Difficult decision about cost sharing of damage to my mechanic's truck...

[Maclin]

As a professional service provider (paid for their services) they should be bonded, licensed, insured, all that for the types of services they provide. You paid for a turnkey service and in my opinion would not even need to know if they had problems or not as long as your possessions were not damaged. Even then they would be responsible for those damages, and most certainly any damages to their own stuff. Sounds like this service provider is cutting costs by not having the insurances necessary to cover their liability, yet expects you to pay full price and still be liable for damage they do.

Having typed all that in, depending on your relationship with them you might consider....... Naw, he should not even have asked you for anything or blomed your stuff. He should have refused to tow it if he saw a problem. If he saw no problem and still had the accident, well, THAT is what insurance is for. M<y opinion only, your mileage may vary.

Also my opinion is that now your coupler could have been affected so check it out thoroughly.

 

[oldjeep]

My insurance company would not even consider a claim of that nature, they would simply say, you (the driver) hooked it up and the safety of that two set up is the responsibility of the driver towing the vehicle, same way are state law looks at it, if an injury accident happened in this type of instance.

That said, however it turns out, probably not going to make anyone happy in the end.

Negligence does not invalidate insurance.

 

[MTboatguy]

Negligence does not invalidate insurance.

Happens everyday, hundreds of times a day oldjeep, any insurance company can refuse to pay a claim and they will go to court to refuse to pay that claim, seen it far to many times.

Might want to read the fine print in your policy.

And why in the heck did you pick my comment out from yesterday to quote?

 

[JASinIL2006]

Sure sounds like it would be the mechanic's responsibility. I suppose he has a high deductible or he doesn't even want to submit it to his insurance (because of the other incidents this year) so his premiums don't get jacked up.

I am the sort of person who is pretty willing to see someone else's side of the issue, but I really don't see how this is something you should have to pay for. For all you know, he might have forgotten to put the latch down on the hitch. If your trailer had rusted and the coupler broke clean off before it hit his truck, I might see it differently. In this case, though, this is his responsibility.

 

[boatman37]

well if you called to have your car towed and it comes off the back of the tow truck, who is responsible????????? hate it for your mechanic but sounds like he is on the hook. just my opinion

 

[DECK SWABBER 58]

My two cents is the driver is responsible for the load.
Whether he owns it or not

This is a for hire deal, he has insurance and supposedly the expertise to haul peoples boats. The liability is on him.

That said, good for you for being loyal to someone you like and have done business with long term. I have been a
small business owner for 30 yrs. and see both sides. This is a tough call, does he want to continue to do business with you or do you want to continue to do business with him?

 

[Bonus Check]

I hate to admit it but I have been in a hurry before and didn't properly hitch up before i loaded or pulled out with the trailer. I have a dent in my tailgate now on my newest truck from not latching the Harley trailer and then driving the Harley up on the trailer. Safety chains caught it but it was my fault. The damaged tailgate does not affect the working of the truck. Repair cost to fix the dent was on $200.

I think your mechanic is not trustworthy and does think you believe whatever he tells you. I would not pay him a dime and definitely would never entrust my boat to him again. Get your boat and and part ways and do your own service work.

 

[redneck joe]

Im with most everyone here you should not pay plus second the questioning of the cost. I had a new drivers door put on had to be painted for S1200 last year. If just a dent S500 or less which he may be planning to have done so no out of pocket for him.

If you have been a customer for years.............

 

[Tim Frank]

Negligence does not invalidate insurance.

100% correct.

It's amazing how many people don't understand this.

 

[sowester]

This is a for hire deal, he has insurance and supposedly the expertise to haul peoples' boats. The liability is on him.

That said, good for you for being loyal to someone you like and have done business with long term. I have been a
small business owner for 30 yrs. and see both sides. This is a tough call, does he want to continue to do with you or do you want to continue to do business with him?

To answer your last question, as far as I know, we had both wanted to continue to do business, although i'm feeling a bit soured by this experience. That is precisely why I posted this question in the first place. I wanted to see if it was "just me," or if there is something wrong with his reasoning to ask me to help out with the repair. From what I'm reading here in this thread, I guess its a good thing I posted. The responses given here have been overwhelmingly consistent with what I've been feeling from the start.

If I go with the majority and refuse to help him, then I guess I will be seeking out a new mechanic.

 

[oldjeep]

Happens everyday, hundreds of times a day oldjeep, any insurance company can refuse to pay a claim and they will go to court to refuse to pay that claim, seen it far to many times.

Might want to read the fine print in your policy.

And why in the heck did you pick my comment out from yesterday to quote?

Because you see comments like that all the time and they are completely wrong. If it were that easy to invalidate an insurance claim then banks would not lend money for boats or cars. Run your car into a tree or person because you are drunk - negligent and the insurance company pays. Forget to latch your hitch, trailer comes off - insurance pays.


As for the OP - you shouldn't really have to pay a penny out of pocket for this.

Side note - friend of mine borrowed my car trailer once and put my 2 5/16 trailer on a 2" ball. He didn't find out his mistake until the next day when he drove his jeep up on the trailer and put the trailer tongue through his tailgate,

 

[aspeck]

I once made the mistake of putting a 2 inch coupler on a 1 7/8" ball. Did not notice the error of my ways for about 2 miles ... it was the clunking noise from the hitch area that caused me to stop and check. I was told it was a 1 7/8" coupler, that is why I put that ball on. Took the friends word instead of checking myself ... changed the ball on the side of the road and moved on ... no harm, no foul. Just said that to say that with the right conditions a trailer will stay connected, even though it is "not connected" for a potentially long time, or a very VERY short time; it just depends on the circumstances.

Your mechanic might not have latched the coupler, might not have checked the lock nut to see if it was adjusted properly, or there might have been a problem with your coupler. But if there is no problem now, there wasn't a problem then. Any way you look at it, it was your mechanics responsibility as the paid transported to check and make sure it could be towed safely and securely. If he is short of funds and can't pay to have it fixed at this time, and doesn't want to turn it in to the insurance company, and you want to be nice, maybe you can "loan" him half the money in return for free service in the amount of the loan. That way you might still be able to stay friends and business associates. But in the end it is HIS RESPONSIBILITY, not yours ... with the only caviate being that if you KNEW the coupler was bad and did not tell him, then, yes, you should fork out some, or all, of the cash.

 

[seadogmike]

Just my 2 cents.....

In the past if his work has always been good, That should be taken into consideration. It is hard to find a really good trustworthy mechanic, especially in an area where mechanics are scarce.
Perhaps some sort of negotiation would be acceptable. Not standing up for the mechanic, but how much is the business association between you and him worth. If he is a little guy (small shop) that does good work, that really means a lot to him. Is he responsible? absolutely! Are you responsible for the damages.... NO!
Were there any damage to your trailer? (I.e. damaged hitch from the impact to the tailgate). If so, this could be a playing card for negotiation, as well as a reminder that you have been a faithful customer for X years.

One thing to consider, if he is a good mechanic, your next mechanic may not be as good. The safety of my friends and family out on the water is more important to me than a couple hundred bucks.

Just the way I see it.

 

[MTboatguy]

Because you see comments like that all the time and they are completely wrong. If it were that easy to invalidate an insurance claim then banks would not lend money for boats or cars. Run your car into a tree or person because you are drunk - negligent and the insurance company pays. Forget to latch your hitch, trailer comes off - insurance pays.

Quite a bit of information on auto insurance claim denials out there by respected legal companies, where I live, the insurance companies will often times deny a claim if they determined that the incident was avoidable, then you have to appeal the determination.. Last time I borrowed money on a car, the Credit Union required me to sign a statement that if the car was involved in an accident agreeing to the fact I was still personally responsible for the loan regardless of any insurance claims.

Insurance companies are regulated by the state laws in your location, which is why I said my insurance company in my statement the other day.

 

[woosterken]

what would have been the case,if your boat was the one damaged?would he pay half the damage?
I think like every body else said put the trailer on his truck and check it with the jack ,while he watches

ken

 

[boatman37]

just to add, my step-father ruined his tailgate on either his 2008 Ram or 2011 Ram (can't remember which) hooking up to his 5th wheel. it was about $1500 to replace and repaint it. but back to the OP, it should be his problem

 

[jakedaawg]

I wish I had customers that would even consider paying for my screw-ups. Although, I would never ask them to! It is his responsibility to maitain both your boat AND trailer IMHO because he is the one doing all the hauling and launching for you, if I read your post correctly; and the billing if we can include that.

 

[Bonus Check]

To answer your last question, as far as I know, we had both wanted to continue to do business, although i'm feeling a bit soured by this experience. That is precisely why I posted this question in the first place. I wanted to see if it was "just me," or if there is something wrong with his reasoning to ask me to help out with the repair. From what I'm reading here in this thread, I guess its a good thing I posted. The responses given here have been overwhelmingly consistent with what I've been feeling from the start.

If I go with the majority and refuse to help him, then I guess I will be seeking out a new mechanic.

So if you paid for half and continued to do business with this mechanic, can you really trust him to look after your best interest? BTW the quote to fix my tailgate was only $200. Walk away from him and don't try to prove a point with jacking the hitch. Right is right and deceit is wrong.

 

[littlerayray]

Good to hear your going with a new mechanic