In response to Robert M. we advised the owner not to have this car repaired due to the extent of the damage. However, he insisted that he wanted the vehicle repaired because he didn't want to have to buy another one.
We had the vehicle for 3 weeks and had tried numerous times to call the contact number left to us. Upon completion of the vehicle, we called again and finally the sister of the owner answered the phone and informed us her brother had passed away. All we required was payment for repairs to the vehicle in order for it to be released.
The family of the owner was unable to pay for the repairs. So we took the vehicle to storage. The sister assured us she would come and get it within a month. The repairs were completed September 28, 2017 and we did not here back from the sister for another month, so we called her. She said there were issues with being able to pay us. So, finally after 4 and a half months, we were forced to threaten a mechanic's lien and storage to try to recoup our money lost on the repair. At that point storage charges of $5400 had accumulated in addition to the $7,228 repair balance. As of January 5, 2018, we settled on taking $2000 off of the storage bill with the agreement they would come get the vehicle. However, they took another 30 to come pick the vehicle up. They came to get the vehicle February 14, 2018.
Standard operating procedure for any automotive repair facility is to enforce a mechanic's lien after 30 days of non payment, however, given the circumstances in this case, we waived our right to obtain the title to this vehicle through proper channels dictated by the laws of the state of Missouri. We feel we went above and beyond with several unfulfilled promises to pick the vehicle up and were forced to charge storage in order to bring this case to a close. We did only charge for what repairs were done to the car and half the normal storage fee, and did a great job repairing the car. Our storage rates and abandoned vehicle rules are posted at the check in counter in our lobby. read more