Legal Question in Consumer Law in Massachusetts

auto shop don't not fix , and poss. sold my car!!!

I had brought a 1991 Cadillac Coupe Deville in to have an engine replaced. I had the engine supplied to the shop from a well known supplier in our area.(The engine was running and sound prior to delivey) Upon arrival of engine, I recieved a call from the mechanic telling me that the water pump and starter needed to be taken from my old engine and placed on the new. then recieved another call stating that the starter was no good & needed replacing. Reluctantly, I approved this. I then recieved yet another call, stating that a bolt snapped while trying to remove the water pump from the new engine. finally car is finished, I had car back for approx: a week and the water pump blew. unable to access the engine compartment,(Hood Wedged down) I had it towed home, than towed back to garage. Where I was able to see that the broken bolt was never replaced! I feel that the garage should be held responasable for their services and repair and/or replace this at their exspense,not mine. I have not been allowed my car back nor any moneys spent.(approx:$2,000.00)I have learned recently that my car has been seen driving around locally, and has poss. been sold!! What do I do and how do I approach this. Thank you in advance for your time and effort


Asked on 10/12/05, 9:48 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Raymond P. Bilodeau Law Office of Raymond P. Bilodeau

Re: auto shop don't not fix , and poss. sold my car!!!

Since you don't provide any dates or time-frames, it's hard to answer this question. It will be a battle of mechanics and a question of whether you should have tried opening the hood and servicing whatever went wrong before you were on the highway.

If the car was towed to the garage and they told you they would charge you for storage unless you removed it or paid for work to be done, and you did nothing until the storage charges came to more than the vehicle was worth, you have another problem.

If all this happened within the last week or two, you have more of a chance of doing something.

If it has been less than 2 years since the car was towed to the garage, you can send the garage a consumer protection letter "pursuant to Mass. General Laws Chapter 93A" certified mail return receipt, stating what you feel they did wrong and what you want them to do about it. They have 30 days to respond with a written offer. If they do not respond or the response is inadequate, you can then sue them and ask for double or treble damages and attorney's fees. Sample letters are available at the Attorney General's consumer protection web site and at local consumer protection offices, if you have one.

I do these letters for $200, and some reasonable period of negotiation, and if the matter doesn't settle, we can discuss taking it to court and what my fee would be for that. I would need to meet with you and review all the facts and any documentation you have for any of it.

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Answered on 10/12/05, 10:22 am


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