Car Repair Problems
By: Joanne | December 09, 2008 | Category: Home and Family
![overheating car](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20090115190508im_/http://blog.usa.gov/roller/govgab/resource/images/overheating_car.jpg)
Last week I told you the sad story about my car trouble. It’s going to take some effort to reach the happy ending.
The good news is that the Ford is happily rolling down the road with a shiny new water pump. The Subaru has not been so lucky. I mentioned last week that we mistakenly took the Subaru to an unfamiliar garage, and now we’re paying the price. We racked up $500 in charges for parts and labor and it appears that in the course of the repair (and I use the term loosely) the mechanic actually damaged the engine.
The Subaru was towed to a dealer. I didn’t think that I should have to pay for the ($200!) tow and calmly and politely told the garage the same. They said no.
This garage just doesn’t know that I work for the people that wrote the Consumer Action Handbook.
I let them know that I had already been in touch with the state Attorney General’s office and would file a consumer complaint. They immediately backed down and took care of the tow. One minor victory for the informed consumer.
The Subaru is with the dealer. I’ve given the service manager instructions to figure out what’s wrong with the car and if it’s the result of normal wear and tear or if it was damaged by the previous mechanic.
I’m prepared for the worst. If it was damaged by the mechanic, I’ll talk to the shop manager and ask them to pay for the repair. If that doesn’t work, I’m going to write a complaint letter to document the problem, and fill out the consumer complaint form that the Attorney General’s office sent me so we can begin mediation. Any other advice?
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