Suing Auto Body Repair Shop for Unsafe Hood Repair

[somehelp]

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: Houston, Texas

On July 17th 2010 I got into a car accident. What happened was I ran into the passenger side of the vehicle due to a stop sign that was 1) not upright but at an angle 2)behind a large tree that completely hid the stop sign. I have already gone to court for this and had my case dismissed so it will not show up on my record.

My car however had a dented hood, a smashed bumper and a broken left head light. I went to body repair shop to have them fix my car and while I was at it I asked them to replaced my cracked windshield as well. The total to fix my car was $1,300. Keep in mind that this is a 1999 SUV which probably cost less than $3,000 today. I didn't call my insurance about it because I assumed that since it was my "fault" (running a stop sign) they won't cover any of the charges. So I decided to pay for the repair myself. I just wanted a safe car that would get me from point A to point B while I am in school.

I received my car about 5 days later and went out of town for a week. When I finally came back, I noticed that my license plate was never put back on the front bumper of my car, and the head lights did not work at night. I was going to come back in the very next week (this week) to have them fix the problem. Well, today while I was driving on the highway to buy class materials, the hood of my car completely flipped up and smashed into my windshield.

Completely in shock, I had to call my insurance to have them come and tow my car back to body repair shop. When I got there the owner (who knew nothing about cars, she even told me that she knew nothing and only the guys who worked for her can help me) was already gone, so we called her personal number using the shops phone given to us by one of the mechanics asking her to help us with the problem. She said she will not repair the car , and we would have to pay more money to have the hood and the windshield repaired again!

I am wondering if I should just take my car to another shop and bite my tongue to fix the the hood and windshield or do I actually have a case here?

I honestly don't want to spend more money on a lawyer just to lose this case. I am a student and honestly they can even trade in my car and give me a chumbucket, just as long as I can get to school on time and safely.

All suggestions and advice would be greatly appreciated and I want to thank you ahead of time for reading my story.

[Tort]

You could try
http://www.ripoffreport.com/
at least it will get their attention.