Legal ways to collect your bill for auto repairs?

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Bill Crowell

Bill Crowell

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I have a friend who opened up an auto repair business a few months ago, and has been victimized somewhat by people who say they want their car repaired and then refuse to pay for it when the work is completed.

This is in California, where in about 1973 the State Supreme Court ruled that the old statutory mechanic's lien was unconstitutional as denying due process. Of course I suppose you could still make the customer sign an express lien. Do you guys do that? If so, do the law enforcement officials honor it?

Any other tricks you can give my friend for collecting his bills? It's got to be legal. And I think that disabling the vehicle so the customer can't take it gives rise to civil liability, doesn't it?

Thanks for any suggestions you can provide.
 
ScampMike, it can be very hard for a shop owner to recover a judgment in small claims court because the judges tend to be very political and to favor the customer. Most of these judges are elected, and there are a lot more auto repair customers who vote than repair shop owners who vote.
 
Cut his losses and from now on 100% paid in full. Or 50% up front and 50% soon finishing job. It sucks I know, I've had rentals and people skip town, sometimes by the time I pay someone to track them down its not worth it. Cut losses and right it off on his taxes next year as a loss
 
I know this doesn't help much, but may be worth his while to consult an attorney to see what options he has available in the future to prevent people scamming him. There may be some forms etc that will be accepted that the customer signs before the work is performed. Such as a contract understanding the bill will be paid in full before they receive the vehicle as an example.
 
I have a friend who runs a transmission shop who does the same thing a LOT. It's their own fault. Period. End of story. You don't want to be taken advantage of? Don't give the vehicle back unless it's 100% paid for.
 
Bill Crowell said:
ScampMike, it can be very hard for a shop owner to recover a judgment in small claims court because the judges tend to be very political and to favor the customer. Most of these judges are elected, and there are a lot more auto repair customers who vote than repair shop owners who vote.
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tough thing for sure then... at the very least, the next time someone tried to pick up their car and not pay - - I wouldn't be able to find their keys... for a while, then I would go to lunch or have an "emergency" I had to run off to and deal with.. "oops, sorry, got busy and forgot about you" -- you know, leave them hanging out in the waiting room. Of course they would get the keys back right before closing time - along with a verbal notice that no other work will be performed until the balance of this work is paid in full.
 
dubob wrote: "There may be some forms etc that will be accepted that the customer signs before the work is performed."

Oh yes, you can put an express (written) mechanic's lien in your work order and make the customer sign it, but if push comes to shove, I wonder if a city police officer or a county deputy sheriff would honor it and let the repair shop keep the car, as provided in the express mechanic's lien, or would they insist that you give the car back to the owner even if they don't pay, despite the express lien, and make you seek your payment in court?
 
I can't answer that, that's why I suggested an attorney that's familiar with the system and laws there. There may be something else legally binding that can be done besides the lien. I know the attorney is money out of pocket but it may be money well spent.
 
Not sure what your asking? Are you saying the guy is letting the car go without collecting payment? If so he'll learn not to do that again in short order.
Or are you saying he is repairing them and the customer refuses to pay him? Simple, do not let them have the vehicle , in Fl. after 30 days your allowed to put a mechanics lien and collect storage of up to like 3.00 a day? (Not sure it may be more now)
 
He repairs them and then the customer doesn't want to pay.

There is no implied mechanic's lien law in California because our State Supreme Court got rid of it in 1973, so all you can do is try to get the customer to sign an express mechanic's lien when he signs the work order. But I wonder if you would have to go to court to enforce it, anyway.
 
Well thats CA for ya. You'll have to do some homework but I'm sure he has some legal recourse.
 
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
 
I own a small business . I use a collection agency , or you don't have to release the vehicle until invoice is paid in full
 
I don't know why he would let it out the door without payment. At least if you end up with a "bad check" then THAT is fraud, a whole different cesspool
 
Seems they would have had to sign the repair order with some given cost on it before they started. I personally wouldn't give it back until it was paid in full. Now if the repairs were substantially more than the estimate, and he incurred additional cost without getting an additional sign off to the new amount, he's going to have a problem.
 
Matts440 said:
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
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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.
 
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moper wrote: "I personally wouldn't give it back until it was paid in full."

If you refuse to return the car, and you have not perfected a mechanic's lien against it, you can be sued civilly for damages for the tort of "conversion". (Conversion of personal property to your own use; i.e., the civil remedy of damages for theft or embezzlement.)
 
moparmat2000 said:
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.
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True I personally want to get out of this crap shoot of a state, move to where I can have my gun, things here are just getting good worse, just want to leave and watch cali slowly run itself to ruin. The bad thing is most illegals live better then most of us born here with two incomes and still can buy have the nice things they get due to us having to pay for them. This place just sucks.
 
It don't seem right that there's no process to collect, even in CA. I checked, and I have not found anything un-constitutional on Mechanic's Liens in ANY state. Can someone source or prove it? What has changed are the timings and procedures. It seems just filing and recordings are hurdles in themselves. Here's a "recent" link to CA law: CA Codes (civ:8410-8424)
It seems only registered businesses, contractors, have use of this legal procedure. Billy Bob's Part-time Repair probably has to go through small claims.
 
One shop we use specifies cash or credit card, no checks. No payment, no key. If the customer makes a scene, a call to the sheriff stops it. Most people go in knowing the "terms". If the shop has a soft heart, word gets around and deadbeats show up. Cheapskates are never happy no matter the discounts given.
 
Prior to 1973 in California you had an implied mechanic's lien for the work you did, and you could enforce it privately, without going to court; i.e., keep possession of the car while you obtained a lien title from the DMV. In 1973 the CA Supreme Court ruled this denied the customer due process of law. I can cite the case if you desire. So now if you want a lien against the car, you at least have to put an express (written) lien in your work order.

There are two issues; title and possession. It might not help you very much to have a lien against the car's title if the owner has possession. You want the right of possession after the repairs are completed.

I think if the customer objects to your possession of the car under your express lien, maybe you'd have to go to court to enforce the lien, but I'm not sure. As a practical matter, in this county the customer would probably call the County Sheriff to complain that you won't return his car, and I should think that possession pending a court hearing would depend on whether the Sheriff was willing to recognize your written lien or not.
 
implied mechanic's lien
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I get it. From what I've read, it takes process now. It seems the expressed lien might fall under the "preliminary 20 day notice". It can still put the deadbeat in the cat bird's seat to answer to summons. But that's time away from the real work doing the filing/recording with the county or whatever jurisdiction.

Do California automotive titles still have sections on liens, Mechanic's or Lender?
 
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