Bennett v. Hayes

Opinion

THE COURT.

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Upon certification by the superior court, we ordered transfer of the appeal in this case, pursuant to section 911 of the Code of Civil Procedure, in order to settle an important question of law, to wit, whether an automobile repair dealer’s failure to give his customer a written estimate prior to repair of the customer’s automobile, as required by section 9884.9., subdivision (a), of the Business and Professions Code,

[702]

bars any recovery for work performed. With certain additions and modifications, we have adopted the excellent opinion of the appellate department of the superior court, as follows:

“Plaintiff appeals from a judgment for defendant on an action for breach of a written contract and for recovery of an agreed price, entered February 28, 1975, in the municipal court....

“On August 24, 1973, defendant-respondent brought his 1964 Jaguar sedan to The European Stable, plaintiff-appellant’s foreign car repair shop in Menlo Park, California. In the course of an oral discussion, respondent agreed to pay appellant $70 for the repair of one front brake, $100 for a radio and $17 for lubrication. Although specific sums were mentioned, appellant was unsure of the "exact price of all the parts involved. Appellant failed to give respondent a written estimate for this work.

“On September 28, 1973, after appellant had telephoned respondent to say that he had completed the repairs, respondent traveled from his home in San Luis Obispo to Menlo Park to pick up the car. When he arrived, appellant told him the car was inoperable because the rear brakes were in need of repair. When asked to restore the car to its original state, appellant indicated this could not be done without additional cost. Having no other viable alternative, respondent then verbally authorized appellant to repair and replace the rear brakes for $200 and returned to his home in San Luis Obispo.

“Respondent did not receive or sign a detailed written description of the work to be performed on his car until it was later delivered to him in San Luis Obispo, where he was billed for $500.