Well, I guess I screwed myself this time.
Nutshell:
1. I ruined an engine by mistakenly mixing anti-freeze types - no one's fault but mine.
2. Friend suggested I take it to company, the name of which I won't reveal, but the initials of the company name are the same, very near the beginning of the alphabet and the business is located on Saginaw Road north of Clio, MI and south of Birch Run, MI, albeit a bit closer to Clio (one could say it was actually in Clio, but I think it might fault outside the city limits. But I digress)
3. I towed this vehicle to this business with a CHAIN, using a Lumina van (which subsequently suffered rear suspension damage because of said action-D'OH!)
4. I explained to the owner/mechanic that I had low coolant, put some in, the car overheated, I put more in, the car quit and would not turn over, there was no action, almost as if the starter had seized. He immediately got into the vehicle and tried to turn it over, same result as I had, not a bit of motion from the thing.
5. Few days later he called, said the mixed anti-freeze had turned to sludge and mentioned a condition called hydrolocked. I wasn't sure, but was fairly certain that this meant 'water' in the engine in places it didn't belong - mind you , I'm no engine mechanic, but I can at least replace an alternator/water pump/ things of that nature. He said it was PROBABLY the heads, and I signed a work order based on HIS recommendation; he's supposed to be the expert, after all.
6.*AFTER* buying heads and replacing them, he discovered that the engine was seized. Fine. Except that he expected me to pay for his labor and parts. I told him to find an engine and replace it; he decided not to until I paid for what he had already done.
7. Called him to dispute the charges, and he said that I had told him, and he had witnesses, ( [supposedly when I first contacted him] was on the phone, so his witnesses only heard him speak directly) that I had taken it somewhere else and had it diagnosed, then took it to him to get the work done. (I'm going to tow a vehicle place to place with a chain and a Lumina? Okay, some might, but I'm not THAT much of a hillbilly [no offence to people of that nature!])
8. Spoke to a lawyer, who told me that since the signed work order was fairly specific, I was screwed.
Naturally, I am pi**ed, but I am a firm believer in the law; I sighned a contract (mis-spelling of SIGNED is on purpose!) and am thus liable for it. I might not like it, but the same thing would protect me if a similar thing happened and the tables were turned (i.e. someone signed a contract that I provided)
The points that grind me are:
1. He suggested what the problem MIGHT be, or otherwise what he thought it was.
2. I'm no mechanic (I have replaced an engine or two in my time, but that didn't require getting into the internals of the engine itself), but even *I* know that loss of coolant/cooling ability can seize an engine.
As a professional of ANY kind, I'd like to think someone would be honest, and *FULLY DIAGNOSE* a problem PRIOR to buying parts. I expect to pay at least some hourly fee for diagnosis, heck everyplace in the universe does it. It has been 5 months But he also insisted I pay storage for all the days it sat on his lot. (It sits outside, and doesn't appear to be taking up too much space, but then, I'm no expert and don't run a storage facility)
So, I agree I shouldn't have signed the work order, but it's in my nature to trust (yes, you can sell me the Brooklyn Bridge). My bad!
What really grinds me is the gall he has to lie. I never, in any way, shape or form told him it had been diagnosed elsewhere and that it was the heads as he insists I did. HE was the one who brought that up, and I know enough about cars to suspect he was telling the truth. And even if I had said that - as a professional,he owed it to me to verify that fact, either by finding out what agency did this alleged (<- man, I hate that word) diagnosis, or verifying the veracity of said statement. I'd already told him I could replace an alternator, but had no penchant for internal maintenance.
His arguments were that the heads got ruined because I mixed coolant types (DING DING DING - loss of coolant can seize an engine) which caused the engine to seize. Then he proceeded to tell me he couldn't have 'known' the engine was seized (he couldn't have even suspected, having already been told the history of what happened?) Going with HIS original diagnosis, he apparently couldn't tell if the engine was 'hydrolocked' without pulling the heads. Hmm, let me see. Spark plugs are screwed into the tops of the heads, right? How long does it take to pull 6 (six) plugs. If there is fluid in the cylinders that can't go anywhere (basic physics, fluids don't compress, which is why hydraulics are so useful in heavy machinery) wouldn't the holes for the plugs have relieved the blockage that a hydrolocked condition attempts to overcome?
So, I feel misled and cheated but mostly hurt. I could accept the responsibility for signing the darn paper, it's the darn lie he maintains that I told him it was the heads. Never happened. Period. HE mentioned the heads to ME .
Comments?
p.s. I havn't the money to pay him, having been layed off this summer, so he wins - I sign the title over to him today.
p.p.s. I notice he ALWAYS seems to have a car or two for sale in front of his shop. Wonder where he gets 'em?
