Over $6000 to install TTI headers on 66 Barracuda

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If he refuses to give the car back before payment is made, call the cops in!
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Cops probably won't get involved. They usually don't in a civil matter. The Mechanic has every right to hold your car until payment is presented. What you need is a Judge to order the release of the car. As in "Court Order". The BAR should help in this area. They have ways of getting Mechanics to release cars.
 
cudajames said:
At this stage, I wrote out a timeline with detail, the garage is on my way to work, so I was able to stop in and check progress during the process. Now I have matched dates with progress.
I plan to talk with him on Monday about how he arrived at the total. And more than likely have the car towed from the shop.

If it goes bad, I will still have the car removed an open a case with BAR
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For whatever its worth, I installed the headers in the picture below, the master cylinder, valve covers, intake and carb, distributor and wires and rad and hoses in 5 hours. Granted I have done this several times on this car also a 1966 Barracuda but it should give you a time line of what can be done on one of these cars in a day with the right tools and a bit of know how.
 

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If no one else has mentioned it, I'd consider paying an attorney $100 to write a letter explaining that the charges are "well in excess" of normal, and ask that a standard diagnostic fee (or something similar) be charged in exchange for the release of the car.

Also, you could suggest a mediator or arbitrator.

Either way, you're likely to get out for a LOT less than 6 grand with no work being done.
 
Leadfoot said:
Cops probably won't get involved. They usually don't in a civil matter. The Mechanic has every right to hold your car until payment is presented. What you need is a Judge to order the release of the car. As in "Court Order". The BAR should help in this area. They have ways of getting Mechanics to release cars.
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Depends on the state and laws.

Here in NY you have a right to removable property. If it's yours and can be removed from the ground it's sitting on then you have the right to take it, without payment, and the cops will see to it that you can. Ownership is nine tenth of the law. I had to call the Elmira cops on a shop for keeping Sarah's car and demanding payment for work she didn't agree to. At that point, according to NY law, they couldn't bill her as she never gave consent and the cops were called to point out to them that it's grand theft if they tried to keep her car in lieu of payment.

At that point a mechanic can put a lien on the title to seek payment and go to court. But you still have the right to keep your car. And, as the mechanic, you have to prove to the DMV that the work was consented to, by signature on a repair order from the customer, and the customer owed you payment.
 
YY1 said:
If no one else has mentioned it, I'd consider paying an attorney $100 to write a letter explaining that the charges are "well in excess" of normal, and ask that a standard diagnostic fee (or something similar) be charged in exchange for the release of the car.

Also, you could suggest a mediator or arbitrator.

Either way, you're likely to get out for a LOT less than 6 grand with no work being done.
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X 2

I had this happen to me years ago. I had an accident in my Mach I and brought it to the local Ford garage in the small town I lived in. I was young and the owner figured I would be naive. He collected Mustangs and new I had a couple. He quoted me 2,500 for the body work and gave me a written itemized quote. About 1/2 through he told me they went over budget and I owed him almost 5,000 dollars and to fully finish it would cost a couple more. I said I didn't have that much money. He said I would have to give him my other cars along with the Mach I to pay him for the work done or I had to cough up the money. As a 19 year old he knew he had me. I said to heck with it and stopped by a lawyer to get his view. 50 dollars later, a letter was sent to the Ford Garage. I paid the guy 10% over estimate for ONLY the work completed. I think in the end it cost me a hair over a $1,000. I took the car elsewhere and had it completed. Don't let this guy rip you off.
 
The first set of headers I ever installed on any car was on an A-body, and it took me 2 or 3 days of working a couple hours a day after work on them (total of MAYBE 4 hours). If you don't have a small starter, I don't think they will fit, and if that's the problem, he should have been able to tell right away. You need to find a new mechanic, or do it yourself.
 
Do it yourself. It might take forever and you will throw some tools but it will be worth it and you will get more confident until you don't take your car to a
Shop for anything.
 
So is op handicap? Disabled?? To old to work??? Who the **** farms out header swaps? **** a days worth of work at best. 66 cuda headers are little pita but there are much worse header swaps than a mopar. Typically it having to move **** thats inconvenient for what seems no reason. That is until you need the wiggle room that said part occupies.
 
turbofreek said:
So is op handicap? Disabled?? To old to work??? Who the **** farms out header swaps? **** a days worth of work at best.
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Your comment contributes very little to this thread. You likely have no idea as to what the OP's situation is. Maybe he is old, handicapped, and disabled. Or maybe he is young, strong, and able to pursue other, more important things that take up significant amounts of his time.
 
crackedback said:
Do you have all the required parts to install the headers?

90* filter adapter or remote? Compatible mini starter?

If not, you aren't really helping the situation, BUT, that should have been covered with a review of the de-structions.
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I know a shop that is building a stroker for an early A. The TTI instructions are screwed up as they start you with the long bolt 90* adapter, not the short bolt one. This guy probably doesn't have a Mopar clue. Get your car back and do not pay over his first estimate.

Standing around scratching your head and azz is not a 7 day, 8 hr, 100 dola per hr deal IMO. :protest:
 
For 6K you could have a hoist, cherry picker, air trans jack and a hole bunch of tools.
 
wow, I have been blasted on this thread. Some of it is deserved so I am not offended.

The two main reasons I take the car in to have it worked on; I really do not have experience working on cars. I have been collecting tools and creating a space to do more work in my garage
Time - my job consumes a lot of hours, coaching my kids teams or being involved in their school/sports, family and other commitments. So it comes down to priorities, mine is with my family.

With all that, moving forward I will be doing as much work on the car as possible.

And thank you to several people who have been helpful - with guidance and advice.
 
For 6K you could have bought another 66 Barracuda with headers already installed....
 
cudajames said:
wow, I have been blasted on this thread. Some of it is deserved so I am not offended.
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Not by all of us, James.
You have your own reasons, as you stated. This should have been a quick, 1-day in & out.
I suspect your mechanic is a pimple-faced kid who works on ricers all day and your 'cuda was built when his parents were dating...or before.
This doesn't make him a BAD mechanic, necessarily...it makes him INCOMPETENT to work on your classic Mopar.
Maybe he can tweak a buzz-bomb just fine?
Anyway...NOT YOUR PROBLEM.
Pay him what the original estimate was (along with a bag of rice), collect your car and giddyap...take one of the guys here who offered to help up on their offer. And in the future, be prepared to learn your machine. It's the only way to guarantee work done properly with no shortcuts.
Good luck, and let us know how it ends.
 
Thank you Captain Kirk.

Here is an update, I meet with the mechanic and he will be working with me on the price and getting the car in running condition again. I told him that the car would be towed out and we would go from there.

Earlier I spoke with the Bureau of Automotive repair, just basically stated there really isn't anything they can do.

I could get the car, but the mechanic could take me to court. In this case with out a signed contract, they would have fined him and looked for other issues, basically giving him a hard time. Also without a signed contract, he could not but a lean on the car.

Not a perfect end, but something of a resolution. We will see how it works out
 
That sounds like he still plans on overcharging you. I would tell him the max you would be willing to pay and not a penny more. If he has a problem, tow your car and let him take you to court. It would be on him to prove that the amount charged was reasonable. I don't think he would get anywhere near what he said you owe.
 
cudajames said:
Thank you Captain Kirk.

Here is an update, I meet with the mechanic and he will be working with me on the price and getting the car in running condition again. I told him that the car would be towed out and we would go from there.

Earlier I spoke with the Bureau of Automotive repair, just basically stated there really isn't anything they can do.

I could get the car, but the mechanic could take me to court. In this case with out a signed contract, they would have fined him and looked for other issues, basically giving him a hard time. Also without a signed contract, he could not but a lean on the car.

Not a perfect end, but something of a resolution. We will see how it works out
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Verbal agreements are binding, so even if you verbally agreed to a $1k job he is responsible for that. Now, without a written contract it's basically your word against his should it go to any kind of court, unless there are other witnesses. Given the situation though, I think you would be in a better spot than the mechanic should it end up in small claims court.

Sounds like the best bet is for you to come to an agreement with the mechanic. But I wouldn't forget that the BAR can fine him, and that taking him to small claims court over the contract would be a significant burden to him, even if it's a burden on you as well. Maybe not having an estimate in writing isn't a big fine, but the hassle of dealing with the BAR is a fine in itself.

Personally, I wouldn't pay a cent more than what was originally agreed to. The mechanic should have contacted you immediately when it looked like things were going to go outside of the original agreement. When he didn't do that, he was taking the risk that he was working for free, and he should know that. If he has issues with that, I would get a lawyer to write him a letter as suggested earlier. A formal complaint filed with the BAR and the possibility of court action should be more than enough leverage to hold him to the original agreement. While it may not sound like much, the BAR can make the mechanic's life more than difficult enough even without large fines. Just having them show up at your shop is a PITA, let alone if they do any kind of investigation. And that will be on record for his shop as well, so its not good for the reputation of his business (if he cares). You can also always go to the local news station, a lot of them have do their own consumer investigation stories. An auto shop trying to rip someone off is a bread-and-butter story, they'd jump on that in a heart beat, especially considering the amount of money in this case.
 
After a 6 thousand dollar demand, there is NO WAY I'd leave that car with the same shop.

N-E-V-E-R.
 
I would get it out of there. Working in the industry, I can tell you that you own the car, not him. He can't stop you from taking your car and not paying. (Though he will try) A shop's only recourse is to deliver the vehicle and try to recoup their expense through the courts. $6000 for a job that was quoted $1000 is excessive and he will lose in court.
 
Jeez, I've yet to meet a mechanic who I would concider a tradesman. Mechanics are responsible for me figuring out how to do everything myself- engines, trans, diffs and even paint. I have found that its not so much the mech but the shop. Up here they bill according to what their "black book" says how long certain jobs take. They then rush through it so fast to complete in less time but you still pay the black book time estimate. Your ride gets rushed out and the next one in with a new "black book" time estimate started. $80/hour shop rate a good part of the time turns into $160/ fer the shop. See their motivation? The business attitude up in Canada I have experienced is not "the customer is always right" but more like "screw that guy as hard as you can now, because he ain't coming back". I believe the only person you can count on is yourself. My rant
 
After all the offers of help you've gotten here, if you do not get your car out of that shop, you deserve the screwing you're going to get.
 
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