Muffler shop butchered my exhaust!

[Fast02]

Dropped off my 02 Stang to the muffler shop. Told the guy to install the O/R Xpipe and Magnapak catback. He said okay it will be ready at noon time. I called back at 10am to see if he had a question about the no cats and he said that he had cut my stock exhaust H-pipe at the cats then cut my Xpipe to plug into the cats and was welding them in place!! I said WHAT! He said well its illegal to install an Offroad pipe and I didnt have a number to call you at. I said well you could have waited until noon time and asked me. They welded my Xpipe up with some cheap bended pipe they had on the shop. It looks butchered. Ford said $1538 for the H-Pipe and $185 to install it. And the X pipe cost $260 shipped. So it looks like small claims court for this job.

 

[JonJon]

wtf

 

[Blk01gt_]

What a moron...

BUT, i wonder if he would actually win in court, because it is ILLEGAL to install it with no cats....therefore, you have no basis for a case, since what you are arguing is illegal in the first place.

either way, that sucks donkey balls bigtime.

 

[nickthegenius]

I'm sorry about your misfortune, but the mechanics story made me LOL.

 

[Beau]

i laughed too.
for a new H pipe don't go to your dealership. ebay or other sources online will get you a better price. and next time know your damn smog laws. sheesh.

 

[Fast02]

Bottom line is before cutting or modding $2,000 worth of parts you may want to talk with the owner first.

 

[nickthegenius]

Yeah, but legal action on this would almost be on par with going to a hydroponics specialist for advice and then you sue when your weed stash dies. "But....but, judge he killed $2000 of my weed."

 

[JonJon]

What a moron...

BUT, i wonder if he would actually win in court, because it is ILLEGAL to install it with no cats....therefore, you have no basis for a case, since what you are arguing is illegal in the first place.

either way, that sucks donkey balls bigtime.

'tampering' with cats may be illegal but the mechanic should've gotten consent to do what he did. it's not the work he was hired to do. he knew it was illegal and he should've waited to contact him.

 

[9TSixGT]

I would have taken the leftover pieces and beaten the mechanic with them. I'm so glad that mid-west mechanics don't give a crap about regulations. I'm sorry for you misfortunate as well.

 

[Gearbanger 101]

BUT, i wonder if he would actually win in court, because it is ILLEGAL to install it with no cats....therefore, you have no basis for a case, since what you are arguing is illegal in the first place.

Then this guy should have mentioned this to him before the fact, not after. This guy was paid to "install" his O/R X-pipe, not modify and otherwise destroy his stock pipe and ruin his O/R pipe in the process. I don't even know how he would have been able to do it in the first place, since the O/R pipe and his Stock H-pipe should have been two different diameters?

I'd tell him to cut that baby apart and weld everything back together the way it was before and then take it someplace else. No so-called "professional" in his right mind would have hacked it up without consulting you to start with.

 

[Donw35]

That sucks dude, a good shop should just wait and talk with the customer before doing something that the customer may not like.

Poor customer server..

 

[JonJon]

Bottom line is before cutting or modding $2,000 worth of parts you may want to talk with the owner first.

and yes. talk to them first.

 

[Venom_Nitrous]

I would claim that the vehicle was going to be used off road after the pipe was installed. He has no proof that you were going to drive it home. Say you had a trailer lined up to tow it home and to the track. Say that in court I mean

 

[SRMobile]

 

[87 blown stang]

you have a case. you breaking the law is not what's on trial, but him doing a shotty job is. at least in pa you would have a case. i took crim classes for a few years. he was wrong for making your decision on his own which shows negligence. it doesn't matter if you were right or wrong by wanting an illeagal item on your car, you're not on trial he is for the work he preformed

 

[GDawg]

That's screwed up. In some places where cats are required, if you bring the car in as if it's an off road car (on a trailer) they will do it but if you drive up in it with street plates on it, they won't touch it.

My muffler shop said no problem with putting an off road pipe on and would put the catted mid pipe back on before smog. But I won't say who they are...

 

[Blk01gt_]

Don't get me wrong guys, i'm not defending the shop in any way whatsoever. I think what they did is compete stupidity, and yes they should have talked to the owner before hacking everything apart.

But what I'm saying, is that in the eyes of the law, the owner may have no case. This is because the act the owner wanted the mech. to perfrom is illegal. You can't enter into a legally binding contract, when the terms of that contract are illegal. So, the court may find that the mechanic could reasonably assume that the customer wanted to hack it all up to high heaven so that he can get the X in there and still have cats ( which would be the only "legal" way of "installing" the X). Also, compare it to what nickthegenius said about the guy trying to sue hydroponics retailer for wrecking his weed stash.

Again, I'm not saying the mechanic was right, he wasn't, he should have talked to the owner first. Im just saying the owner might not win a court battle because of all the legalities that have to be considered. You have to remember, the law is not common sense, it is a very tricky subject, and courts often make rulings that would defy common sense because of some legality or technicality.

 

[jas142]

Unfourtunately a contract is not valid if one part of the consideration is illegal.. IE: You cannot sue him because he failed to do somthing illegal, even if you had paid him to do it.

You will have to claim that the car was an OFFROAD only car, a race car. Goodluck, I don't think you'll have much luck. The mechanic sounds like a moron though, but thats life . You can get a used H pipe from someone on this site ultra cheap. Probably $100-150. My suggestion: buy another O/R x pipe and catback, and install it with a friend or goto a smaller shop and tell them you'll pay in cash and the car is an "OFFROAD CAR ONLY", so they can legally do it.

 

[santos]

damn that sux, the place i take my car took my factory h pipe off and put on a fresh offroad x pipe, no problem, no questi9ons asked. Its good to know your mechanics, before you get work done.

 

[87 blown stang]

do you have an estimate or contract showing he was to install an o/r pipe? if so that could be your edge. if it was wrote up that he was to install an o/r pipe he was aware of the part before hand. here's a suggestion since courts suck anyways: go to the shop and inform him that you are in the process of making a claim against him. tell him he knowingly took the job, knowing what the parts consisted of. and if he's found guilty he may be in for more than he wants. ex: lose his inspect. liscense, get fined etc. basicly bull**** him. but act like you know what your talking about. above all stay calm and don't loose it. tell him you just want your car fixed right or reimbursed for the parts. he may just settle. if he was a moron to start with maybe he's just plain stupid! also tell him you turned him into the better buisness bureau if he starts with the your ganna loose cause you wanted something illegal done. or just talk to a local attorney. if they feel you have a case they'll take it and sue for damages plus their fee. they would know your local laws the best.