responsibility for repairs

[PDBlanco]

We purchased a car for our daughters to share in another state. Prior to delivering it we had the car checked and were comfortable that it was a good car. They had the car serviced several times and safety checks to make sure it was maintained. In mid May they were to drive 6 hours to Las Vegas for a family function and had the car serviced. They were advised to have the coolant reservoir replaced so they took it into a neighborhood mechanic. The part was ordered, replaced, and they thought they were ready to go. While traveling the service engine light would go on and off, eventually a week or so later the car over heated, they put in a gallon of coolant and it went into the engine, the reservoir didn't hold any and the car died completely. Their dad thought about the situation and had the car towed back to the mechanic that replaced the reservoir at the beginning of June. This is a Volvo cross country V70- we have found out now that few technicians work on, even for the simplest repairs. The mechanic talked with us and took the car in for repairs with a ball park estimate that we didn't get in writing. At the end of June we we're visiting our daughters for a week the car had not been repaired at the beginning of the week, their excuse was some labor issues. By the end of the week we still had no hope of it being returned. We received no communication from anyone at the shop for weeks, from time to time the girls would check and and the car was still in the same position on the rack. Mid July I contacted a customer complaint department of the main company and then we received a call from the mechanic that gave us vague and inaccurate information. About a week later, a Thursday, we got a phone message they finally had it towed to a dealership and the car would be worked on the following Monday. No communication from either the mechanic or dealership all week so I called and the mechanic said that the dealership had put the car back together that morning we should have it Mon or Tues. Again no communication until Wed when I made another call to a dealer where I thought the car would be but they had no idea of what I was talking about so I called the repair shop-- a new man has replaced the original person we had been dealing with, he promised to get back to us that day which he did. Now the dealership was waiting on parts so the car had not been put back together and this new guy had no clue of what we had been through. Last evening my husband spoke to the new man at the repair shop and the dealership has the car and there is nothing to do but wait however he gave us the indication that they will not be held responsible for the other guys error or delays. 15 weeks since the girls took the car in for a simple repair that could have been referred to the dealer and we are facing major repair costs as well as not having access to the car for all this time. The girls have had to use public transportation to get to and from work and classes, do their shopping and move from dorms to apartments with the kindness of others, and our disabled daughter has had to be pushed in her wheelchair up hilly terrain due to all this.

Can we legally refuse to pay for anymore than the original estimate even though there is nothing in writing? Shouldn't we be compensated for all this inconvenience?

[msgny]

You can yes. You can argue any higher amount is not reasonable!

Most likely they will compromise with you.