Legal ways to collect your bill for auto repairs?

Is there a generated work order that the customer signs before work is started with a estimate dollar amount on there? Cause a work order is like a contract. They don't want to pay then I wouldn't give them their keys if they signed a work order. Yeah here in Cali people are aholes, want everything for free. And they wonder why businesses are leaving here
Nice place to visit, but i dont want to live there. Smog police, restrictive gun laws, pandering to illegals, sanctuary cities, blowhole politicians, hey whats not to like. LOL. Problem is all the people who live there that think that is all good until the taxes get too high for em, then the decide to move to my state where the taxes are lower, and its more conservative but start all over again with guns are bad. Hug the trees, elect blowhole politicians, the illegals are only here to work. Bullshit!!!

If you have a signed contract by the customer to repair the car, and you have done your part, I say dont give em their keys back until its payed in full, or make em pay 100% up front before the work is started. They dont want to pay up front, then tell em to take that piece of **** somewhere else.

I had a pontiac grand am i was repairing collision damage for a guy. He buys the damn thing for his kid, and he has a loan on it. His wife has him put liability only on it. Well the kid knocks the front end off it. I help him out taiwan steel hood, bumper cover, used fender, used lights, used radiator support etc etc. Wherever i can get used parts etc to save him a dollar.

Half way into the job and only the front end support structure straightened and the new rad and condensor installed his wife calls and bitches about the cost of the parts saying i am marking everything up. I already got 50% up front, car was halfway finished.

I tell her it wasnt my bright idea to put liability only on it. I'm doing you a favor, the car should have been totaled, and y'all would have walked away with loan payed off and money in your pocket since bluebook on the car was $4k and you only payed $2,500 for it. Then i told her, if i get another shitty phone call from you like this again you can come get this car outta my shop and you can figure out how to put this jigsaw puzzle back together. Sometimes people have to be reminded of their stupidity. Needless to say when the car was done, the husband picked it up. I told him i want either cash or a cashiers check only for the remainder owed, and told them not to ever come back.

Aaaaah Kalifornia. Nice state if you can shitcan all the liberal politicians, and whiny libs that vote for them too.