Legal Question in Civil Litigation in Pennsylvania
Property
About 2 months ago we paid a someone we knew through work almost $800 via check to purchase a new engine and parts to replace the engine in our car. The deal was we would give him $600 after the work was finished. Now two months later no car, in fact, we don't even know where it is and he admits that the engine still is tapping and now wants more money. Do we have any actions we can take as far as the check we gave him and in either case how do we go about getting our car back.
1 Answer from Attorneys
Re: Property
You asked about getting help from a bad shadetree mechanic.
As to the $800, if the check has been cashed then you will need to sue. If the check has no been cashed then you can stop payment.
It is a simple fact is that you cannot have an engine replaced in a car for $1,400. I would be surprised that you could even find an engine alone for that price. Nevertheless.
You can demand return of the car. Without an agreement for repair as required by statute and regulation the mechanic has NO claim to the car for a mechanic's lien or otherwise. You can pursue the matter with police and should be able to make a claim for theft, conversion, or extortion depending on the particulars. Do NOT threaten to report this matter to the police. That is generally against the law. Either make the report or don't.
Regards,
Roger