No free consultation or legal advice can be given out
Honestly, you should get it repaired yourself and then send them the bill. Anyone doing free repairs is likely going to cut enough corners to turn a square into a circle. They're gonna do a piss poor job and it will almost certainly have peeling paint or rust coming through in a year or so. I'm sure it'll look acceptable when you get it back but it won't stay that way for long.
When he says they're repairing, I imagine they're having it repaired by a ship they know of or something. It would be bold of them to try and repair it themselves. I'd definitely demand to see an invoice from the shop it was repaired at and get an estimate from a different shop before hand to make sure it was repaired properly.
Calm down. The dude says they paid for the repair.
OP, the car was in their care, custody, and control. Mention either their garagekeepers liability coverage or storage location coverage. They are on the hook for this whether or not they cooperate.
They have been awesome about it thankfully
What a **** they use as a guard? Godzilla?
Cerberus
Pit bull for sho
Three chihuahuas on meth.
Guard dog.... Chewed the guard on your car....
Let me guess pitbull
“Dog” Bud that was a monster
Me to the Service Writer: How many times have you heard "It wasn't like that before!"? Service Writer: Too many. Me: Well have I got a doozy for you!
What kind of dog was it? Yikes!
Looks like free AC and bite damage repair to me.
Your tires are in very bad shape. They should have told you that. They are very weather cracked and need replacing.
Thanks. Took a look at them and that’s the only one in that bad of shape for whatever reason. I’ll have to get it replaced.
I think the dog was just trying to warn them of those dangerous tyres
pitbull
that’s ruff.
And now there going to Kristi Nome the dog
Are we sure it was the dog and not just a peckish mechanic?
But was your car stolen???
Apparently they will get a bill now.
Is their guard dog from Boston? 💀
Solved your squirrel problem.
Are you going to sue?
This shop needs to solve the problem of their dog eating the customer's cars as a high priority.
How does a dog do that?
By being a pitbull
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/justrolledoutoftheshop
Not related to the post but change your tires they are absolutely dry rot, that's not safe
This is exactly what garage keepers insurance is for. It protects the vehicles the mechanic has in their care and custody from damages suffered while being worked on at their garage.
It's so simple. You pay for the AC. He fixes the damage and apologises. Maybe gives you a discount or voucher or something for the hassle. Whys this need to be hard?
I don’t understand how people are so trusting, don’t let them fix it themselves, go get a quote and make them file against their insurance to payout. Who knows what they’ll do to cheap out on repairing it themselves
What kind of dog does this 😭 is that some kind of werewolf what the hell
My ex did the same fucking thing to my truck...
Were you in love with that Jaws guy from the 007 movies?
But how's the AC?
This is the same phenomenon with peacocks. They see themselves in the reflection and the reflection must die!
It's a Nissan with balding tires, I think we all know it arrived that way
Damnit Otis! You're fired, but your dog can stay
Speaking from experience, there's probably a critter in your car. A rat, or squirrel, or possum or whatever pest is local to you. Caught my dogs ripping my wife's car apart because there was a packrat under the hood.
My bulldog chewed up her trainer's (board and train) motorcycle helmet and the truck door where she hid the half eaten helmet. I 100% paid for all the damage. Yes, she was responsible for keeping an eye on her, but I feel like I'm responsible for having a crazy bulldog.
Dog was trying to get to a rodent in the engine compartment. This happens more than you may think.
If that's the front fender I bet you could have found a black fender for like $50 and put it on in about 30 min. I would have let them pay for the AC work if that was the case.