Scammed by Houston Mechanic….what do i do now?

I'm just now picking up the pieces from a mechanic shop that scammed me. 3 weeks after finally getting my (destroyed) car back, I have no clue on what to do next. Does anyone know of a lawyer that can help? I've called around and no one seems to want to help me. Any advice on what I can do?

A friend suggested I post my experience here. I check their google page everyday, because as soon as I got my car back, they set their business to permanently closed leaving me unable to write a review. Today I found that they opened it back up again on google. Please see my review below.

The auto shop is Sam's Auto Care at 6221 Hwy 6 S.

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This auto shop destroyed my car beyond repair due to their incompetence, and this business needs to be closed down. The mechanics here are either homeless, drug addicts, or both, and I've personally seen them using drugs inside.

Back in early June, I brought my car in to check a coolant leak. I ended up waiting four hours before discovering they had already started tearing my car apart. It was too late to walk away, so I reluctantly agreed to let them continue and fix it.

What followed was a nightmarish two and a half months. They'd call me, saying my car was almost ready, but it was never close.

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The mechanic named Rafael turned out to be a real con artist. He'd promise deadlines and then break them with excuses like the weather being too hot or having a sore arm. He'd personally ask me for money to buy parts or have me go and bring parts to him (instead of management taking care of this). This went on for weeks.

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When I turned to management for help, they'd pretend to be on the phone or disappear for the day. Seriously. They did not help me at all, they didn't even try to speak to me.

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Week after week, my car was looking in worse and worse shape. I repeatedly tried to tow my car out of there and they'd often block me from taking it back.

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At one point, the mechanic avoided me for two weeks straight. Other employees told me my car was untouched because "no one wanted to work on it."

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When I finally managed to tow it out, my car was in complete disarray. It wouldn't start, had multiple dents and scratches, the wiring harness was all spliced and torn apart, all the screws were taken out, missing items, trashed upholstery, and a ruined shifter knob just to name a few. After getting 2nd and 3rd opinions, we confirmed they had blown my head gasket.

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I started recording everything and caught Rafael admitting to clearing codes meant to protect the car from overheating and let the car run for hours. This likely caused the head gasket damage.

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This place isn't just unprofessional; it's also a place where drug addicts congregate. I've waited until 11 pm in their lobby because Rafael told me he was almost done, witnessing multiple homeless folks and even prostitutes going into the bathroom, leaving behind a foul smell and smoke.

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I can't believe I had to go through this, and no one else should either.