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Taranaki man charged $26,000 for car repairs

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Mon, 08 Feb 2010 7:52p.m.

Car repair bills are often a contentious issue, with drivers sometimes paying double or triple what they were expecting.

A car owner in Taranaki was shocked to receive a $26,000 bill when he took his classic 1935 Hillman Minx in for repairs.  

Mel Cook originally bought the vehicle from his great uncle for $100 in 1969.

The car sat dormant as a museum piece, until 2004 when Mr Cook decided he wanted to get the car up and running again.

Mr Cook took the car to Toko Garage in Taranaki, where a six-year ordeal ensued over payment for the car.

Mechanic Zdenek Hanzlik argues that the car is so old that many of the parts had to be custom made. He also says because of the extensive time spent on the car he has heavily discounted the labour.

Mr Cook has paid $8000 of the bill but refuses to pay the rest, now Mr Hanzlik is threatening to have the car crushed.

Watch the full Campbell Live story and see how the saga pans out.

Comments [4]

Brian
09 Feb 2010 3:49p.m.

Could still be a great deal. Just what is a - hopefully - well restored 1935 Hillman Minx worth? Could be $100,000, who knows? There's bound to be a yank who hasn't got this example, or maybe some car museum might want it. Is there a repository for The Hillman's anywhere in the world, UK perhaps?

Marilyn
09 Feb 2010 1:28p.m.

The mechanic should have kept in communication with the customer to see how much further he wanted to go. In the end the customer wanted the car to drive. Probably the customer made the mistake of finding a cheap mechanic and not a mechanic who he got value for money out of. You find one that does this type of restoration work.

Andresen
09 Feb 2010 11:34a.m.

Repairs like one sees on that car is dubious to say the least The side plate has NOT even been drilled correctly (NOT profecional)
Spark plug leads covered with insulation tubing (I ask you)
TO THE OWNER
Go there with some heavies and take the car and let HIM take you to COURT
MAKE HIM SPEND SOME MORE MONEY

sam
08 Feb 2010 8:04p.m.

sounds like a break down in comunication between the owner and the mechanic... was it quoted before the mechanic worked on it? if not then thats just plain dumb.... the mechanic should of kept the customer informed on what he was doing and how much each part was going to cost to custom make those parts ect i dont like how alot of mechanics just do work on cars and then just give the customers the bill "heres your invoice of $26000... stuff that...

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