Business ProfileforUptown Auto Specialist

On or around August 2021, Ms. ****** was involved in a car accident with her CLA250.She had it towed to Uptown Auto Specialist after speaking with you on the phone. Ms. ****** understood that you specialize in repairing ******** **** vehicles. You inspected the CLA250 and provided an initial estimate of repairs in the amount of $13,602.55, dated August 13, 2021,Quote ID ********. At the time you provided the initial estimate, you knew that Ms. ****** was moving to ************ and that she would be communicated with you remotely, and further,that she would need to come back to *********** to retrieve her car when you had completed the repairs. Having little choice but to leave her car with you, Ms. ****** agreed to your estimate and paid you a deposit in the amount of $5,000.00 on November 19, 2021. On December 15, 2021, she paid you an addition $5,000.00 and requested that she pay you the balance of $3,602.55 upon completion. ****** from your office agreed.You originally estimated two to four months to complete the repairs. My client emailed you on January 7, 2022, asking for an update with no response. After periodically checking on her car with you, your office finally responded on August 16, 2022, providing an updated estimate. The email, this time from ******** at your office stated,In the middle of servicing your car we came across additional damages and updated our estimate. Here is the most up to date estimate we have on file for your car. The parts are on there way to the shop and we are hoping to have your vehicle at the end of September at latest.Uptown Auto Specialist never provided the updated invoice to Ms. ****** prior to this email dated August 16, 2022. My client never had the opportunity to review or approve your updated estimate. Needless to say, my client was very surprised when your updated estimated shows a significantly higher cost, increasing from $13,602.55 to $16,978.45. At this point, this updated estimate was more than the value of the car.On October 10, 2022, Ms. ****** sent you an email expressing her frustrations. She stated that you had been working on the car for more than 14 months, and your estimates had increased to almost three times the original amount. She had not agreed to these increased costs,and she demanded the release of her vehicle. On October 8, 2022, she emailed you again, stating that her email from October 10, 2022, had gone unanswered.This pattern of behavior continued into 2023. Another email from my client and your office, this time from ******, occurred on March 1, 2023. Ms. ****** again asked for an update, and you informed her that certain modules required programming. ******** said she would provide an update the following week, but none occurred.On September 29, 2023, your office stated that the final portion of the repairs were the rear seatbelts, which were on order for three weeks. Finally, upon full completion, you sent my client an email on October 13, 2023, with an invoice that totaled an astounding $23,832.59. This final invoice represented an increase from the original estimate by more than $10,000.00. Again,my client never had the opportunity to review or approve your estimates prior to you ordering and installing the parts. To add insult to injury, the entire repair process took almost two and a half years, far exceeding the original estimate of two to four months.Under the ********* Unfair Trade Practices act, my client has significant claims against you. She believes you misrepresented the original estimates in terms of time to repair. Further,she believes your original estimate was a bait-and-switch, enticing her to leave her car with you while she moved back to ************. You held the car hostage knowing that my client would not be able to easily retrieve the vehicle. Then, you took a commercially unreasonable amount of time to conduct repairs, taking two years longer than you originally stated. During that time, your estimates steadily increased without my clients approvals. If my client is successful in her claims, you would be liable for damages, costs, and attorneys fees, and severe penalties.My client hereby demand that you honor the original estimate of $13,602.55. She is willing to pay you the unpaid amount of $3,602.55, in exchange for the immediate release of her CLA250. If I do not hear from you or your attorney regarding this demand by March 14, 2024,we will assume that you do not intend to comply. At that point, my client intends to pursue all claims under ********* law against you, including any claims under the ********* Unfair Trade Practices act, fraud, and civil conversion of her property. Thank you for your urgent attention to this letter.