charge for check?

[Tominos]

hi, alright i got a question. i recently brought my car to the dealer to check out my radiator fan. also i got the honda care contract and it suppose to cover it. ok, after he was done checkin everything, he said he was gonna have to charge me like 30 bucks. i mean, shouldn't they tell you before they start to work on your car if they are going to charge you or not. also there was nothing wrong with the fan its just that the car runs so cool it never comes on. only reason i brought it in cuz i ran the car in my autoshop for about 20 minutes and the fan never came on. also, i haven't payed for it yet, and i asked him if he could bill me, and he said he can't bill me for labor. so i was just wondering what i should do, and if this has happened to anybody before or am i the only one. i just don't want to get cheated. thanks

[mellowboy]

Just pay him the 30 bucks. Its not worth fighting for. YES they should've told you before they checked it. Thats why i hate some mechanics or dealers..u can never trust them. IT happened to my dad and he got arrested cause they made him pay 1000 just to have the car checked? They didn't do that though...they switched the tranny for him without his permission. His tranny was bad so they figured my dad wanted to get it fixed but he never told them to fix it. Just ask them if you have to pay before they check your car next time.

[asnrefugee]

If I was your dad i would be a b!tch about it.
I would have told them to put my old trany back and dont charge me.
Then I would go to another place and get it changed.
ALL BECAUSE THEY I AINT GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO DO NETHING.

[mellowboy]

Originally posted by asnrefugee
If I was your dad i would be a b!tch about it.
I would have told them to put my old trany back and dont charge me.
Then I would go to another place and get it changed.
ALL BECAUSE THEY I AINT GIVE THEM PERMISSION TO DO NETHING.

OMG dude...my dad went off thats why he got arrested. For disturbance and refuse to pay! I got so pissed when i heard about this ( i was in arizona at the time). My dad kindly asked them to please put back my old transmission and they said it'll cost him extra. Then my dad told them i never said that i wanted another transmission at all and u guys installed it without my permission. Then the guy said well the guys already done the work and time is money. So he ended up arguing with him and they said can u please sit down we'll get the manager for you. They didn't so they ended up callin the cops. Thats pretty fucked up if u asked me.

[fritz_269]

Did you sign anything? If so, read it VERY carefully. They are required by law (at least in CA) to give you an estimate for all costs - BEFORE they start work - and that includes the cost of the estimate! This is a "binding" estimate. It is the absolute maximum they can charge you. If in process of doing the work, they find something else that needs to be fixed, they must get either verbal or written approval from you before they can charge you any more money.

Check the papers you have to see if there is some standard fee written in the fine print. If there is, you're screwed since you signed it - you should have read it.

If there isn't anything on the paper you signed about an estimate, or if you didn't sign anything at all, then you don't owe them squat! Stand up for your consumer rights! If they won't give you your car back, call the police. Always be polite and level-headed, even when threatining them with legal action. You don't want to end up like mellowboy's dad!

Also read your 'honda care' warranty papers carefully. I'm under the impression that there should be ZERO deductible for any work other than maintenance. I'm pretty sure there is for mine.

Shit like this pisses me off! Don't let them screw you!
Good luck, and let us know how it turns out.

[Tominos]

ok, first of all, i did not sign anything. i don't even have any papers at all. and about my car, i already have it back, i told them that i didn't have enough money to pay them and he said after thinking for a long time, that to come back on friday to pay for it. i still have not payed for it, im suppose to go pay for it tomorrow, but i am not gonna pay for that shit. on my honda care contract it says zero deductible. i can't believed i payed 1500 extra for it, if they are going to treat me like this. also, i was talkin to my autoshop teacher about this situation and he told me that, i don't have to sign for them to bill me though, because what is a traffic ticket? you don't sign for it but you have to pay. i have written an email to the service manager about it and still waiting for reply. i hope that they don't think that they can push consumers around like that, and try to scam me just because i am a teenager. i think that maybe he was trying to pocket the money or something, because i said why don't you bill me, and he said we can't bill you for labor. so i don't know what is going on right now, but im gonnna have a talk with the manager sometime. too bad i can't do it right now because im too busy and gonna go on vacation pretty soon. well thanks for all the help guys.

[fritz_269]

Originally posted by Tominos
i don't have to sign for them to bill me though, because what is a traffic ticket? you don't sign for it but you have to pay.

Yes and No. For the traffic ticket, you did sign a contract! When you signed for your driver's license, you agreed to pay all fines. Besides which, that is a violation of governmental law, not a private, consumer transaction.

It is true that 'verbal' agreements can be enforced by law, but they're damn hard to prove - and it sounds to me like you didn't have any kind of verbal agreement with this place either! I can't see any legal grounds for any claim they might have on you. You're well protected by consumer fraud laws. And your stance is particularly strong since they didn't actually do anything! and you have a zero deductible service contract.

It's absurd and it pisses me off. I highly recommend you don't ignore it though. Go back to them Monday and nicely enumerate the reasons why they shouldn't have charged you. Don't pay. The worst they could do would be to take you to small claims court (which would be a HUGE hassle for them), and even so - you'll beat their pants off.

BTW, just to cover your ass, you might want to type up everything that has happened about this. Sign and date it and get a non-family member to countersign it. Judges eat that shit up - and it keeps your memory of the events clear.

Good luck and FIGHT BACK!

[Tominos]

ok, i finally got a response back from the service manager at the dealer, and he said, if the service advisor didn't tell you in the very beginning then they are not going to charge me and he is going to talk to the service advisor about it.

[fritz_269]

Originally posted by Tominos
ok, i finally got a response back from the service manager at the dealer, and he said, if the service advisor didn't tell you in the very beginning then they are not going to charge me and he is going to talk to the service advisor about it.

Woo Hoo!

Congrats!