Mechnic Responsbility? Liability question....


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Old 07-19-15, 09:37 AM
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Mechnic Responsbility? Liability question....

Took car to shop for possible repair.

Mechanic removed part to assess the repair.

Called with pricing.

I refused.

Part put back in.

If leakage or other damage occurred because of the removal of the part, even though I did not agree to go thru with the service, who is responsible?
 
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Old 07-19-15, 09:48 AM
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What was the part that needed replacing? Kind of hard for a mechanic to diagnose something until he can get to it - depending on what the issue is.
 
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Old 07-19-15, 11:04 AM
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Was the leakage there before you brought vehicle to the shop and was it specifically documented in work order? If yes, take car home and fix it yourself. If there was none and it was documented as none, shop did it.
 
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Old 07-19-15, 11:58 AM
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Having been in the repair business most of my life, issues like this are common. Technically the shop should have signs and policies to state in advance who would be responsible, however, if the work done to determine an estimate was done in good faith (they didn't damage it deliberately) then whether it was actually leaking or not, it was the result of a pre-existing condition. A bolt that has rusted in place and breaks when a mechanic tries to remove it is the responsibility of the owner, not the mechanic. Few repair services would last very long if they were damaging vehicles on purpose.

You didn't state what the failure was or what the remedy would be.

Bud
 
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Old 07-20-15, 06:48 AM
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Yes, would be interesting to know what the original complaint was and the part involved and nature of leak. Also why the repair wasn't agreed to. More info needed.
 
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Old 07-20-15, 10:29 AM
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I don't believe there is a leak and that this is purely a hypothetical question.

If leakage or other damage occurred because of the removal of the part, even though I did not agree to go thru with the service, who is responsible?
For what it's worth, I think if you paid the mechanic for his time and work he would have the liability. If you didn't pay him for his time I'd have to ask how would the mechanic be responsible because he would have no way of knowing if the leak was existing or just started. Without being paid, I doubt any mechanic would use new seals/gaskets to put your car back together.

I see the OP hasn't returned yet and maybe won't.
 
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Old 07-21-15, 02:23 AM
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ok reading this you infer that the leakage and or damage resulted from the removal of the part. Assuming this is fact then the next question is what was the original fault / defect and did this part have to be removed to ascertain the extent of the defect. If yes and you authorised the removal then the risk is yours unless the action to remove the part was negligent, very hard to prove. If the leak resulted from a consumable part, e.g a gasket that would normally be replaced each time this part is removed and or it fractured due to age /fair wear and tear then the risk is yours. Whether you paid to the investigative work or not has little to do with who is liable. Authorising the investigative work makes you responsible unless negligence occurred.
 
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Old 07-25-15, 02:50 PM
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As far as I'm concerned, any problems are likely on you. It's a fact of life that when working on aged cars or ones with some miles on them that certain things are going to be balky when taking them apart.

This could mean frozen nuts and bolts, wire connectors, hoses, various plastic widgets, or whatever.

It would help immensely if some actual detail was provided about what went wrong instead of throwing a generic question out there in an attempt to get moral backing for a position.
Not providing details is a very common malady in the auto repair world.

It's possible that if detail was provided I might even agree the shop should be responsible.
 
 

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