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Maintenance & Repair Dealer Dis-Service Horror Stories
333 messages, Last post on Feb 07, 2009 at 1:41 PM
You are in the Maintenance & Repair Forum. Your Host is mr_shiftright
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Replying to: jstawski (Mar 24, 2008 3:57 pm) You should not have driven into the water. You should never have attempted to re-start the car after getting it out of the water. Of course, the damage might have been already done, when you first drove into the water. And yes, if you took it in and asked for a diagnoistic, and signed off on it, they could have to take at least part of the engine apart to determine this. In this case, I don't think the shop is messing with you, or the insurance company. I really think you need to be talking with your insurance company now. You don't seem to know much about automobile mechanics, and the insurance company is going to be involved with this whole thing anyway, so why are you not having them involved??????
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Replying to: bolivar (Mar 24, 2008 11:04 pm)
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Replying to: jstawski (Mar 25, 2008 5:12 am) There seems to be a problem with what your auto shop is doing. Let us look at the modus operandi of what happened. 1. You take your car into the shop and tell them that you drove through relatively deep water. 2. They examine the car and contact you and tell you that the engine is totalled and a new one is needed. 3. You ask for a second opinion (quite correct in my view) 4. They tell you that they will have to charge for rebuilding the engine. 5. Rebuilding what though? Any engine which has possibility of water damage should be dealt with as follows: Remove spark plugs from engine. Turn engine over - get workmate to see if water gushes out of any cylinders. If it does then mechanic contacts owner and says that there has been water in the engine and would they like them to examine it further. If the car is a diesel engine then the glow plugs are removed and same process followed. This is basic level 1 mechanics. I know because I teach this at the college I work at, maybe they were off on that day. |
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Replying to: jstawski (Mar 25, 2008 5:12 am) Who should they charge? You are the one who drove through deep water and THEN attempted to start the car. The others here and the shop have already told you what happens to an engine when you do this. I wouldn't be surprised if your insurance company balks at paying to have your engine rebuilt under these circumstances. There is also a good possibility that the water has damaged other components and gotten into your transmission too. Not a good thing. Good luck. |
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Replying to: jipster (Mar 06, 2008 10:01 am) Case in point my naeighbor a few years ago ago got his house painted while on vacation, I mentione to my wife that he never said anything about it but I took it on stride,well the paint job was a mistake the house that should have been painte was in another block. The judge ruling was that the painting company will be deprived of any profits from the job but my neighbor had to pay for labor and materials,,based on...you guessed it...my neighbor could not benefit from the house having a fresh paint job...it sounds crazy but that is the way most judges will look at this., if there is any litigation.. |
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| Hello all. I am new here and need some advice. I recently purchased a used car from my local Saturn dealership. I test drove the car the day before I bought it and except for the brakes everything seemed to be fine. I requested they run a diagnostic on it and as I suspected it needed new brake pads, so they put new ones on for me. I asked if anything else was wrong with it and was told that it was in great condition. The day after I brought it home it would not shift properly and a horrible squealing noise came from under the hood. The day after that I could not turn the key in the ignition half the time and when I finally did the car would die. I tried jumping the car off 5 different times and it would not start. The dealership towed the car back to their shop on their dime and ran another diagnostic. Turns out it needs a new motor mount, a new battery, a new belt and work on the ignition. I was blatantly lied to by the man who sold me the vehicle. Granted, it was a used vehicle but this is ridiculous. I paid 3K cash for this vehicle and that money was extremely difficult for me to come by because I am on a limited income and do not qualify for financing. I have played phone tag with the salesman's immediate supervisor as well as the receptionist and the shop tech. Supposedly the general manager is reviewing it for me but I have yet to hear anything. It has been almost a week since they towed it back. I am very very angry about this and any advice any of you could offer me would be greatly appreciated. By the way, I am in Texas and the car is a 2000 Saturn S-series sports coupe | |
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Replying to: fastpixie (May 28, 2008 7:29 pm) |
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Replying to: fastpixie (May 28, 2008 7:29 pm) So yeah, the diagnosis might have been careless but proving they had foreknowledge of these defects---well, good luck. If the dealer won't step up to help you, your only recourse might be Small Claims Court, to throw yourself on the sympathies of the judge---but legally, "as is" means just that. Sometimes a Small Claims suit...just filing one...jolts a dealer's memory as to past faults. But you also have to take at least some responsibility for not having this car checked out by an independent garage prior to purchase. Some of these defects might have been spotted, though I doubt all of them. |
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Replying to: Mr_Shiftright (May 29, 2008 9:19 am) |
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Replying to: fastpixie (May 29, 2008 3:49 pm) But I'm glad they are stepping up to fix things for you. It was the right thing to do. |
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