I paid this guy $1400 cash to fix my car. It ran for a couple of month and is now dead to the sames problems. I took it back to him and he wants to charge again for the same problems. Denied ever changing some parts out. Now I'm out of $200 for towing and a dead car. I want to sue him but I don't know if I can since I paid cash? Maybe I should report him for running a business a home.
You can sue him in General Sessions, which is TN version of small claims court. But be aware that you will have to prove that the mechanical problem is the same and he did not fix it correctly the first time. That will likely require an expert (such as a mechanic) to testify since that's not the kind of thing a judge would necessarily be an expert in. If you can't prove that he defrauded you then your not likely to win. And even if you do win, the judge can't make him pay right then. You will have to garnish his wages or seize assets to get him to pay the judgement if he doesn't do so voluntarily. You will have to decide if it's worth pursuing the case for that much money.
You can sue him in small claims court if you believe he has breached some sort of contract you had with him. As the business aspect of things, you can decide that one on your own, but I am not sure he is violating any law working on a car in his garage (which is my assumption).
Good luck!
Cash for services - was there any written record or agreement/warranty for service and parts? That would be best place to start - and small claims is an option for these types of matters. You need to look at what documentation or evidence you can present to show that the current problem is related to mechanic not getting it right on first try otherwise it becomes long drawn out "he said/ he said" contested facts. Take vehicle to different mechanic for different and second opinion.
So we believe the guy intended to help you and not defraud you. We say that because you must have had some type of history with him to agree to pay him to fix your car and then pay for the work done. And that you returned to him a second time to assess the breakdown.
The fact the car broke down a second time for what you assert is the same issue is irrelevant.
There could easily be another underlying issue with the car that is causing the issue to happen over and over.
Another factor could've the type of car you are having fixed. Is it an issue inherent to that car? Is it truly fixable?
See just because yoor car has issues does not mean he would be able to identify and fix EVERY issue unless you said "do what it takes...fix everything... " with an unlimited budget.
As far as reporting an unlicensed business... Was't he just trying to help you?
Be nice. Not everyone is out to screw their customers. Good luck.
