Submitted by JohnDouglas on Tue, 05/10/2011 - 08:09
Posted in
I left my car with a mechanic in Massachusetts that I've never gone to before, but he was recommended by a friend. When I dropped the car off he had me sign a paper authorizing work on the muffler, the reason I brought the car in. Anyway, the repair was more expensive than I thought and ended up costing me $500 plus. So I'm wondering if the mechanic should have at least called me up and told me about the cost of the repairs before doing the work or if I gave him permission to just do the repairs by signing the waiver. Thanks for your help.
Waiver for automobile repairs
As you may know from reading some of our other posts, generally speaking, consumers are entitled to written estimates from automobile mechanics before any repairs are done. However, in some cases, a mechanic may not have to provide the estimate. According to Massachusetts regulations (CMR 940 CMR 5.05), the mechanic need not provide an estimate if: (1) he was unable to diagnose the problem when the vehicle was dropped off and he later got your permission to do the repairs (often by phone); (2) the consumer brought the car to the repair shop before or after business hours; (3) the repair was performed some place other than the mechanic's shop at the consumer's request; or (4) as in your case, the consumer signed a written waiver prior to the repair. Under MA law, the waiver must read as follows:
I understand that I have the right to know before authorizing any repairs what the repairs to my car will be and what their cost will be. You need not obtain approval from me for repairs or inform me prior to performing repairs what the repairs are or their cost, if the total amount for the repairs does not exceed $______.
__________________
Signature
If your waiver satisfies the above requirement, then the mechanic did not to obtain your approval prior to completing the repairs. Hope that helps.