We have a local mechanic here who works out of a garage in his backyard part time,when I was picking my car up I mentioned to him that I just bought an old truck that needs a transmission.he showed me a transmission he had in the back of his shop that he said still works and would fit in my truck.
after agreeing on a price for the transmission and for him to install it I had the truck towed over to his house.
Long story short, the truck has been sitting locked up in his garage for 5 weeks now, every week I have called him and he says hell have it done in 2-3 days. about a week ago he stopped returning my calls and nobody answers the door when I go to his house.,at this point I just want the truck back fixed or not. Hes always been reliable so I don`t know whats going on I just want the truck back.
Maybe he’s sick or something . If something doesn’t give soon you may have to get the law involved .
You just found out why most people take their cars to a shop rather than the guy down the street working in his garage part-time.
You need to find this guy to get your truck back one way or another. If you can’t find him, you may need to contact a lawyer and find out your legal rights and recourse.
You might ask his neighbors if they know his whereabouts. I agree with @Mustangman that you should consider contacting a lawyer or the local government for advice on how to proceed. The local government (police, states attorney’s office) might refer you to a law firm, but they may have other suggestions.
How much did you pay for “The Old Truck”?.. It might not be worth the effort of trying to recover it…
Is the truck visible at his property? Hard to believe he’s leave it taking up garage space for so long.
Possession is 9/10ths of the law, and right now he’s in possession of your truck. None of the legal avenues available to you if he were a licensed business apply here. I doubt the police will want to get involved. Essentially this is no different than if you had left your phone or laptop at someone’s house and now they’re not returning your calls.
i believe in people, now granted you are in a situation. I do not know what is going on either, but you want your truck, understandable. Did you pay up front for an repairs?
Send him a letter and leave the guy a phone message telling him the time & date that a tow truck will be going to his place to pick up your truck. If he isn’t there when you get there or he is there and won’t release the truck, call the police and tell them the situation.
Have you been by at night to see if lights are on?
Unfortunately, things like this are civil matters and the amount of push and shove can vary a lot.
Depending upon the city and state you’re in you may have an avenue to correct this if there are statutes or code violations there involving someone doing work like this. Maybe signage, written estimates, or someone simply not being allowed to work like this may apply.
There may also be DEQ and EPA issues involved.
Short of resolving it in a civil manner the only other option is physical force and there may be repercussions to that.
Don’t think of this as a car problem.
Think of this as a legal problem. And seek a lawyer’s advice.
Send him a letter and leave the guy a phone message telling him the time & date that a tow truck will be going to his place to pick up your truck. If he isn’t there when you get there or he is there and won’t release the truck, call the police and tell them the situation
If I’m at your house and I leave my laptop on your dining table and then you don’t return my calls do you think the police will help me gain entry into your house to retrieve it?
Sheriffs serve papers on people-that’s what they do in their spare time for a fee. Yep may have to get a lawyer and have an order written but he can’t dodge the sheriff for ever. On the other hand, if he’s started work, it may not be in condition to tow and you may owe him some money.
It took me 7 weeks to get my car back from a transmission shop for an overhaul. He promised a week, then tore it apart and that’s how it sat with all the parts laying in front of the car collecting dust. I was after him nearly every other day but nothing moved him. He finally did it and cost me another $400 to repair what he did and another overhaul a year later from a decent shop. If the guys name is Rollie, good luck.
Do you have a title for the truck in your name? Find out who owns the property (a matter of public record) where your truck is held captive…They may be able to put you in touch with the mechanic…
He finally called me back tonight about 9PM he said the truck is done I can come by after 4:30 tomorrow to get it.
I asked him if he got my messages and he said no. his story is that he was out of town seeing a doctor because he has to get open heart surgery on Thursday.after seeing the doctor he and his wife took a few days vacation and he he didn`t check his phone for those days.
I guess I`ll find out tomorrow if he is telling the truth. I learned my lesson, no more shade tree mechanics for me.
I think you probably should call the police.
“Possession” does not apply in the case of titled property. It only applies when it is ambiguous who owns the property; an automobile is clearly demonstrably YOURS; presumably it is registered to you, & you have the title.
Really, if you are polite & the local police are decent people, they’ll probably make a call to the guy and tell him to give you your truck, and if he has ANY sense, he will.
@asemaster, If you have the title or vehicle registration for the truck, the 9/10ths rule is invalid. Now, your fighting over custody. Get the law involved. Go as far as reporting the truck stolen if that’s what it takes.
Go as far as reporting the truck stolen if that’s what it takes
I’d be very careful there. That’s filing a false claim and likely see the OP sitting in the cell he had hoped the mechanic would occupy…
"If I’m at your house and I leave my laptop on your dining table and then you don’t return my calls do you think the police will help me gain entry into your house to retrieve it? "
Calling the police and explaining the situation doesn’t mean that you are asking for them to break in and release your car. In this case it would have been either a welfare check or the first step toward a legal dispute that might be resolved immediately.
I think it goes a little far to claim it is ‘stolen’, but I definitely think you should tell the police the whole story; I don’t know what else to do if he won’t return calls/etc.
Also, oops, I missed your post that he did finally call you back! So, feel free to ignore me, I hope you got your truck back 