Car Repairs

[neighbor]

My ex bought my daughter a car. I was not involved in any part of selecting or purchasing the vehicle. She asked my boyfriend to look at the car after the car was purchased, he does auto body repair for a living and has mechanical knowledge as well. He took a quick look at the car in my drive way and could see the floor was rusted out and the carpet could be seen from under the car. Just looking under the hood, he found an anti-freeze and oil leak and all of the fluids needed to be changed. He stated the car was unsafe because it was in serious need of a floor. The car also needed basic maintenance repairs, but he would need to look at the car more closely to see if anything else needed to be repaired/replaced. I contacted her father and told him what Bill (my boyfriend) had found wrong with the car just looking at it in the driveway and that he wanted to give a once over to see if there were any other safety issues with the car besides the rotted floor and to let him know what other repairs maybe needed. My ex agreed to have Bill look at the car. Bill invited my ex to his house to look at the car in his garage. My ex came with both of our children (18 & 20 years old). Bill showed my ex the floor was completely rotted out on the driverside and a bit more than half of the passenger area was gone. Bill went over as many items that he saw, but there were other items that had not been inspected yet (rear brakes and shocks). My ex was suprised at the list Bill had compiled and agreed to pay just keep track of his time and keep all of the receipts. They shook hands, we all chatted for a few moments and my ex left with my children. Bill continued working on the car. My ex sent me an email stating he would pay for all of the repairs per what he and Bill discussed.

Bill did what my ex asked, he replaced the floor and did all the other repairs they discussed, he kept track of his time and had all the receipts. When Bill sent my ex the copies of the receipts and an itemized list of repairs and parts used (minus his labor hours). My ex stated he would not pay the total bill because Bill went over his his budget.

Not once in all of the discussions with Bill, me or when we were all together in Bill's garage did my ex mention he had a budget. Bill paid for all of the parts and materials needed to do all the repairs discussed. My ex is only willing to pay for less than half of the total bill and nothing more. He (my ex) insists that I pay for the rest without ever discussing any payment or billing with me. Is there any type of action Bill can take to collect his money from my ex?

[msg]

That would depend on what was agreed.

If it was agreed that any budget was acceptable or that any work that was needed should be done, then it must be paid for.

You may want to consider a compromise. It is true that spending what was expected could have avoided some of these issues.