What can I do legally to get my vehicle from the dealership?

My question involves a consumer law issue in the State of: North Carolina. Two weeks ago my car broke down on the side of the highway, and my vehicle was towed to a nearby Ford dealership. I did not sign any papers, and my vehicle was taken in. I received a phine call when they finally had time to actually look at my vehicle and I was told it would be 80 dollars for a diagnostic. I was on board thus far. Then my husband called to see if they had made progress on diagnosing my car 3 days after I gave the okay for the diagnostic. *No one had contacted us. The mechanic then tells my husband that we need a brand new fuse block, battery, and alternator. No price was given for repairs or parts, and we were told ni work had been done on my vehicle. The mechanic said he would have to get a used fuse blick from a junk yard because no one has after market fuse blocks. The next day we call to see if the mechanic made any progress, and we were told the alternator, battery, and a few wires were replaced. The work on my vehicle was done and our bill was $903. I gave no permission nor did I sign any papers to authorize the work. Now I can't retrieve my vehicle without the bill being paid. What can I do?

By calling to see if the mechanic has made any progress infers you did give permission, otherwise why would they have proceeded? It may be a failure to communicate and you may be able to negotiate a smaller bill but I think the dealership and mechanic want and need to be paid something.

There's not much you can do considering the situation. You have an uphill battle that you will likely lose. $900 isn't unreasonable for that amount of work, so I'm not sure you could have gotten a better deal anywhere unless you could fix it yourself. You should have been more clear over the phone that you did not want your car worked on. If you start hassling them enough they will start to hit you for storage fees for leaving your car there, so I don't think you have a leg to stand on.

Sounds like you wanted and expected the car to be repaired but now are backing out after it's been done -- or maybe you're just looking for a way to get the repairs for free. Anyway, you owe the $900 and the mechanic has a legal right to keep and sell the car if he isn't paid within a reasonable time.

If you want legal advice, go talk to a lawyer.

Did you want the car repaired or not? It sounds like something got fried in the electrical system and after the initial assessment, more problems were found. That's not uncommon for a complex electrical system.

The law requires an estimate before work commences. See 20.354.3 (a) in the attached link; http://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_20/Article_15B.html

If you're calling to see if the mechanic made any progress, you're calling to find out if they've finished the work they told you needed to be done.

You don't "sign papers to authorize the work". If you didn't authorize the work, then why are you calling them to see how things are coming along? Why didn't you have the car removed from the shop? SMH.

Pay your bill like everyone else that gets work done at a shop.

When you asked for a progress report, you were at least agreeing to that and possibly agreeing verbally to repair. They should have given you a work order and written estimate to sign before any work. You might have gotten cheaper labor from an independent mechanic, but that's not who you left the car with. Pay the bill or they will put a lien on the car and sell it for cost of repairs. Maybe you can get them to use an Interstate battery instead of the more expensive Motorcraft Ford one which is NOT better than Interstate. The new Ford alternator cost you a ton and make sure they installed a new one for their price instead of a rebuilt one, which should be cheaper. They might argue a few more hours labor charge. They really have you on the mat here. Insurance companies deal with shops all the time. Call your agent and see if there's any help they can give you. Some policies offer towing service.