My mechanic has been lying to me for the past 7 weeks

[fl4tFTW]

Where to even begin... I'll start off by saying never take your vehicle to Hank's Auto Parts Sales & Services located at 645 Corn Hill Road Etters, PA 17319.

Here's the backstory. I had taken my old honda to hank's before to have my clutch changed out. It was done quickly and the price was reasonable. So I trusted this place.

Now I've had my Subaru for about a year now. I was suspicious of a bad bearing in my transmission in for a little while now, and something in the transmission finally went. The car would make a very loud whining sound, especially when I lifted off the gas. I first called up IAG Performance but they were booked for a week or so because of he OCMD meet 7 weeks ago, so I called up Hanks and asked Randy, the owner, if he felt comfortable working on my Subaru's transmission. I wanted to car worked on quickly because I have a job and a life. Randy said to go ahead and have it towed over and he'll get to it right away. This was on 6/03/12

He supposedly diagnosed that the transmission needed replaced. I decided that since I was at a little over 100k miles that I should have the clutch and timing belt done as well. He quoted me at $2050 for the whole job and all the parts. He said he needed $1000 up front for any job over $1500. Here was my first mistake. I never should have agreed to this. Anyway, me trusting him. I gave him the money.

The excuses and LIES started rolling in a couple weeks later. At first he said the job would take about a week. I called him after that week and he told me he got slammed with work. Every time I would call him he would tell me it would be done in a few days. Many times he wouldn't answer the phone or reply to my voicemails. Note I was only calling about twice a week, after he said my car would be done but it wasn't. He would make up stories such as there were deaths in the family, his mechanics were sick, he didn't get the right parts he ordered, he got defective parts, and the heat was too much.

About 3 weeks ago he told me he got the clutch installed after it was missing a part in the kit. About 2 weeks ago he told me there was a timing issue with the timing belt but he got that fixed a couple days later. He also told me he got the replacement trans in but it sounded worse than the one I had in the car so he had to return it and get another one.

Here's the fun part. I went to the shop today to pick up his loner car because I would have to drive my mom's car to work everyday after she got home and I was planning to go out of town this weekend.

Randy (the owner) is not there so I talk to the mechanic who is always working there, and is an acquaintance of mine from high school. I see my car on the lift (it was NEVER on the lift until friday, 7/20/12) and the transmission sitting on the floor. I start talking to the mechanic (we'll call him Mike), and he tells me Randy is waiting for the transmission.

Wait, Randy told me he got the new replacement over a week ago. I say, "well at least he has the clutch and the timing belt in". Mike replies, "we're doing the timing belt?". I told him yes I was told it was done weeks ago, along with the clutch. Mike tells me the clutch was never done. In fact, Randy doesn't even have ANY OF THE PARTS. Holy ****ing **** am I pissed. I'm stuck without my car and have been lied to over and over again for the past 7 weeks.

From this point I need advise on how to proceed. I don't want him even touching my car anymore. Ultimately, I want to get it towed and fixed at IAG. I want my $1000 back, and not to pay him a dollar for taking the transmission out. Now, I don't want my friend to get fired for telling me these things. He's 21, living by himself, and this is his only job. However, there is no way that I would be able to tell that none of this work was done if his mechanic had not have told me.

Thanks for reading,

-Ben

Edit: I DO have a receipt for my $1000 payment.

[WigWag44]

This is a civil issue. You'll have to take file a civil suit against the business...