Lost Case in Small Claims Court Against Dealership. Need Advise!

[rb68rr]

Well, I lost my case yesterday and was wondering if I should appeal it. Quick overview:
Jan. 13th 2003: Timing chain replaced at dealership. Milage: 89,000.
Feb. 11th 2003: Rod knock. Milage: 90,000.
March 27th 2004: Rod knock: Milage: 108,000.
They admitted to not cleaning out all of the debris from timing chain gear and also NOT PRIMING the oil pump before starting the car! I found this out after taking the car back when it started knocking on Feb. 11th 2003.
The dealership told me they would have to take out my crank and have it turned .010 and put back in with new bearings. I asked them what it was going to cost me since they didn't do the timing chain job properly. They told me the timing chain job had nothing to do with the bearings going out. This is where I was really STUPID! This is my daily driver and I had to have the car fixed asap so I could get back and forth to work. So DUMMY ME, let them work on it again!
I drove the car after this for 13 months and the bearings failed again, this time ruining the crankhaft!
On March 20th 2004 I took the car to a Real TR mechanic. He found out that the dealership had replaced my turbo crankshaft with a non turbo crankshaft! This is not what they were suppose to do! There was not enough damage to my original turbo crankshaft that turning it .010 would not have fixed!!!
Anyway, because the 12 month warranty had ran out, the judge ruled in favor of the dealership. I say, because the dealership switched crankshafts, that the 12 month warranty should be voided, and they should have to pay for all of their mistakes.
What do you think? Should I appeal? I only have 10 days to decide. Sorry for the lenghth of this post but this really upsets me! Thanks, R.B.

 

[GNVAIR]

I am sorry to hear about your string of bad luck. I work in the leasing/fleet industry and have seen similar cases of cars with cracked heads/blown head gaskets where someone takes the vehicle into a shop and has them replace/repair the problem. Problem is most of the time the shops are just concerned with getting their $$ from the intensive labor. Many times the techs will do jobs like this without dropping the pan and inspecting bearings for damage from debris/damage.
Shortly after the driver gets the vehicle back the engine starts knocking requiring replacement and substantial $$ to repair.
In almost ALL of the cases the owner of the vehicle doesnt have a leg to stand on. With newer vehicles that are not far out of warranty, we are able to recover some $$ from the manufacturer. But for an older vehicle you wont get that.
All the shop or dealer is responsible for is the repair work and the parts replaced. They are not responsible for failures of any other parts regardless of whether the first part failure caused something else to fail. I hate to say it but all the courts want to hear is whether the bill was paid and whether you got what you paid for. IMHO, I think you would be wasting your time appealling, but that is just me.

 

[rb68rr]

Anybody else? Would love to have a lawyers imput. R.B.

 

[rb68rr]

BTW, thanks for the reply GNVAIR.

 

[87buick3825]

sorry to say but I would let it go rather than throwing more $$$$ out the window.

 

[NJTurbo]

Working for Dealerships the last 10 years I can tell you, a repeat customer like you, I would have helped you. Normally when we get a legal letter, we do everything in our power to resolve the issue to stay out of court. Going to court just pisses people off even more and usually cost both sides money. If the wrong crank was installed in the car, I am very surprised the Dealership went as far as they did to defend their position. Normally if you get nothing from the Service Director go to the GM of the Store, if nothing there ask for the owner. I know my owner has his door open all day, he takes phone calls from customers and always makes time to see them if they are unhappy and he is in his 60's. Sorry to hear about this. Good Luck!!!

 

[tom h]

Let it go.

"Appeals" can only based on an error in the legal process or an error in the way the judge APPLIED the law.

Appeals can NOT be based on :

-- you didn't like the outcome and want another chance.

-- new "facts" were discovered. The original trial is generally the ONLY chance to present all the "facts". The caveat is all "facts" are fluid and ephemeral in the eyes of lawyers

And generally, and unlike small claims, appeals require the services of a lawyer. Essentially impossible to do it for less than $2000- 3000, unless wife or girlfriend decides to do it for "free"

And you'll "pay" later, one way or another, and it's not necessarily cash.

 

[bruce]

**
A guarantee given to the purchaser by a company stating that a product is reliable and free from known defects and that the seller will, without charge, repair or replace defective parts within a given time limit and under certain conditions.
**

Free from known defects.
If the crank shop switched cranks, that wouldn't be known to them.
Plus you made it past the one year mark.
Personnally, I don't see where you have any grounds to stand on.

Just because life isn't fair at times, doesn't mean you have cause to sue someone.

 

[rb68rr]

Well. I guess I'll just drop it. But just one thing Bruce, if a GM technition, so to speak, takes out a rolled fillet turbo crankshaft and replaces all the bearings on the new crankshaft without noticing it doesn't have the rolled fillets on it and doesn't mention it to the shop supervisor, he should have his ass kicked!!!! Thanks, R.B.

 

[badboy86gn2]

rb68rr

Just becuase you take your car to a dealership dosent mean they know ****

I can go into any of our local dealerships take their top mechinic and make him look stupid when it comes to a GN anything else well thats another story

thats is why ROC87(not to drag you in this) took his car 2hrs south to FUZZYGN to do his timming chain when he couldve drove 5min to a dealership

let it be a lesson to those who read this thread that most GN owners that run fast and keep their motor going work on them themselves

I would call some of the big name guys and have them build you a motor it will be a little more expensive but worth it

Johnny

thats why i got my motor from chichago

 

[bruce]

Originally posted by rb68rr
Well. I guess I'll just drop it. But just one thing Bruce, if a GM technition, so to speak, takes out a rolled fillet turbo crankshaft and replaces all the bearings on the new crankshaft without noticing it doesn't have the rolled fillets on it and doesn't mention it to the shop supervisor, he should have his ass kicked!!!! Thanks, R.B.

He might not know, the difference. That's just the way things go at times. There are issues worthy of violence but something car repair wise ain't one of them, IMO. I've been taken to the cleaners a few times, in my life, it's all part of the learning process.

 

[Blue87T]

I would think they should stand behind the switching the crankshaft issue but it would be tough to prove that the style of crankshaft caused the knock.

Not to defend the tech but he probrably didnt know about the rolled fillets being on a turbo crank. How many GNs or TR do you think he sees in a week/day /year. Probrably not many. Its up to the parts guy to hand him the right part - which is odd that they would order a crank that is wrong/no longer made by GM. I would ask them where they got the crank ?.

 

[SilverSleeper]

I went down the same road years ago with my car and the trans. I went to the dealer to rebuild it the first time, and it lasted a short time. So, I ended up going back to them because it was still under warranty. This time they farmed it out, and it didnt last much longer. The second time was still under warranty, but they tried to tell me that since they didnt rebuild it themselves, they were not responsible somehow. They tried to blame it on the motor, and the car, and me, and whatever else they could come up with.
I bit the bullet and drove the car 3 hours to Cottons on the bad trans to get it replaced with one that was built right.
Its just something about these cars, they dont seem to do well in the hands of regular shops. I wont let a dealership wash the windows on my car, let alone anything else now.

This is exactly why I dont reccomend these cars as daily drivers. Mine was for a long time, and was reliable for the most part. But when things go wrong, and youre stuck somewhere, Joe Schmo around the corner isnt going to be able to help you with it. If he does try, he is liable to make a worse mess of it.

 

[LC2 ROD]

rb68rr, I agree with badboy86gn2 and blue87t , the tech most likely didnt know any better. I have been a GM service tech for 24 years and a Buick tech for 18 years, speciallizing in Turbo cars, when a Turbo Regal / GN came in for repairs most techs didnt get that they are unique. If one came in the service department today, I would be the only one with the hands on experience with one, at my work anyway. If your getting your Turbo car worked on, dont assume they have the experience, ASK!
Sorry you had this trouble, I believe most GM Dearlerships are reputable. Good luck.

 

[GNRick]

rb68rr- Man, you got 1000 miles on the motor after the timing chain replacement? I took my TR to a mechanic at about 160k miles for a new chain. I drove it 120 miles and also got knock. I needed the motor rebuilt at that time. Of course, the guy who did the chain said he did everything right. Car runs good with the rebuilt motor now, except for the oil puddles it leaves. But that's another story.

 

[rtviper]

Dont bother to appeal. This opens up a whole new can of worms.The dealer who has a lot more money then you can now take it to superiour court where it gets real expensive. Plus you are asking a higher court to overturn a lower courts decision. In english you are asking a judge to rule another judge( his peer and maybe friend) made a mistake in deciding for the dealership. Rarely does one judge overturn another judges decision. I know from 1st hand experience. The good news,I was the one who won the decision and a huge company appealed the lower courts decision. I prevailed in the higher court also.