Ferrari Held Hostage

[Joeale123]

CALIFORNIA (LOS ANGELES)

All about me


I am 19 years old from Los Angeles and know absolutely nothing about how legal matters work.

My story

Over a year ago my father's old Ferrari broke down. I had it towed to the nearest mechanic. Apparently the cam belt slipped causing valves to break or something of that nature. (A common problem among this model.) Price to rebuild the engine- $13,000 After some negotiation we agreed on $8,800. (Only half the motor was rebuilt)
As time went on the car was "fixed." Communication between the shop and my father was very limited. He spends most of his time outside the country on business. After a while the shop left a message to come pick up the car. For one reason or another no one was available to pick up the car. A few months pass by and the own of the shop informs my father that he will have to charge a storage fee.
I then decided to contact the owner of the shop. He informed me that he has signs post in his shop stating his company can charge a storage fee. ($75 a day). I decided to take a surprise visit to the shop to see if i could locate these signs. I searched high and low and no sign was spotted.
A month or two pass and my father goes to pick up his car with a bank check for 12,000. (The amount it cost to fix the car + storage chargers that were never agreed on)

After a test drive the car ran strong except for one problem. A grinding noise that was coming from the engine. The owner/mechanic told me that this problem will go away after the car is driven for a while (500miles).
~All deals were verbal~

What I would like to happen

Pay $8,800 for the repairs and receive the car

Questions
-Do I have to pay storage fee's that were never agreed upon? If so why? the car was never fixed completely.
-What can I do to get my car!

[cyjeff]

Storage fees are common.

You cannot just leave your car at a place of business for several months without being charged for the storage.

If you are wondering about the repair, take it to another shop and have them do a diagnostic.

[Joeale123]

Storage fees are common.

You cannot just leave your car at a place of business for several months without being charged for the storage.
I agree but I never agreed to any storage charges. Also, why should I pay storage for a car that isn't complete.(rattle noise)

If you are wondering about the repair, take it to another shop and have them do a diagnostic.[B]I am afraid of paying the $12,000 for a mechanical work that in my opinion is unfinished and then having to reservice the car.

[cyjeff]

Storage fees are common.

You cannot just leave your car at a place of business for several months without being charged for the storage.
I agree but I never agreed to any storage charges. Also, why should I pay storage for a car that isn't complete.(rattle noise)

If you are wondering about the repair, take it to another shop and have them do a diagnostic.[B]I am afraid of paying the $12,000 for a mechanical work that in my opinion is unfinished and then having to reservice the car.

Wait a minute.

You were told months ago that your car was completed. Between now and then, you couldn't get around to picking it up.

Look at it this way. You borrow a friend's pickup truck to move. you tell him to come pick it up. Instead, he leaves it parked in your driveway for months.

What do you do?

Look at the bottom of the form you signed authorizing the work. Usually, the storage charges are listed there.

Lastly, you should have asked rather than to assume someone would store your Ferrari for months out of the goodness of their heart.

[Mr. Knowitall]

You were told months ago that your car was completed. Between now and then, you couldn't get around to picking it up.

Not quite. He dropped the car off and couldn't get around to picking it up for months. He was then warned about storage fees. He then let it continue to sit for "a month or two," despite knowing he would be charged a storage fee.

I am afraid of paying the $12,000 for a mechanical work that in my opinion is unfinished and then having to reservice the car.

Your opinion doesn't mean much in court, unless you're a certified mechanic.

You can pay for the car, have it checked out, and sue in small claims court for any refund you believe is due to you.

[Joeale123]

My father, owner of the car, never signed anything. The shop owner claims that his son (me) signed a paper authorizing work when the car was dropped off. I never signed anything which is why i would like to call him out on his bluff.

[cyjeff]

Here is what will happen.

You will refuse to pay. He will refuse to release the car. Your storage fees will accrue.

You will go to court.

You will both tell your story. The judge will decide that $75 reaches the threshold of "reasonable and customary" charges for vehicle storage.

You will then pay the storage fees.

You will then say that the car is still broken. The judge will ask you if you have had another mechanic look at it. You will say that you haven't but it "felt" wrong.

The judge will tell you to have another mechanic look at it and come back.

So, in a nutshell.

Pay to get the car out of the mechanic. Pay the storage fees.

Take the car to another mechanic. If the car shows incompetence, sue the original mechanic for the costs of the repairs.

Oh, and NEVER NEVER NEVER enter into another verbal contract involving ANYTHING worth more than one dollar.... especially a Ferrari.

Which actually brings up a question. How many certified Ferrari mechanics work in verbal contracts?

[Mr. Knowitall]

My father, owner of the car, never signed anything. The shop owner claims that his son (me) signed a paper authorizing work when the car was dropped off. I never signed anything which is why i would like to call him out on his bluff.

Bluff? You took the car in for repair. You got a diagnosis and a quote. You negotiated and agreed to a lesser price for the repair to be completed. What additional authorization do you think they need? What do you think the odds are that the court isn't going to award them that as "quantum meruit" (payment in the amount merited by the work you knew they were doing) even if there are problems with the paper trail?

The judge will tell you to have another mechanic look at it and come back.

Or the judge might hold that you haven't proved your case, and simply deny your claim, preventing further relief.

Pay to get the car out of the mechanic. Pay the storage fees.

Take the car to another mechanic. If the car shows incompetence, sue the original mechanic for the costs of the repairs.

Actually, it doesn't look like the mechanic followed the necessary requirements to perfect a mechanic's lien, ("The lien shall be deemed to arise at the time a written statement of charges for completed work or services is presented to the registered owner or 15 days after the work or services are completed, whichever occurs first", with a thirty day window for the lien sale) so if it were me I would try to take possession based upon payment for the repair and let the repair shop try to sue me for storage fees. In the alternate, I would at least argue that to recover the car I need pay only the $1,025 "for any storage, safekeeping, or rental of parking space" where no application for an authorization to conduct a lien sale has been filed, leaving them to try to pursue any additional storage fees in court. If they won't release the vehicle on payment as described in the statute, a lawsuit for recovery is authorized. California Civil Code Sec. 3068(d).

[cyjeff]

Bluff? You took the car in for repair. You got a diagnosis and a quote. You negotiated and agreed to a lesser price for the repair to be completed. What additional authorization do you think they need? What do you think the odds are that the court isn't going to award them that as "quantum meruit" (payment in the amount merited by the work you knew they were doing) even if there are problems with the paper trail?

Or the judge might hold that you haven't proved your case, and simply deny your claim, preventing further relief.

Actually, it doesn't look like the mechanic followed the necessary requirements to perfect a mechanic's lien, ("The lien shall be deemed to arise at the time a written statement of charges for completed work or services is presented to the registered owner or 15 days after the work or services are completed, whichever occurs first", with a thirty day window for the lien sale) so if it were me I would try to take possession based upon payment for the repair and let the repair shop try to sue me for storage fees. In the alternate, I would at least argue that to recover the car I need pay only the $1,025 "for any storage, safekeeping, or rental of parking space" where no application for an authorization to conduct a lien sale has been filed, leaving them to try to pursue any additional storage fees in court. If they won't release the vehicle on payment as described in the statute, a lawsuit for recovery is authorized. California Civil Code Sec. 3068(d).

Agreed.

However, I predicated my statement on the fact that the car in question is a Ferrari!

I would want to get it back into my possession soonest before something accidentally happens to it. Yes, I realize that the mechanic would be on the hook to fix it... but most Ferrari owners treat their cars better than I do my kids.

I actually saw one cry when he got into a fender bender.

Since Dad already had the check ready, there is nothing that says they can't revisit the issue later.

Wow. Leaving a Ferrari ANYWHERE without something in writing just feels weird.

[SChinFChin]

Let me chime in here, as I've collected "storage" charges.

One memorable case is some lady had an estimate done on a major repair, we did a small repair on it, and then we didn't hear from her for weeks. After some research, we found that the car was leased, and the leasing company wanted to repossess the car. We called them, and at the time, we had it for about a month, and we told them we'll be happy to let it go if they just paid us two weeks of storage plus the repair.

So they had their legal department hammer us, saying that they didn't sign anything, just give them back the car OR ELSE.

Ar that point, we figured that they think they're better than us, and by then, we were not interested that much in the storage charge, we just wanted them to squirm. Since we belonged to a trade association, we got so many hours a year in free legal work included anyway, so it didn't cost us to use a lawyer.

Well, the leasing company huffed, and puffed, and meanwhile, the clock is ticking and they're up to over 3 months of storage, and they said they'll see us in court. We said go ahead.

Finally, they had someone else call us, talked nice, and asked what we wanted, and by then, it was passed 3-1/2 months. We told them we would have been happy with two weeks, but now we're mad, and it'll be 3 months and 3 weeks. The guy wanted to know, actually begged if we can cut him a break, since they realized they made a mistake. We told them if they can come by with a "bank check" for 3 months storage, and the repair, we'll do it, but they have to pick it up the next day. We gave him the small break because we liked the way he begged.

Well, we got a call the next day, and they BEGGED for another day, because leasing companies don't normally go out to buy bank checks. We loved the way they begged.

Anyway, two days later, they showed up with a bank check, a few thousand dollars, with the tow truck, and out they went.

To tell you the truth, we didn't care if we got paid for the storage or not, but because of the way they handled themselves, we just said NO NO NO, just to aggravate them. To hear them beg, and get a nice check was doubly sweet.

When was the last time you got a leasing company calling you begging for mercy.

BTW, I suggest you just get that car out of storage, before you aggravate them any more.