So, on the 11th of this month I took two axles from an AMC 20 rear end to a local shop (I won't name them just yet) to get bearings pressed on them. I figured they would be done in a few days at the most and left them with the owner, who told me his son does all the machine work (the owner must be in his 70's while his son is in his 50's). When I dropped them off, they were completely assembled new axles with new oil seals, backing plates, bearings, and everything in place and in order just needing the bearings pressed on.
About a week passed and I hadn't heard from anyone, so I gave them a call to check on the progress. The owner's son (the ~50 year old) told me that one axle was fine, but that the other bearing had jumped the lip on the axle when being pressed and would need to be cut off and replaced. I took the good axle home and put it in my Jeep (78 CJ-5) and it seemed to be fine.
Yesterday (17 days later) I called the son again to see if the other axle was ready to be picked up yet. He tells me he cannot find the bearing in stock anywhere in the local area and that he has used around $100 in labor trying to find the bearing. I told him that I was planning on having the Jeep completely finished and running by now but his lack of progress is killing my schedule, to which he replied that it's "not his problem."
I almost lost it on the guy, but realized it would most likely just make matters worse. Now I am ordering the bearing and having him press it on, but they still hadn't told me how much they were going to charge me. They expected me to order the bearing and bring it back to them to press on. Today I decided to just get all my parts, order the bearing, and take them elsewhere to get finished. I asked the owner how much he wanted for the axle that was done properly and he said $30, but we agreed on $25.
Now I am home looking up a replacement bearing and am realizing I will be spending no less than $40 on a replacement. I feel they owe me a replacement since I brought them all new parts and they broke the bearing, however I do not really want to deal with them anymore and I have already paid them and left with my parts. What's the right thing to do in this situation?
About a week passed and I hadn't heard from anyone, so I gave them a call to check on the progress. The owner's son (the ~50 year old) told me that one axle was fine, but that the other bearing had jumped the lip on the axle when being pressed and would need to be cut off and replaced. I took the good axle home and put it in my Jeep (78 CJ-5) and it seemed to be fine.
Yesterday (17 days later) I called the son again to see if the other axle was ready to be picked up yet. He tells me he cannot find the bearing in stock anywhere in the local area and that he has used around $100 in labor trying to find the bearing. I told him that I was planning on having the Jeep completely finished and running by now but his lack of progress is killing my schedule, to which he replied that it's "not his problem."
I almost lost it on the guy, but realized it would most likely just make matters worse. Now I am ordering the bearing and having him press it on, but they still hadn't told me how much they were going to charge me. They expected me to order the bearing and bring it back to them to press on. Today I decided to just get all my parts, order the bearing, and take them elsewhere to get finished. I asked the owner how much he wanted for the axle that was done properly and he said $30, but we agreed on $25.
Now I am home looking up a replacement bearing and am realizing I will be spending no less than $40 on a replacement. I feel they owe me a replacement since I brought them all new parts and they broke the bearing, however I do not really want to deal with them anymore and I have already paid them and left with my parts. What's the right thing to do in this situation?
