Dealership Incompetency

[Beltzington]

Has anyone filed and won a small claims suit against a dealership?

My son vehicle started randomly dying and leaving him stranded, I did some research and decided I did not have the diagnostic tools to resolve the problem and told him to take it to a dealership as they were best equipped to solve intermittent electronic issues.

My bad, here is a brief synopsis of OEM support:
$600 dollars will fix it
Sorry another $500 will work
We are so sorry, we are sure another $600 will fix it
I can't believe it is still not working; maybe you should buy another vehicle

Really, the company that built this vehicle doesn't have the skill set to fix it. I want this dealership to pay for their incompetency and arrogance, hoping someone has some advice.

LOL, they have been really nice the whole time.

 

[bunyip]

Ford had an action taken against them here with the terrible DCT issues that they denied.
Dealers were claiming it is the way you drive, I never take my vehicles to the dealer unless it is a warranty issue as most are not capable of a repair only a replacement.

 

[Steppenwolfe]

I had a terrible time with a Ford Dealership when my truck was rear ended two years ago. Through some friends I was able to talk to Ford Corporate people in Michigan. Guess what, EVERY Ford Dealership is a franchise... Ford has ZERO control over what they do.

 

[Stimw]

So, what is the vehicle?????

 

[Sigarms]

I want to know how old the son is

 

[jaxs]

Guaranteed this isn't their first experience and they know the judge will rule in their favor because you authorized each additional repair.

 

[TractorGuy]

Authorizing a repair doesn't matter if they charge and don't repair it. Owner will have to show proof it is doing the same thing it was taken in for every time but recovering cost should be doable.

 

[Beltzington]

Guaranteed this isn't their first experience and they know the judge will rule in their favor because you authorized each additional repair.

You are likely correct but I was hopeful at some point "a reasonable person" argument has won the day. It is a Nissan Pathfinder and I understand electronic issues can be difficult to diagnose but at what point should they admit they are clueless and tell the customer they can't fix the problem. I'm really concerned with the service guy suggesting after spending $1600 that maybe another vehicle would be a better option. I guess at the end-of-the-day you can either fix it yourself or put up with the BS.

 

[Redlands Okie]

................but at what point should they admit they are clueless and tell the customer they can't fix the problem. I'm really concerned with the service guy suggesting after spending $1600 that maybe another vehicle would be a better option.............

Seems the answer to the question of when to admit clueless issue is after you cash all the checks that you think you can collect. Nothing like another vehicle to start the process over on.

 

[jaxs]

On the flip side,if the service order state's the symptom and what repair they proposed would fix it,,,and,,,you haven't paid,you might prevail. You might force them to give your car back without being paid. Like you,I wish"reasonable person"was taken into consideration but we know that's not what lawyers and judges do. If you have the time,small claims is not expensive and might be worth a try. The garage owner, mechanic and possibly others would have to be in court missing work. This kind of thing is far more common with auto and home repair than it should be.