3SOF

My old foreign car that I rarely drive had the NYS inspection due. Car needed a new brake line and two different Astorian mechanics refused to do the work. I was told that type of job involved also replacing the fuel lines, which could be very tricky.

The third mechanic in Astoria claimed the other two mechanics were wrong. He said that it was still a good, well made car and he'd replace the brake & fuel lines and do the re-inspection for $285. I made it very clear to him that I am recently laid off, newly single female car novice and I had to borrow the money.

He had the car 4 business days and when I finally picked it up, he said he didn't finish it...but would throw in a "free undercoating" and an oil change if I brought it back another day.
I drove the car a few times after that, noticing that it was burning more gas than usual.

It wasn't until I was stuck in traffic on the BQE in 90+ degree blazing afternoon heat that I realized the car was leaking gas.
I got very frightened for my safety and immediately took it back to the mechanic that did the job.

After two days of calls, he claimed it needed a special "spiral line" and he would eat the cost.
After 4 business days, he wouldn't get on the phone with me so I walked there. He then demanded a $100 more "because the gas leak was coming from up above the gas tank".
My car wasn't leaking gas when I dropped it off to have the lines fixed...it was a brake line problem; he suggested doing the fuel lines in the original estimate.
Now he wanted more money after ignoring me for days; in addition to being completely unapologetic about risking my safety.

When I refused to pay him the $100, he handed me the keys and told me to leave.
Up until this point, I had been very nice and non-confrontational...but I wasn't going to drive away in a car leaking gas after getting the run-around for a week.
I mentioned that Astoria was sort-of a small town and this wouldn't be "good business". There were other customerslinks of london there, including another man that was angry about his car not being correctly fixed as well.
The shop owner took my car keys back and refused to give me an estimate of when he would fix it. I stormed out, too angry because he had also literally spit a huge chunk of pizza on me while chewing during this somewhat heated exchange.
(It's not so much the $100 as it is his condescending attitude & negligence that is infuriating...I'm rarely confrontational)

So now my car is still leaking gas on a street in Astoria...and a man that clearly hates my guts is supposed to fix it...
Any advice?

It seems to me that you have little choice but to let him fix it. I guess you are going to have to hope he doesn't do you wrong. I would advise apologizing to him, even though you are not in the wrong, it would make you the bigger person, and may lead to him doing a better job for you. Keep in mind, that if he does you wrong, you can always take him to small claims court.
Vehicle Wraps