What can you legally do when a car repair shop does a bad job (I haven't paid them, but they have my car)?

Sammy Kar: Pay them, get your car, and report them to the Better Business Bureau and file a small claims suit with the city clerk..

Rosio Pasculli: DO NOT Take the car util is fixed (or returned to you free of charge).If you take the car out of the shop, you are accepting the job was done to your satisfaction and they'll have your signature to prove it.Tell them you wont take the car until fixed, if they refuse then report them to your local Attorney General Office - Consumer Protection Division. Also you can take them to small claim court.EDITBy the way any reputable paint shop would have repainted the car without arguing with you. Dirty bubbles and condensation it's their responsibility. And previous touch-ups are not supposed to be a problem IF they were supposed to pain over it (of course they don't have to fix areas unrelated to the paint job, but they have to fix everything they touched)....Show more

Denna Prudente: If you pay by credit card maybe you ca! n take the car to another shop and get an estimate for repair. If the repair estimate is greater than your credit card payment, call the credit card company to stop payment. Then take the garage to small claims court for the amount that it costs you to repair the damage they caused.