Small Claims Court. Do I have a chance? Warning: extremely long, TLDR available.
The story for this will be long. Please take a moment to read it if you can. There will be a TLDR at the end. I apologize for the length of this. I have a habit of telling stories from beginning to end.
Located in Oklahoma. I have a 2014 Mercedes CLS550. There’s a longer story behind this vehicle, but we’re going to start with the shop.
I took my vehicle to a repair shop in December and requested that they inspect it for any issues. I was already aware that my car was leaking coolant, and I later discovered it was also leaking oil when I tried to get an oil change. That’s when I started making calls to independent shops near me. We will call the first shop, Shop #1. At Shop #1, I received a quote for a water pump replacement, oil filter housing and gasket replacement, among other repairs. The total came out to $4,026. My warranty paid $2,200, and I paid the remainder.
On February 20th, I received a call from Shop #1. They started the conversation by saying, “Hello ___, this is ___ from Shop #1. We have good news and bad news. Which would you like first?” I chose the bad news. The bad news was that several lines and hoses were dry-rotted, including my radiator hose, cooling and breather hoses, and turbo coolant lines. They then informed me that they had already gone ahead and fixed the problem. Meaning, yes, I had no idea this work was being performed until after it was completed. My warranty only covered a very small portion of it. Not enough to cover the additional $1,500 worth of work. The good news, according to them, was that my car was ready for pickup. We hit a new total of $5,526.05.
The communication surrounding this was poor. Then again, there were several other instances that made this shop seem unprofessional. My boyfriend was extremely bothered by the situation and called them to explain that it was inappropriate to perform work that had not been authorized. They deflected responsibility and went on a 20 minute rant about their love for cars, the quality of their work, and so on. After about five minutes, we tuned it out because accountability clearly wasn’t on the table. I had just been involved in an accident in my other vehicle and that car was totaled. I had no other transportation, so I paid for the repairs because I needed a car.
Fast forward to May. I received an oil message on my car indicating that I needed to add oil. Strange, considering I had just paid to have everything repaired. Around the same time, I noticed a sweet smell coming through my vents, similar to coolant. Shortly afterward, a coolant warning light appeared. I assumed I had another coolant leak. I figured perhaps one of the parts had failed, although it seemed weird for that to happen so soon. My first step was to return the vehicle to Shop #1. I was told I would receive a call before they closed. I never did. The next day, I told my boyfriend that if they hadn’t contacted me by 4:30 PM, he should go pick up the car. Suddenly, they claimed, “We tried calling multiple times and left voicemails.”
They did not. I have no missed calls or voicemails showing that. My boyfriend called me while at the shop, they informed me that my upper timing cover was leaking oil but claimed there was no coolant leak. They said the sweet smell may have been soap residue from a car wash. They even went so far as to tell my boyfriend that if the engine blew up, it wouldn’t be their fault. The dramatics because I decided to no longer have my car with them. I asked them to send me the estimate and findings from their inspection. As of June, I still have not received that estimate.
Back to the story, we’re still in May. The following week, I took the vehicle to another repair shop, which we’ll call Shop #2, for a second opinion. Within one day, they confirmed that the upper timing cover was leaking. Then came June 2nd, when I received even worse news. At 9:33 AM, I received a call from Shop #2. The conversation started with, “Hello ___, this is ___.” Great, I thought. My car must finally be ready after all these extensive repairs. Nope. Instead, they asked, “Before we get started, who repaired your car?” I told them Shop #1. They responded, “Okay, we have bad news. When we removed your engine, we discovered that your turbo coolant lines were broken off. We also found that your water pump was sealed with silicone and is missing four bolts.”
I’m sorry, what? The same lines I never authorized in the first place? You’re telling me they weren’t installed correctly, and the water pump wasn’t either? After hearing this, I contacted Shop #1 regarding Shop #2’s findings. Despite remaining polite throughout the conversation. I even asked whether it would be possible to bring the vehicle to them. Instead, I received a lengthy response that included the following:
“I am unclear as to what shop told you turbo oil lines are broken off, as if that were the case, the engine would have evacuated all oil in record time. When we last saw your vehicle, we explained that your oil lines to your turbo were now leaking and recommended not driving the vehicle. Instead, you chose to pick it up and drive to ____. Just like a doctor making recommendations, we cannot force anyone to do what is best for their vehicle.”
That’s only a small portion of what they said. Their response irritated me because it had nothing to do with what I was asking. I did exactly what I should have done, I sought a second opinion the very next week. Based on their response, I decided I no longer wanted to do business with them. I requested reimbursement, or that they issue payment directly to Shop #2. I provided videos of Shop #2’s findings, the inspection report, and the estimate showing the repairs needed to correct Shop #1’s work. The work was done horribly.
Their response was essentially no, they would not reimburse me. Instead, they insisted on fixing the issue themselves. “As far as the parts are concerned, they are not faulty, and the vehicle was picked up and has been driven since 02/23/26. It was then brought back last month, picked up the same day, and driven against recommendations.”
At this point, I think I’m choosing the higher road and ending communication with them. I’m done emailing them. However, I do wonder whether I have a case in small claims court.
TLDR:
I took my car to Shop #1 for repairs. They replaced my water pump, oil filter housing, turbo lines, hoses, and other components. The turbo lines and hoses were repaired without my authorization, and I didn’t receive an estimate for that work until the day I picked up the vehicle.
A few months later, I experienced another oil leak. I returned to Shop #1 but was unhappy with their communication and handling of the situation as well as my previous experience.
I then took the vehicle to Shop #2, where they discovered improperly performed work on the water pump and turbo coolant lines that had previously been repaired by Shop #1.