TimDawg

I had a minor problem with my car, the engine would vibrate when stopped, worse at higher rpm's, but it drove just fine. Had a mechanic (at All Tune and Lube in Boulder) do a tune-up first, no improvement. Some research on this site indicated it was a bad fuel injector, mechanic agreed. Took it to back to get the injector replaced (didn't want to spend 2-3 hours of my time doing it). Long story short they called back to say it was making "A lot of noise" after they replaced the injector. Took engine apart and found a broken connecting rod. But they won't admit it's their fault, say it's a coincidence that it broke while they had it. After they rebuilt the cylinder it wouldn't hold compression (oh, they used the wrong tools the first time they set the timing so it was constantly backfiring). So they replaced the entire head. Still couldn't get it to work, so the bottom end must be f@$&ed. Now they say I need to replace the motor. This has been going on for 10 weeks, complete nightmare. All Tune corporate headquarters won't even return any of my phone calls. Anyone ever gone to small claims court for a problem their mechanic created? I'm afraid it will come down to "he said, she said", and they'll claim the engine was blown when I took it in, and that the judge won't have enough evidence to find them guilty. Please help!

update (9/27/2006):
when the engine started making noise the mechanic used a borescope to check it out, found a bent valve. When he took it apart he found a broken rod too. The mechanic said he would "help me out" by doing labor for free if I paid for parts. Like shavedmax said in his post, I suspect that the injector leaked causing hydrolock to break the connecting rod. There's no other good explanation for how it could have happened. FYI, small claims court in Colorado is for up to $7500, and lawyers aren't recommended. No other mechanic has seen the car in 2 years. Since my odds of winning seem to be 50/50 I agreed to pay for a used motor ($500), they'll do the labor for free. Only other option is take it somewhere else and pay $1500 labor + $500 parts for another mechanic to fix it. Car is only worth $3300 so that seems silly.

MDeezy

iTrader: (27)

There is no real proof that the engine went bad while it was in their posetion. This is the most difficult part. You'd need proof the car was running fine before you took it in. Then every time he found a new problem, he informed you all verbally nothing written.

At the end it will boil down to pointing fingers. Now if you can accumilate enough proof that, the car keep getting progressively worse as they had the car, then you might be able to get them but short of that, its not looking too good.

It especially isnt in your favor if, when you let them take your car for service, you signed something that probably no one would stop and read before signing. That document could state anything that break during the time of their posetion of your car, doesnt leave them liable to reapir at their expense.

If anything find a Lawyer that gives free advice and ask him/her.

TurTLe*

iTrader: (11)

verbal agreements works just as well.

when they called you about the head, did you say yes go ahead replace the rod? or did they say hey you have a broken rod and we replaced it pay me xx.xx.

if you said yes, it was a verbal agreeement and by that your screwed. you can't get the money back for that along with the other items you agreed on. you can't prove that it was working perfectly nor can they. in the end deezzy is right what you signed is whats can make or break your lawsuit.

Maxima_Joe

iTrader: (384)

If you brought in a running car and they messed it up due to mis-diagnosing your car or not knowing what they were doing they are at fault. You need to prove it was in running condition before and they did something wrong.That will take another mechanics opinion.

csb

iTrader: (1)

Bring a friend/relative (or more than one of each) to court with you as a witness/witnesses to its operation prior to the breakdown. It's still a complete crap-shoot, though, and depends A LOT on the judge. I sued a mechanic for saying he'd replace the tranny bearing(S) (note...PLURAL!!!) and he instead replaced only one. Bastard! My tranny kept leaking, he refused to replace the others and blamed it on a worn driveaxle (which was proven to be in absolutely fine condition), I was required to go elsewhere and pay all over again (another grand). I had digital photographs, an affadavit from the dealership and I still lost! In addition, I was almost held in contempt of court due to the fact that I muttered, under my breath, the word, "snake" and the judge thought I was talking to him. I was actually saying that to the mechanic just after hearing the judgement. I would have chosen "c$&ksucker" for the judge anyway .

MaximaSE96

iTrader: (8)

y bother going to court....for 300 bux u can get a junkyard fairly low mile motor and have help swapping....court fees alone will prolly be more that 500

csb

iTrader: (1)

Small-claims court costs are typically less than $100.00.

MaximaSE96

iTrader: (8)

Then u have lawyer fees if u go that route

drvefastho

going to court will be a *****..but.......first.. replacing a fuel injector doesnt involve ANything with the bottom end of the engine... so there is no correlation between a broken connecting rod and replacing the fuel injector...where u can get the shop is the part where they "fixed" the connecting rod and later could not get the cylinder to hold compression....they attempted by changing the head.......BEFORE all of this though they were supposed to do a cylinder leak down test to find out of the cylinder was holding compression or not..and this would also have allowed them to determine where it was leaking from....rings....valves...or head gasket... you can probably get them with the misdiagnosis .... i think your next step should be contacting the better business bureau and then the Bureau of Automotive Repairs..the latter should be able to give you some advice on how to proceed with your case.... if you dont want to go through all the headaches..u can always try to resolve the problem by talking them and welll......agreeing on SOMETHING....perhaps them just going half and half on a used engine...and labor maybe....or push them to pay for all...

shavedmax

iTrader: (6)

it honestly sounds like coincidence, unless the injector they put in was leaking and caused the engine to hydrolock. just the same, what kind of crackheaded mechanic tells you to just replace the connecting rod? anytime something like that happens your engine is toast and you need to replace it or rebuild it if it's not bad. kinda one of those shame on you for not asking us when it happened what to do and shame on them for bending you over the coals.

the problem with going to small claims is that you would need another mechanic that has seen the car that could testify that the replacement of the injector caused a leak which hydrolocked the piston, causing damage to the bottom end. good luck if you dont have the parts.
no offense but who lets a lube shop do a major engine repair? most of the guys in there can barely put the right filter in your car, let alone diagnose a problem, that's why they're working there and not a REAL mechanic shop.

csb

iTrader: (1)

"Then u have lawyer fees if u go that route"

You DON'T have lawyer's fees in small claims court...you represent yourself. You file the claim yourself, prepare for the date and show up.

willard00

iTrader: (1)

have u ever watched a small claims court TV show? there are NEVER lawyers.

but i agree with what was said before...you can get a decent engine from a junkyard for like $300-400.

MaximaSE96

iTrader: (8)

I Meant if u get a lawyer for Small Claims...cause seeing ur Mechanic prolly has a auto repair license to run his shop the judge will believe what he says when it comes to the mechanical nature of the car and not u....and Judge Judy and all the TV shows are a joke...dont even compare it to real small claims court