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Does a mechanic pay for damage caused while fixing something else?
My boyfriend had a belt break in his old rusty car, and since he wasn't near enough home to get it back here, and he wanted it done quickly, he took it to a shop that was right there.
While he was waiting and trying to keep the dog calm (our pup was with him), they put it up on a lift.
He didn't realize they were doing that until after it was done, because he wasn't looking through the glass into the shop, but when he saw he commented that he had been going to mention that his car probably wouldn't do well on a lift, but thought they would know that from the state of the old car.
The belt is accessed from the hood of the car. We don't know why they lifted it.
Anyway, they fixed the belt, but he got in and started driving and basically had no breaks.
The car is old, but they did break it by needlessly lifting it. Are they likely to pay or should they, or is this just kind of a thing where if the car was that rusty, it's not on them?
Edit: No, they did NOT have to put it on the lift, the belt that was broken could NOT be accessed that way at all whatsoever. I should have put that. And bf and them knew which belt it was, so that's why it was a little more grey.
Anyway, bf's Stepdad=side mechanic, he talked to them, and they made a deal with us that they would try splicing in a new brake line piece at the one spot, but if it didn't work, tough luck. He thanked them, and it got us through a week or so until we bought a new car.
PS- Some of these answers are absurd! Break up with my boyfriend? Calling him "low rent?" I understand it was embarrassing that I misspelled brakes, but come on.
FYI, he is a responsible software engineer, and he makes very good money for our age. It's not always easy when you're just starting out right out of college. Maybe we should have gotten him a new care sooner, but we like to think through big purchases. We got an amazing deal on a 2017 Civic, about 5k+ less than new, bc we looked.
13 Answers
- ?Lv 73 years agoFavorite Answer
This goes to show you that you MUST be 100% vigilant to be on the job protecting yourself and your property ALL THE TIME. When you get tired or lazy and trust somebody to look after your property as you would, it's a slip in your defense network. He traded wanting to get it done quickly.
So the mechanic wants to get the job done as soon as possible, not knowing the true condition of the car. And nobody told him.
But really, a hoist was not necessary to change the belt.
So the word you need to understand is "negligence". Was the mechanic lawfully negligent in his job. Well, I doubt it, because the legal definition of negligence is fairly strong. It kind of lets off the hook, anybody who was just trying to get the job done. The mechanic wasnt hyper vigilant and he wasn't hyper observant and he wasn't trying to get the job done no matter what. He just didn't know the car was in such poor condition.
And your bf, what if the brakes failed in an emergency stop and he
- CactiJoeLv 73 years ago
Sounds like an old rusty steel brake line broke. This can occur any time, anywhere. Better now than 500 miles from nowhere.
- Mr.357Lv 73 years ago
Obviously putting the vehicle on a lift did not cause any problem that driving on the road would not have caused. Sounds like you have a low rent or unlucky boyfriend. Dump him and cut your losses.
- River EuphratesLv 73 years ago
If a car can't handle being on a lift, it has no business being on the road.
His *brakes* were probably already shot.
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- Anonymous3 years ago
It's not on them due to the condition of the car, and it's also spelled BRAKES.
- pondererLv 63 years ago
Amateurs crawl under cars. Garages with lifts invariably use them unless told not to. Many belts change better ergonomically in the air.
- J MLv 73 years ago
No. Why should they. They tried to help. It is your boyfriends responsibility and it is unfair for him to assume they would know the problems the car has. It is not on them.
- Possibly CorrectLv 53 years ago
Unfortunately no business ever says "Oh, darnit, you're right. Here's $2000."
If you want them to take responsibility you'll probably have to take them to court and prove that they should have known not to put it on the lift.
