Happy New Year Everyone!

I'm sharing this issue in hopes of finding the right direction to resolve a long-standing matter with the shop that worked on my car.

Be warned its a long read to give the details..

--Context I own a 2012 Jaguar XJ (82k miles) with the Range Rover Supercharged V8. My father and I are independent mechanics, but due to his health issues and my computer science studies, I handle most repairs. I bought this car at auction, unaware of its blown head gasket since it wasn’t listed as a mechanical car. Considering the car’s value and my XK8’s transmission needing a rebuild, I decided to overhaul the engine for reliability while finishing the XK8 project. With 4 years of Jaguar experience and tools like IDS and SDD, I calculated commuting costs for the semester and deemed the repair worthwhile in the long run.
--Car Meets Mechanic On September 30, 2024, I brought the car to the shop, explained the head gasket issue, and requested a full engine overhaul since the damage wasn’t severe—coolant hadn’t mixed much with the oil but leaked from the passenger-side gasket. I even provided a video of it running before towing it in, as coolant had prevented compression, making it unable to start. The engine could still turn by hand. They quoted $5,500 for the job and agreed to start dismantling the next day.

I had a long conversation with the shop owner, sharing laughs and respecting their expertise.
--The Issues Begin By October 14, I had over $8,000 ready and reached out for updates. I was told:

"I got you, Isaiah. You’re on deck for a teardown. Only two of my guys can handle your engine at this level, and they’re currently working on Audi and Infiniti engines. I’ll update you this week. Thanks for your patience."

This was after promising to start on October 1. I also reminded them about the water sitting on the cylinder, making the situation time-sensitive. (No response)
--Next Contact On November 5, they finally sent a picture of my engine being dismantled—over a month after the initial promise.
--Updated Quote (Verbal Conversations) The shop owner called Nov 12th,, giving two options:

1. Replace the engine for $10k (with an iffy warranty).
   
2. Rebuild it for $8.9k with warranty of course on parts..
   

I chose the rebuild and sent a $5k deposit via Zelle. I also ordered and shipped four tires to the shop, costing $500.
--Interlude By then, I’d budgeted $8.9k except the tires I paid separately and was excited to have the car ready for personal use and my sister’s prom. However, I remained cautious about unexpected costs.
--Additional Charges In mid-December, they called, claiming the supercharger needed replacement for $1k. Reluctantly, I agreed, bringing the total to $10k.

Later, around December 18, I was informed my rim had been stolen but was assured they’d replace it.
--Final Bill When the car was finally ready, I asked for the remaining balance. To my shock, the total bill was $12k, not the $10k I’d budgeted. They justified the additional cost by citing machine shop fees, claiming the initial quote was just a verbal estimate.

I politely requested a discount, offering $5k as the final payment to settle at $10k total. The owner refused, saying, “Money doesn’t grow on trees,” and offered the following options:

1. Payment plan: $100/week or whatever I could afford, but the car would stay with them.
   
2. Loaner car from the shop owner: $200/week until the balance is paid. Car would stay with them
   
3. Sell the car through the shop. Car stays with them
   
4. Legal action. They still have the car(during this)
   
5. I steal the car back with another key (I'm joking)
   

Of course all of this they keep my 5k
--January 1, 2025 I’ve already paid $10k for repairs, waited three months, and dealt with a stolen rim. I cannot pay another $2k, especially with nothing in writing—just an online bill the shop kept adjusting and some text messages.

This was my last message to the shop:
"As per our last call, I am only willing to settle at $5,000 for the final payment ($10k total). A payment plan for the remaining $2k would not work if I cannot use the vehicle I paid to have repaired. If you are willing to accept this payment (via Zelle or cash), let me know. Otherwise, I will leave the vehicle with you."
Advice Needed I am considering legal action since I have no other options. If anyone has thoughts or advice, please share. I’m withholding the shop’s name for now, depending on how this plays out. The shop owner could just give in and say take it for 10k, but considering is time, ego/pride could make this go either way. Me personally it's over financial aspects.

 

The car is not worth $10K. It's not even worth $5K in non-running condition. In its current condition (sitting at the shop without a motor in it) it's completely worthless, and the owner of the shop knows this.

Sending over $5K blindly on a non-protected platform like Zelle was a bad move. It's not uncommon for a shop to require a deposit to start work, but that usually only covers parts cost. If I had to guess, you are out $5K unless you take legal action. Zelle does not offer robust buyer protections the same way credit card companies do.

Do you have any of your communications with the shop in writing? Did you provide written approval on any estimates of the work to be completed? Any (legally) recorded conversations? Hearsay is inadmissible as evidence in a court of law.

 

Thanks for your response, the work is already completed, the final bill is to now release after work, which they are now requesting an additional 2k to the 10k the job should have been total. So the outstanding bill will be 12k

The zelle payment was confirmed by him in a message with the shop, so we have that. As for the written proof approval there is none. He approved everything via website himself. I never agreed to 12k.

So he has a working Jaguar (mine) with 85k on the dash. But I can tell you, it's still not worth 7k with the damages cosmetically in it (or you can tell me I'm wrong) and the fact he would have to file a lien because I'm not giving up the title, he will have to work for that.

--What the condition is of the car he has
The car has foggy headlights, the chairs in the front needs upholstery, plastic seat belt panel missing from passenger chair, sunroof motor isn't working properly just runs(I know the fixes but I'm not telling them), the radio has no sound to subwoofer(s) (amp issue I'm not telling them lol) rear taillight has old white adhesive streaks from previous owner. And the rear vanity mirrors are broken and removed, same for the sun visor in the front for the driver. I have all replacement parts at home which the guy doesn't know about.

Oh yeah.. and the engine start button is broken I have the parts at home. The way it is, is beyond unimpressive to sell straight from the shop for them lol.

​​​​​​​Essentially a buyer would only get basically a rebuilt Jaguar xj motor, 4 new tires, a new battery and a shell. For the 7k they'll be looking to get.
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If the motor is running he'd probably make margin on the core. Good cores for AJ engines are hard to find since so many of them get trashed by jumped timing chains or overheating.

Did you sign a service contract via his website before work began on the car? I would require that as a customer before committing to a 5-figure repair bill. Check to see if there is a clause in that service contract that permits charges over and above the approved estimate. This is not legal advice.

 

Unlike the shop I went to for my XK8's transmission, he did not have me sign any contract, he just updated the system and said I got you before we had a convo that got interrupted by the tow truck driver. (September 30th 2024)

This was now over 3 months ago

 

If it was me, I would pay the whole bill to get the car back in your hands and then sue in small claims court for the $2K stating that they changed the price on you. It's more likely for you to collect on a judgment from them because they are a real business. The sucky part is that you won't be able to use any warranty they provided because you would be crazy to ever let them touch the car again.

 

And you're absolutely right, I'd have no intention of coming back for warranty or any other work. Only issue is I would have to wait 2 months or a month and a half for my financial situation to allow that to happen if I wanted to pay that other 2k (on a understanding I may never win for a flawed system). But by then they could have won the lien from the state(assuming they would file rather than take my 5k for the outstanding bill than 7k). Right now I've been recommended to wait for a response from my last message to them. But who knows if they'll even respond to that at this point

 

I would try to sell something or borrow the money so I could get the car back asap.

 

Right, I'll try to see what I can do within the next 5 days if they don't respond, in relations to acquiring that cash just to get it out of there. Best case scenario he just says take it for the 5k remaining (no warranty with my pre inspection). Worst case scenario legal action and or some how mustering up that other 2k.

Thanks for the advice! As always I love the support from Jaguar forumers

 

Interested in an update on this.

 

Lucky for you, I'm the type to provide an end to my stories once they reach it. I just like to wait so forumers don't feel edged on till the day it's done.

Since I'm already here, after waiting 10 days and keeping the advice of paying the outstanding charge then suing and realizing I myself... Do not have 2k more to pay ~ I have a lot of other bills to pay I put off to accumulate the 10k in the first place.

I stayed on option A and B, wait for a text back or B start legal action to either get the 5,500$ back or the car...

On January 10th, I messaged him to reinforce, my firm standing saying I will not, be coming back for warranty work as a result of this decision. Part of me was rather afraid to say this as they could sabotage the car but of course I should have the ability to inspect before final payment and proceed with the break in procedure.

I would send screenshots of the messages to give myself less to type but I'll just sum it up~

He sent a bunch of fast responses, and for his age being a 52 year old man against a entrepreneur in his 20's he messaged like a unprofessional Baltimore resident. And with each message he either told on himself or said a lot that could give trouble for his business in court that would aid me.

One example of what he said "getting your title is no problem" or "your car is the reason my business is in aial". Or "it didn't take 3 months but let's say it did" there was multiple forms of evidence including meta data, tow truck documents, quote start documents, screenshots etc. we knew it got there SEPT 30 2024.

And everything I sent was structured with thoughts a judge will see it so each statement I sent was clear short and to the point ~ without​​ instigation from my side. No matter how much his response ticked me, I knew him getting furious would aid in a decision if I also stayed respectful, it would be like a one sided wall. I also avoided getting on the phone so that it's not he said she said, everything is in sms. (He tried to get me to call).

~~ Conclusion ~~


I will further update after the inspection of the xj and it's supercharged engine. If anyone wants to know the shop to avoid it, message me privately as I don't want to publicly defame the business until I review it in it's entirety.
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So far I have 5400$ out of the amount he's asking so once I get the last part, I will pick up tomorrow and update accordingly. Just glad to finally have my car back after 3.4 months or to.

 

You sure think pretty highly of yourself as a 20 year old entrepreneur for having just paid $10K to have an engine replaced on a 20 year old shitbox with no warranty on the repairs. LOL

It seems like you have a longstanding love affair with depreciated luxury cars. As an entrepreneur, tally up the amount of money you're spending maintaining these vehicles and do some future value calcs in MS Excel on a 30 year timeline at 8%. That number will shock you.

 

Thanks for the insight, but no one knew it would get to this point, neither did I state I view myself highly. I didn't pay much for the car at all. Wasnt even close to half the trade in value, as I got it from the auction, neither did we know it had a blown head gasket as per copart's scumminess. If I had the time I would have done the job myself but the situation didn't warrant it.


I love Jaguars, and I'm sure that's why others on the forum would go lengths to fill their dreams and hobbies as well. The intention was to keep for myself and modify for my taste after the engine was working, if you see something wrong with that. I suppose you may be barking up the wrong tree. If you're worried about resale value, there's always Toyota & Honda for you.

You asked for an update, I provided. After the whole charade, I wouldn't give them the keys for warrant work anyways.

 

Nice to see you kept your head in all this too.
I think your negotiating the best you can and are keeping the end result in sight.
Too often our emotions over ride the final outcome and it turns into a shouting match that no one wins! Especially if lawyers get involved.

Thanks much for the update and it's always sad to see these types of situations spiral out of control.
EVERYONE who owns a Jaguar is suffering from the large depreciation rate. That is just the nature of expensive used cars.
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Thank you for those words, very much appreciated. In it's entirety the situation was long and difficult and I wouldn't even wish it on my worst enemy.

I feel bad for anyone who doesn't know much about cars that get swindled by mechanics each day. When they invented forums, it was the biggest fight back between knowledge and understanding for any car a person wanted to learn to fix themselves.

Update: Just got the last of the funds and I'm waiting for my buddy to be free to help accompany me in picking up the car. I'll post pictures I take and how it went.

 

Turn on your phone video recording to record the whole interaction when you pick up the car. That video may come in handy down the road.

Edit: Unfortunately MD is a two-party consent state, so you wouldn't be able to present the video as evidence, but at least you'll have a recording for your own records.

 

Final Update:

On January 15th, my buddy and I visited the shop as planned, and the shop owner greeted us. The atmosphere remained positive and professional throughout our interactions, by the end of the day, we both are getting what we want.

We waited for two hours until we saw the car, they had it locked up a ways away from the shop and the key was at a second location in a safe.

While we waited we pretty much sat back and watched how they handled phone calls, communicated with each other and called clients. We had our on thoughts on what we heard~

At some point I had to sit at their computer and I saw that some of the jobs they had where people already partial paid up to around 3k - 5k, had 3 - 5 months pass on their invoices (Job Not Complete Yet) so some had it worse than me.

Finally at the 2hr mark, we saw the car and discussed the agreement. As per the break in period the guy who rebuilt the engine explained how the engines new parts (gaskets, chains, pistons, machined block, etc) need to still form to each other so there would be some slight misfires on cold start until it warms up (lubrication/priming).

Though warranty work is no longer apart of the deal, they are still holding themselves to the break in procedure, including oil changing and any other tune ups pertaining to it. (This is in the signed agreement we both have copies of) the agreement does state the waiving of all other fees.

After reading the document in its entirety, paying and inspecting the car, I happily drove off. I had my recording/vlog as well.

Conclusion ~
The car has no new scratches, the new wheel they replaced is in good shape but missing the center cap but that's just 15$ for a set so no biggy. I saw most of the new parts when I looked in the hood, the new water pump, Supercharger, fluids etc. I had labeled the pump in marker and a scratch so I knew when I didn't see it, it was new. The lug on right rear wheel was missing but then I realized they had a whole new set sitting in my trunk so I just put it on and used my torque wrench when I got home. Lastly front wheels needs an alignment, after 4 new tires and the dismantling of the front the steering wheel center is to the left by maybe 3-5cm, so I'll just take it to a local shop with a alignment machine that I take my xk to.

For the most parts I could tell the shop was trying to do the right thing at times but it just feels like things get overlooked and miscommunicated from my perspective.

I'm now 200 miles into the breaking in period and the car is just ready to send when you're on roads. Glad to be driving it again. Here's some pics after picking up (before the 200 miles) (Color is Green)








​​​Would I bring it back for the free oil change? I'd say yes... but I'd have to oversee it the whole way and whatever else they do right there and then. After which I would never have another reason to enter that shop again. I do my own work for my vehicles depending on availability.

Thank you for reading, and for your replies throughout the ordeal,

 

So let me get this straight.

-They charge you $10K for an engine refresh and then add thousands to that cost unexpectedly, and THEN eliminate your warranty ( I REALLY hope you didn't sign off on that on the invoice)
-They tell you the "supercharger is bad" (this is uncommon, usually it's just a cheap rubber coupler that is easily replaced when off the car already)
-They make you wait 2 hours when you had a planned appointment to visit them
-They tell you that an engine misfiring on warm up during the break in period is normal and acceptable (it isn't)
-They lost the center cap to your new wheel
-They forgot a wheel lug (huge safety issue)
-They screwed up the alignment and didn't fix it

Am I misunderstanding something? If I were you, I would be talking to a lawyer today.

 

Your depiction is correct.

When it came to the supercharger phone call I had just completed an assessment for a computer science course and he stated that there was a "noise" coming from it.

From my experience I wondered why they couldn't have disassembled the supercharger if that was an issue and fix it, he said it had to be replaced. On my A7, when the supercharger had an issue (V6 S/C), it was about dismantling and renewing to fix the issue, not a whole replacement unless it was the pcv located underneath but renew to clean oil coolant mix from the supercharger, so as to why they opted ~ that I don't know.

To top it off, it's a used supercharger, and it's definitely not my original because it's marked.


I was out of it that day and hadn't worked on the S/C 5.0L V8 myself yet, at least to that extent. So the phone call was wrong time - wrong assumption to make proper judgements.

I would provide the invoice that includes parts but everything isn't listed, because he just buys things and doesn't list all of them like the pistons, rings, cylinder head bolts, the wheel price he bought it at (that he had stolen), lugs and other things. They just buy and don't update or communicate it. Then charge me a difference as dismantle fee in the end and expect me to pay or else Lien. When looking at the previous invoice.

When I was in that office for 2 hrs, it was just a lot of trust being put to his employees while the shop owner himself didn't seem to know much about cars when it came to complicated repairs on jags/range rover. His job seemed more on protecting the business and making profit (obviously).

While I can get a lawyer (again in America this cost money whether you lose or win), I'm just done with situation, the car is driving fine (aside from the new parts wearing in on the old parts), and I have time to work on the car again. I rather just get under it and start making the adjustments myself after their "special warranty" is over. When I take it in, I'll ask if as stated in the document, as part of the "special warranty" where they are to make adjustments for optimal driving conditions if they can redo the alignment with said oil change.

As for the new tire pressure sensor if I'm unable to program it myself with SDD I'll ask about that when I go in as well. The jobs were a bit half assed. But I just wanted the vehicle in my possession again was the overall goal.




Thanks again for your reply,

 

I'll answer for them. It's because the shop can make more money by marking up the used supercharger than actually doing their job.

Expect to hear that supercharger eventually making the same noise as your old one. Next time, don't let a shop work on it.


I really hope you put this shop on blast on social media and warn everybody you meet about them. They're unscrupulous and borderline criminal.