When the days keep passing
You dropped the car off expecting it back soon. Now the promised day has come and gone, calls go to voicemail, or each answer is a little vaguer than the last. A stalled repair can be stressful because you can't see what is happening inside the bay. One way through is patient and written: find out where things stand, get the answers on paper, and settle up in a way that leaves a clear record.
Find out where the job stands
Call once, calmly, and ask for the service writer or manager by name if you have it. Ask three things: what has been done so far, what is still waiting, and what the new completion date is. If you can't reach anyone, visit during business hours and ask the same questions in person.
Then send a short text or email that repeats what you were told, with the date and the name of the person you spoke with. A message like that turns a phone call into a record.
Questions when parts are the hold-up
- Which part is on order, and from where?
- When was it ordered, and is there a tracking number or an expected date?
- Would a different grade or source arrive sooner, and how would the warranty change?
- Is the car safe to drive in the meantime, or is it apart?
Questions when labor is the hold-up
- Has diagnosis finished, or is the shop still tracing the fault?
- How many hours has the job taken so far, and how does that compare with the estimate?
- Is anything being charged by the day while the car waits, and from what date?
- Who is working on the car now?
What Texas law says about a worker's lien
Under Texas Property Code Section 70.001, a worker who by labor repairs an article, including a vehicle, may keep possession of it until the amount due under the repair contract is paid or, if no amount was set, the reasonable and usual compensation is paid; the lien on a motor vehicle is released when the worker is paid or gives up possession.
Before the work starts, on any job
On any job, ask for a written estimate before the work starts, and approve each repair before it begins. When added work comes up, ask for a revised estimate showing the new total, and give your yes or no in writing. Keep each estimate and approval in one place.
Reading the bill when it arrives
Hold the invoice next to the estimate and every approval you gave. For each line, ask:
- Did I agree to this, and when?
- Is the labor time close to what was quoted, and if not, why?
- Is each part listed by grade, and does the price match the estimate?
- Are shop supplies, disposal fees and tax shown on their own lines?
If a charge appears that you don't recognize, ask the service manager to walk you through it, with your messages open in front of you. Ask for any correction in writing.
Moving the car to another shop
If you decide the work should finish somewhere else, ask the first shop:
- What do I owe for the work and diagnosis done so far, line by line?
- If parts have been removed, what would it take to put the car back together to drive or tow?
- When can the car be released, and who signs for it?
Arrange the tow yourself, and hand the next shop copies of every estimate, finding and invoice from the first, so it can see what has already been tried.
The City of Laredo's water treatment plants
The City of Laredo Utilities Department says the city's two water treatment plants have a combined pumpage capacity of 85 million gallons per day, with water diverted from the Rio Grande by two separate river intakes, and that the city owns approximately 62,009 acre-feet of municipal water rights.
The license question
Ask the shop, and any shop that works on the car next: "What state license or registration, if any, covers this work, and what is the number?" Write each answer down with the date.
A record for next time
Start one folder or phone album for the car and keep it going. Put in:
- the first estimate and every revised one;
- each approval or refusal, by text or email;
- photos the shop sent, and your own photos of the odometer at drop-off and pickup;
- the invoice, your payment receipt and any warranty terms;
- a short timeline of each call: the date, who you spoke with and what was said.
Next time, before you leave the keys
- Ask for an expected completion date, and how the shop will tell you if it moves.
- Give a number where you will answer, and the hours you can talk.
- Ask whether any daily or storage charge can apply, and from when.
- Get the estimate in writing, and approve added work only after you hear the new total.
- Ask what the shop's warranty covers, in writing.