Bad mechanic, getting run around on price, what to do?
#12
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I'm holding off on naming names yet but as soon as this is all said and done I will be posting their names to try to give anyone else a heads up before someone else winds up in the same situation as myself. The engine builder as far as I can tell isn't the issue here, just the mechanic that took on the work and being incompetent in his business abilities. He hasn't been in business all that long and I think he is just in over his head here and is trying to purge money from me to cover his end of it at this point. Seems pretty suspicious that he won't go get the engine back until I pay him, sounds like he doesn't have the funds available through his business to pay for the engine work which he subbed out until I pay him for it. I have kept up and paid him every time he sent me an invoice but told him no on this one until the boat is back together and running, tired of throwing money with nothing to show for it, but he said he won't go get it until it's paid in full. I think it's time to let a lawyer intervene, not sure he has much to go on since he has no signed authorization to have ever gone that much over the estimate, we will see.
#13
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Not defending the huge increase in price, should probably go direct to the machine shop on that one. But why should he lay out all the $$$ for the engine and then wait/hope you pay in a timely fashion? If he just started his own business that could potentially put him under. I can't see why any business owner would do that. As a compromise meet him at the machine shop, pay there bill and he gets his mark up and additional labor of tear down and dressing it when it's in the boat. I don't have $16,000 to go pick up someone else's motor and wait for them to pay me.
#14
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But I would want a detailed breakdown of how the hell this went from $8500-16,000
#15
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Before paying a lawyer check to see if the business is legit with tax I.d. and registered thru attorney generals office. Find out how far over estimate a shop can legally go in your state. I would do a sit down and lay it all on the table with what you have. Then last resort lawyer. Sorry to hear about this, just sucks this goes on and it sucks when people tell you "should of gone to XXX". That doesn't help your current situation.
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Not defending the huge increase in price, should probably go direct to the machine shop on that one. But why should he lay out all the $$$ for the engine and then wait/hope you pay in a timely fashion? If he just started his own business that could potentially put him under. I can't see why any business owner would do that. As a compromise meet him at the machine shop, pay there bill and he gets his mark up and additional labor of tear down and dressing it when it's in the boat. I don't have $16,000 to go pick up someone else's motor and wait for them to pay me.
#17
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I'd call the machine shop. Anyone I do work for knows what machine shop I use for the machining processes. There's no way I'd pay that much for anyone to rebuild a long block. I'm doing a dart block now that melted pistons, with new custom order pistons from je, all the machine work, heads went back to dart for repair etc it will be about half of what this guy says you owe him. For $16000 you better have an all new 540 long block sitting on the side of the motor that came out of your boat.
#20
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It would be easy to get all the business you wanted if you could just give any figure as an estimate ,then charge what you wanted to in the end...Sometimes, People amaze me. I hope your state has some kind of law as to how far over estimate a final bill can be.
Good luck
Good luck