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Took my 2014 car (that I own) to the car dealer to have a rear bumper repaired from a rear end collision. Long story short, dealer had car for 3 weeks. When they said it was ready, we went there only to see the bumper not repaired correctly. After they redid the bumper, we went there again and the bumper still was not right. Then we noticed a large gap between the drivers fender and hood. Large enough that you can see inside the fender. Body shop manger say they didn't do anything to the front of the car. After going back and forth he said he would adjust it. The next day they said it was ready(again). The gap looked better but not perfect. We then noticed the driver side corner of the hood was not even with the headlight housing. Also the headlight housing is pushed in toward the middle of the bumper. And the windshield washer cap (drivers side also) was broken off and just laying there.
Body shop says he has cameras in shop and will go through the recordings to prove me wrong. One week later and have not seen any videos, not surprised.
After a big argument in the lot, I went to find the general manager. Of course he was not available.
I take pictures in and outside of my car every time goes in for service just in case (which shows no damage). I also have a check-in sheet filled out by the dealer when the car was dropped off, which ONLY showed damage to rear bumper. CarFax is clean.
Finally received a call from the general manager and he said he is not paying for any damages because they did not do it. He said he is only responsible for the rear bumper that they worked on, nothing else. He could not give me an answer about the check-in sheet that showed no damage and the pictures I took before dropping off the car.
The day after I got the car back, I took it to another GM dealer and let their body shop look at it.
They said body work was done to the drivers fender and bumper. They pointed out dirt in the paint on the fender and bumper. Also showed me how perfect the driver side fender blends with the front bumper compared to the passenger side showed a slight difference in shade which is normal. He recommended that I contact an attorney who handles diminished value cases. I have a few calls to some attorneys, waiting on call backs.
I'm in Florida. Is the shop responsible for the damages ? So far I have more proof that something happened at the dealer versus no answers from the dealer except "we didn't do it".
Does Florida have any laws to protect the consumer in cases like this ? I could go through my insurance, pay $500 deductible and have a claim. That would be last resort.
Any suggestions ?
You have pics of the vehicle before you dropped it off? Do they clearly show no damage? Are the pics time stamped? If so that’s proof the vehicle was damaged under the dealers care.
It is the nature of auto dealership managers and service writers to deny all responsibility for damage caused to a vehicle in their care. You will only get satisfaction in court.
First: Decide what is it that you want, specifically. If cash, how much to the dollar, if repairs, by whom and that you're going to insist on factory parts and a warranty of the work equal to what you'd get if you had used the dealer.
Next: There are sources of leverage you should peruse:
Create a new Google account (free) just for this. They let you put together a simple website for free, and it's easy. Put the photos and a description diary of all the events and whom you've talked with at the shop, all on this website so you can hand out the web address to any who's interested.
Phone or visit (not email) the dealership's owner and be prepared to show your determination to get satisfaction.
Go on all social media you can find. They're sure to have a Facebook page, also Google, Twitter etc. Be businesslike and factual, not whiny.
Contact the local TV stations to see which have Consumer Protection Investigation reporters or such.
Open a complaint with the local BBB.
Scan these and other forums for other ideas about ways to get things right.
As mentioned before, check to see what the Small Claims Court process and limitations are. I had to do that once, and in my jurisdiction it only cost me $75 to file a claim and have a sheriff serve it. It had a $15,000 claim ceiling. (They folded after a brief struggle).
The damage is probably below the maximum limit for small claims court.
So, take out a summons and sue the dealer.
He will most probably have to hire an attorney, so he will offer to settle.
Small claims is around 10k limit. Used to be 7k.
Quote:
Originally Posted by easy62
The dealers have attorneys on retainer so they won’t have to hire one and yes they will go to court and win.
Just because they have a lawyer doesn’t automatically mean they win. It just means they have a lawyer. They also have to prove that they did not damage the car. If OP has pics of the vehicle on the drop off date and then has a proven dated complaint at pick up along with the paperwork that they had the feeble attempt to adjusted the front damage, then they went back and forth n yes we will look and then no we didn’t do it. I would ask the court to subpoena the video tapes showing the dates in question. Going to court is really about proof.
Best thing to do is tell the service writers there is no damage to my vehicle. I’m taking pics in your driveway and I need it documented on the work order. Yes be difficult but guess what, your vehicle is clean, treated with care and not damaged when you get it back. You shouldn’t care what they think about you because it doesn’t matter. You’re paying for a service. If they can’t do the service without damaging your car or it’s components they should be held to that and fix it right,
The dealers have attorneys on retainer so they won’t have to hire one and yes they will go to court and win.
Yep. I went through a fast food drive through a few years ago, and they do not maintain their parking lot, so there was a section where the drains were plugged up and rain water was about 18 inches deep. As I went through it, water shot up and went into my driver's door. Long story short, the electric window stopped working at that very instant. ( I had just put it down a few times earlier that day, and it worked perfectly).
I called them, and they said "not our problem", so I sent them a certified letter, threatening to take it to small claims court. A few days later a person from their head office called and said to get an estimate, and that they would pay. I did, and they did pay for the repair.
So, the squeaky wheel does get the grease, and sometimes you have to stand up for yourself.
The dealers have attorneys on retainer so they won’t have to hire one and yes they will go to court and win.
That is very very rare. Retainer agreements are nearly impossible to work out. Somehow the concept got promulgated to the public and innocent people run around thinking companies have all sorts of attorneys on retainer. IN most cases, A retainer is a deposit we require to ensure someone pays their bill. On retainer, generally means a discounted hourly rate in exchange for a company giving you 100% of their legal work. The concept of paying a certain amount per year and then the attorney does whatever they need is absurd. So if they get dragged into a class action, the attorney has to hire 15 more lawyers and lose millions to defend the company that year, while other years they get paid $100,000 to do next to nothing? That is not a workable proposition for anyone. There are very limited agreements like that where an attorney offers services up to a specific number of hours or excluding pre-trial litigation expenses and any trials that last more than 5 days. Those are rare and usually offered just to John Q public who is not likely to have any significant legal needs. In house lawyers are also often confused with "on retainer" However except for a few really huge companies, in house lawyers do not try cases. They manage outside counsel hired to work up and try the case. For reasons too complex to discuss here, it is impractical to hire in house trial lawyers (unless you ahve a steady stream of litigation and none of the cases overlap).
So yes, like anyone else, dealerships have to hire attorneys.
However, in some states, small claims court prohibit attorneys (which conflicts with the rule that corporations can only be represented by a lawyer).
A better way to get a dealership's attention it to get a permit and picket the dealership. You have to stay in the public right of way and your sign should not contain anything but instantly provable facts or clear and unequivocal opinion. ("I feel cheated by this dealership" - should be ok, but "This dealership cheated me" - might get you sued). Usually you do not even have to do anything. Just contact the management and offer them a last chance before you begin picketing on weekends. Sometimes you might have to show them you mean it, but within minutes of showing up with a picket sign and a permit, they will suddenly start being reasonable.
That is very very rare. Retainer agreements are nearly impossible to work out. Somehow the concept got promulgated to the public and innocent people run around thinking companies have all sorts of attorneys on retainer. IN most cases, A retainer is a deposit we require to ensure someone pays their bill. On retainer, generally means a discounted hourly rate in exchange for a company giving you 100% of their legal work. The concept of paying a certain amount per year and then the attorney does whatever they need is absurd. So if they get dragged into a class action, the attorney has to hire 15 more lawyers and lose millions to defend the company that year, while other years they get paid $100,000 to do next to nothing? That is not a workable proposition for anyone. There are very limited agreements like that where an attorney offers services up to a specific number of hours or excluding pre-trial litigation expenses and any trials that last more than 5 days. Those are rare and usually offered just to John Q public who is not likely to have any significant legal needs. In house lawyers are also often confused with "on retainer" However except for a few really huge companies, in house lawyers do not try cases. They manage outside counsel hired to work up and try the case. For reasons too complex to discuss here, it is impractical to hire in house trial lawyers (unless you ahve a steady stream of litigation and none of the cases overlap).
So yes, like anyone else, dealerships have to hire attorneys.
However, in some states, small claims court prohibit attorneys (which conflicts with the rule that corporations can only be represented by a lawyer).
A better way to get a dealership's attention it to get a permit and picket the dealership. You have to stay in the public right of way and your sign should not contain anything but instantly provable facts or clear and unequivocal opinion. ("I feel cheated by this dealership" - should be ok, but "This dealership cheated me" - might get you sued). Usually you do not even have to do anything. Just contact the management and offer them a last chance before you begin picketing on weekends. Sometimes you might have to show them you mean it, but within minutes of showing up with a picket sign and a permit, they will suddenly start being reasonable.
If you’re lucky, they tender the claim and a carrier picks up coverage. Then it settles after some initial haggling.
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