Not necessarily sunk at all. This is not a mater of an estimate. You were defrauded, plain and simple and it is almost certain you would get judgment for what you paid him through small claims court. The paperwork is 5th grade simple and the filing fee is nominal. Judgments are good for 10 years and can be recorded so that even if you have trouble collecting, it will affect his credit score. If he tries to sell or buy a house the escrow will require that you be paid. You can also lien certain assets. If he has a shop, he may also have a bond on which you can collect. You can also apply for a ātill tapā on his business receipts. There is absolutely no reason to let him get away with this.
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Iām sure you have a valid point and this is one of the reasons I commented. I felt I should
Get various perspectives and several have stated similar comments. I should say that I donāt want to approach this out of anger, yet I am angry. Iāve had numerous conversations
Instigated by me to ascertain the status. And always it was āparts.ā Needless to say with Covid playing a major role, it was difficult to determine whether he was lying. But I also called my previous mechanic whom I trusted implicitly and who told me he doesnāt work on xjs anymore due to lack of parts and even stated he didnāt know if he could give an estimate.
There is no doubt he procrastinated and fail to keep me informed. And yes, I could take him to court as I have used as a means to settle other issues. Right now, Iām checking to see the direction the wind is blowing before I resort to the court. Hoping there is a compromise we both can live with as I donāt want this to become nasty. Just want my car up and running again.
Part 1: sometimes you have to sh!t or get off the throne.
Part 2: as has been mentioned several times IIRC why would you now trust the fellow to perform work on your car?!
Itās already nasty. Youāre the one who has been defrauded and whose blood pressure is up. Waiting for which way the wind blows? A gentle wind doesnāt move a thing.
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donāt become a lollipop. (that is another name for a sucker)ā¦ many mechanics love to prey on jag ownersā¦ I get the same Bās from a smartaā¦ mechanic at homeā¦ oh well, heād say, if you have a jag you can afford itā¦ I hate that attitude !
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The decision on how to proceed is, of course, entirely yours, Chaz. Not sure Iād be as adamant as Larry, but you may be overthinking this. I donāt know where you live, and location can certainly impact the availability of certain parts for these cars, but in this age of EBAY, the national web of wrecking yards, and internet vending, I doubt that anything more than a little determination is required to get everything necessary to rebuild a V12.
Most law suits, including small claims, are settled before trial so filing does not preclude a resolution; it is instead a strong motivator for the defendant talk settlement. There is no advantage to waiting. On the contrary, what happened to you is indicative of a business in trouble which means it is likely that a long line of dissatisfied customers, suppliers and creditors is forming by the day. The longer you wait to force a settlement or get a judgment the further down that line you will find yourself. If there is any cash to be had, you want to be the first to have at it. Judgment liens often have priority in the order in which they are recorded. What one person characterizes as acting out of anger, a more objective view might be cool calculation.
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I shouldāve kept that first point to myself.
Unfortunately, buying used parts can be disastrous, especially for a vehicle like an xjs. One has no recourse if the parts are bad or break down. At least there will be a guarantee on parts and labor. The entire engine has been redone by a machine shop and supposely he has all the necessary parts. Whatever the outcome, if the car breaks down early on, I have recourse. There are few mechanics who have the skills to work on xjs and Iāve lived in or near major cities. As I stated in earlier comment, my initial mechanic said he doesnāt work on xjs anymore due to lack of parts or unable to acquire them. He stated he doesnāt want or have the space to house cars for weeks or months, which would be the case with xjs model. Obviously, with few xjs mechanics available, one is at a disadvantage. I am not the only customer who is dissatisfied with the mechanic, but he is only one of two in the area that will work on this vehicle. Others, based on comments on his info page also suffer the same as me.
Apparently his work is good and he is one of few who work on high end vehicles.
I do have recourse should I decide to exercise it in small claims, but for now, getting my car back and running is of the utmost importance. He promised me the car will be mechanically sound when heās finished and no problems 'based on his work" will arise in the near future. But thereās still the 4k+ difference in his original estimate. Thatās what sticks in my claw.
Heās one of the few in or near my town who works on high end vehicles, Rolls Royce, Jags, Range Rovers, etc. Apparently, he has great mechanics and his work is good enough others trust him to work on their expensive vehicles. Iāve never read anything negative about his work, but apparently, he procrastinates or doesnāt keep his clients informed, as per my situation, including the over the top written recent estimate. Either he low balled his estimate or had no idea what the cost would be. One of his longtime clients wrote a critique/complaint of his business acumen, while voicing my exact sentiments, no return calls, absent, etc.
Before i make any decisions, I will see what the final result is and determine whether I want to or should pursue any legal matters. Getting my vehicle up to speed is my main objective. I donāt want to give him any reason to have any āleft over screws/bolts .ā
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I agree! No matter where Iāve resided, Iāve gotten f-ed over by jag mechanics. If the issue doesnāt happen in a reasonable period after repair, youāre screwed. It seems they believe youāre able or āwillingā to pay the cost.
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I respect your opinions and they are partially correct. To overgeneralize, buying used electrical items is risky. Buying a used fender is not. The vast majority of any car, including an XJS, is made up of things that just sit there, and a used part is likely to work as well as a new one. But here we are talking about removing, rebuilding and reinstalling a motor. In most cases it is cheaper, albeit riskier, to have a mechanic rebuild a motor than to buy a reputably remanufactured engine. There may not be many sources for the Jag V12, but then you only have to find one. If we overestimate that there is 25 hours of labor to remove and reinstall the motor, at $125/hr you are looking at $3000 [at the rate heās going you may have to factor in inflation]. Based on his estimate, your mechanic wants $20,000 to rebuild the engine, which is ridiculous compared to the price of crate motor. The tricky part would be to find someone within a reasonable distance to install the fresh motor. There are local Jag mechanics here but the one I use is about 100 miles from where I live. I suffer this inconvenience because he is familiar with Jag conversions. My premium AAA membership [about $100 a year] would cover towing that far if the car were not running. I understand that you feel wedded to this guy. I would be skeptical unless I had seen, with my own bloodshot eyes, the scrupulously machined block? Have you actually run your trembling hands over the delicious new pistons, cams, lifters, timing chain, etc and studied the invoices for them [Careful here. Fondling a piston pin is felony in some states]? No? Then their existence, like your bonds to this mechanic, may indeed be more matters of faith than necessity.
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First you need to be sure that you know your rights, hence the lawyer if needed.
But you donāt want to fall out with him or youāll have hassle getting your car back from someone who has nothing to gain by being nice to you and youāll have to ship it maybe 1000 miles to someone else and start from the beginning again.
You might also have problems getting your money back so you might lose $6700 trying to save $4000 - $18000 is very high even for a V12 rebuild but if you were willing to pay that in the first place it might be better to carry on with him.
But can you trust him? From what has been said it seems that his work is good so there is an argument to stick with him because if you can weather the storm you will get a good result. His business methods are pants but now you know that you can take a deep breath and stick to your guns.
So there is definitely a case for making your peace, laying the law down and sticking with him, but a decision has to be made, stuck with, and conveyed to him if you do - no more nonsense !!
My own situation has got no better - still no date for the engine to come out and now there are mutterings about a 2 month wait for the machine shop. I canāt decide what to do either 
Why I prefer doing my own work. Coulda learned all about car mechanics from scratch and purchased all the tools needed for less money and time than has been expended already.
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And donāt ask me about them, if youāre not in TX ā¦ only state Iām licensed in ā¦ 
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if you take the mechanic to courtā¦ heāll get even or tie things upā¦ my advice get your stuff away from him if you canā¦ if youāve got the car at homeā¦ walk away from that motorā¦ for the money you would spend you could buy a nice complete one like I have and keep the other body for parts
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Good points. Unfortunately Iām in too deep as he does have the engine and it has been returned from the machine shop and parts which I saw several weeks ago. I will contact the bureau of automotive repair to ascertain what my options are.
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Pay him for the work he has done, pick up the parts and pieces, bring it and the car back home. Then you can regroup.
In too deep ? How did you get in that deep? Seeking to stay with him seems to be diggig the hole deeper by continuing to dig.
cut your loses and get outta thereā¦
Carl .
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I have an xjs body sitting in my garage with no motor, and my transmission and motor, in the possession of the mechanic. If I purchase another xjs motor and transmission, I have no idea what condition they will be. Given these vehicles are rare including parts, that will be as much or more of a gamble than my present situation. At least if something happens after this rebuild, I have recourse. On the other hand, if I purchase parts or another motor and transmission for this vehicle and things go awry, I have no recourse.
If you were walking in my shoes, your resolution might be differentā¦or not.
Parts cost $4,645, labor $9000, sublets ( motor and transmission ), $8,435,
rareā¦ there are tons of them aroundā¦ in this little town of seven thousand Iām in ā¦there were fourā¦ now two or threeā¦ theyāre everywhere