Did Mechanic Ruin Man’s 2007 Saturn?

Added: 2026-06-02

[00:00:00]in the matter of Evans vs. Heath, step forward.

[00:00:03]>> Announcer: Travis Evans is suing mechanic 24-year-old Christin Heath for damaging his car and for the return of his deposit.

[00:00:12]>> Judge Judy: Mr. Evans, you want your deposit back... >> Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:16]>> Judge Judy:...from the defendant, who was supposed to fix your car.

[00:00:19]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:19]>> Judge Judy: And this car was a 2007 Saturn.

[00:00:24]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:00:24]>> Judge Judy: When did you purchase it?

[00:00:26]>> Roughly 2011.

[00:00:27]>> Judge Judy: Was it a private person that you purchased it from?

[00:00:29]>> I purchased it from a dealership.

[00:00:30]>> Judge Judy: And when did the engine go on the car?

[00:00:33]>> The engine went out about last year.

[00:00:35]>> Judge Judy: Do you remember what month?

[00:00:36]>> I would say May.

[00:00:37]>> Judge Judy: And when did you have it towed to the defendant's shop?

[00:00:40]>> Well, I had it towed to his shop on December the 17th of 2016.

[00:00:45]>> Judge Judy: And what did you use between May and December to get around?

[00:00:48]>> I have another vehicle.

[00:00:49]I have two other vehicles that I use.

[00:00:51]>> Judge Judy: What did you wait so long for to fix this car?

[00:00:54]>> It really wasn't a priority.

[00:00:56]And so I thought, well, we have a vehicle here, perfectly good vehicle, just needs another engine in it.

[00:01:00]>> Judge Judy: And you knew it needed an engine.

[00:01:01]You knew the engine was -- >> Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:03]Well, it was making a knocking sound, and I had already talked to someone, and they said it possibly needed an engine.

[00:01:08]And that's what led me to look up the defendant on Facebook to his business.

[00:01:12]>> Judge Judy: How did you find him?

[00:01:14]>> I was just searching around auto shops, auto mechanics.

[00:01:17]>> Judge Judy: Okay.

[00:01:17]And you didn't know anybody else who used him?

[00:01:20]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:20]My aunt, she had taken a vehicle to him previously, and she said that he had done good work.

[00:01:24]I got a couple of reviews from the business Facebook page.

[00:01:27]>> Judge Judy: Okay.

[00:01:28]>> So I talked to a few of the customers there, inboxed them and said, "Hey, does he do good work?

[00:01:31]Is he reliable?"

[00:01:33]And I got okays and good reviews on him.

[00:01:35]I didn't hear anything bad about him at all.

[00:01:36]>> Judge Judy: So in December, you brought him the car.

[00:01:38]How much money did you give him?

[00:01:39]>> I gave him $1,200.

[00:01:41]>> Judge Judy: Is that what he gave you?

[00:01:42]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:01:43]>> Judge Judy: $1,200.

[00:01:44]And when you brought the car to him, you towed it there?

[00:01:47]>> Yes, ma'am, because he had informed me -- >> Judge Judy: Well, because you couldn't drive it... >> Okay. Right.

[00:01:51]>> Judge Judy:...because it was sitting for seven months.

[00:01:53]You couldn't drive it.

[00:01:54]>> Exactly.

[00:01:54]>> Judge Judy: So you towed it there.

[00:01:55]>> Right.

[00:01:55]>> Judge Judy: And in what month did you take it out of his possession?

[00:01:59]>> Exactly January 27, 2017.

[00:02:02]>> Judge Judy: So six weeks later.

[00:02:04]>> Right.

[00:02:05]>> Judge Judy: And when you took it out of his possession six weeks later, did you also have to tow it?

[00:02:11]>> Yes, ma'am.ad your answer, and your answer seems to suggest you had a whole lot of problems.

[00:02:20]You lost your shop.

[00:02:21]You had to move.

[00:02:22]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:02:22]>> Judge Judy: When was that?

[00:02:23]>> January the 12th, maybe, if I... >> Judge Judy: Why did you lose the shop?

[00:02:28]>> Well, I had another business partner that was painting cars.

[00:02:31]I was doing the mechanic work, and he was doing the painting part.

[00:02:33]And there was a lot of stuff going on between me and him and the landlord.

[00:02:35]And so it just blew up out of whole lot of proportion, so I came in one day, and I had lost all... My tools were stolen or thrown away, all my paperwork, everything.

[00:02:44]>> Judge Judy: So his car was never fixed.

[00:02:45]>> No, ma'am.

[00:02:46]It was started on, but it wasn't... >> Judge Judy: You have to give him back his money.

[00:02:50]>> Well, with that being said, I did contact him, let him know what was going on with his car.

[00:02:54]And, I mean, I was telling him, you know, that you might need to come and get it before it gets into this type of shape and stuff like this.

[00:03:00]>> No, he never contacted me.

[00:03:01]>> Judge Judy: Wait just a second.

[00:03:02]What kind of shape?

[00:03:04]>> Like, from having a new motor in it and not still being the way it came.

[00:03:08]We did start on it.

[00:03:09]We started repairing on the vehicle.

[00:03:10]He was contacted.

[00:03:11]We did talk -- >> Judge Judy: Just a second.

[00:03:13]Don't talk fast.

[00:03:14]Is what you're telling me, sir, that you returned his car to him in the same condition as when you got it was my question.

[00:03:22]>> No, ma'am.

[00:03:22]>> Judge Judy: What was different about its condition?

[00:03:25]>> The motor that was in his vehicle at that moment in time, all of that motor was all unhooked and everything.

[00:03:29]>> Judge Judy: I want you to tell... Other than the engine, was the physical condition of the car any different?

[00:03:36]>> No, ma'am. No, ma'am.

[00:03:37]>> Judge Judy: Is that correct, sir?

[00:03:39]>> No, ma'am.

[00:03:39]The parts that had been removed from the engine were in the backseat of the vehicle.

[00:03:43]And so I have light leather gray interior.

[00:03:46]So there was oil everywhere, over the leather interior.

[00:03:48]>> Judge Judy: You have photographs?

[00:03:49]>> Yes, ma'am.

[00:03:50]>> Judge Judy: Why did you put these old parts.

[00:03:53]in the back of the car?

[00:03:54]>> I had moved out of the shop.

[00:03:55]I didn't even know he came and got his vehicle.

[00:03:56]>> Judge Judy: Why did you put the stuff in the backseat of the car?

[00:03:59]>> I didn't even put the stuff in there.

[00:04:00]It was in the shop, and once I told him I wasn't going to be able to finish it, it was still up there at the shop.

[00:04:04]I had, like, four other vehicles that were towed away from the shop into a tow yard, which I had to pay to get those out on my other customers.

[00:04:10]>> Judge Judy: Do you have a bill for cleaning the leather seats?

[00:04:13]>> Well, we haven't gotten it cleaned because the car isn't drivable, so it's hard to get an accurate estimate but I have took photos, and I sent them off.

[00:04:19]And I have an estimate from two different people giving me requests to... >> Judge Judy: No, not helpful 'cause I'm not sure whether it can't be cleaned with an easy solvent.

[00:04:27]>> Right.

[00:04:27]>> Judge Judy: Judgment for the plaintiff in the amount of $1,200, which is the full amount that you gave him.

[00:04:31]Thank you. We're done.