I have taken my car to a shop, in disgust because it just waaasn't running properly after I left California. Needless to say, the shop has not done any work on the vehicle after it being there for three weeks. They demanded a deposit, and they say if the head is cracked, it will cost me an additional deposit of 1,000.00. Is this normal? They have my car that I love dearly, so why all the expensive deposits and the attitude from them? They also tell me that it will be an aditional three weeks before I can get the car returned to me as well. Should I be looking for another shop, or is this normal behavior on their part? Also, how much approximately is the repairs for the head gasket and stuff?

Being a shop owner I understand the need for deposits. I think I have asked for about ten deposits in twenty-three years for repairs on cars we had in our possesion. These would have been for repairs that exceeded the value of the vehicle and it was a first time customer.

We do also ask for deposits on special orders.

If its been there three weeks and they have no answer yet I would say that they aren't interested in your business or they are very busy. Unless they offer special services I would find someone less busy and more eager for your business.

I deal with a machine shop that takes 2-3 weeks to repair cylinder heads and we only use them for work that I would only trust to them. The reason they are so slow is they are that good. They make reliable mmachine repairs to heads that others would throw away.

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Steve Brotherton
Owner 24 bay BSC
Bosch Master, ASE master L1
26 years MB technician