can I get my money back?

I took my sisters car into a shop that I thought to be reputable. They do all this diagnostic crap and tell me, "it's a bad computer, you have to take it to the dealer to have a new one put in, we can't do it here" so I take it to the dealer, they put one in, car still runs like crap, and I am $500 in the hole for the computer! :banghead: do I have any recourse? can I demand the mechanic fix it or pay for the computer? Help!

P.S. I live in california, so if there are any state laws on my side, lemme know!

Second P.S. sorry if this is the wrong forum, I am not sure where to post it though.

Did the dealer diagnose the problem also or just go from what the other shop said?

Not wanting to pay to have it diagnosed twice, and never having a dealer diagnose it correctly in the past, we just went with what the shop told us. They offered to diagnose it, saying, "you want to take it back to the shop that had you spend all this money, or do you want us to diagnose it,"

I hate manipulative loaded language like that, so in my head I said "F#$@ you", and out loud I said no.

I would make the first shop pay for diag, parts, & labor. Let the dealership fix it correctly. Every dealer I worked @ NEVER EVER did a repair without diag.

Its not the dealers fault. Well they should have declined to work on your car without diag.

Okay, as it stands the shop is going to rediagnose the problem, he said, if the computer still dosn't work we will be liable for the diagnostic time. He said if the computer does work, we will cross that bridge when it comes. (covering his ass I assume.) If the computer still dosn't work, can I then go to the dealer and say "what the hell?" and if the computer does work, can I get the shop to pay for it?

Basically, I don't want to have paid $500 for something I didn't need, and someone should be liable.

The dealer will not refund any money because you came for a specific repair & declined diag. It probably wasnt a computer problem to begin with. The 1st shop should refund your money & cover the computer replacement, then let the dealer take care of the rest while the 1st shop pays for that also. Dealer's work on the same cars all day every day.

I would have to agree with jackasssi on this one.
This happens to me everyday at the dealer I work at....the old "my mechanic says" statement.....
I try to explain to the customer that it would be in their best interest to let me rediagnos their complaint and if the diagnosis is the same then I will not charge them the diagnostic fee.
95% of the time the first diagnosis was incorrect and is usually something simple that was overlooked ( unplugged or loose connector, schewed sensor reading).
Most aftermarket garages dont have the equipment or product knowledge to repair every car...think of technicians the way you think of doctors....do you want your family doctor to do your stomach surgery or do you want a thoracic surgeon to do it?

I would have to agree with jackasssi on this one.
This happens to me everyday at the dealer I work at....the old "my mechanic says" statement.....
I try to explain to the customer that it would be in their best interest to let me rediagnos their complaint and if the diagnosis is the same then I will not charge them the diagnostic fee.
95% of the time the first diagnosis was incorrect and is usually something simple that was overlooked ( unplugged or loose connector, schewed sensor reading).
Most aftermarket garages dont have the equipment or product knowledge to repair every car...think of technicians the way you think of doctors....do you want your family doctor to do your stomach surgery or do you want a thoracic surgeon to do it?

:iagree::iagree::iagree:
We get that all the time @ the shop. At Honda we would NOT touch a car if customer had "aftermarket" diag. & declined for rediag. SEE YA!

And in the case that the dealer has REPEATEDLY missed the problem? Then what? After taking it to a dealer several times we do not have faith that it is a loose connector or something simple, and if it is, then the dealer is incompetent. In my opinion, they had their chance.
(end rant)

Still, what you guys are saying makes sense, in this case it isn't the dealers fault. Do I have the grounds to find the shop liable for the cost of the computer and the work, provided they do not find the problem?

And in the case that the dealer has REPEATEDLY missed the problem? Then what? After taking it to a dealer several times we do not have faith that it is a loose connector or something simple, and if it is, then the dealer is incompetent. In my opinion, they had their chance.


Believe me (and I can get Flatrater and Bowtiebandit to back me on this one) not every dealer tech is a good tech...we ( the auto repair industry)suffer from hacks. The good part is usually the hacks don't last long around a dealer. The down side is our customers are the ones that suffer.
I am lucky enough to work for a dealer that prides itself on customer satisfaction with a management staff that will bend over backwards to make sure that the customer leaves happy.
Can we please everyone...I dont think anyone can, but we try damm hard too.

I try to recommend to anyone having a problem with one dealer is to try another dealer. There is no-one out there that knows more about your car than the dealer. (There are some good independant shops out there, but for product knowledge and technical support, the dealer is miles ahead)
I have seen many times where a customer has spent their hard earned money having their vehicle worked on to avoid bringing it to the dealer. Only to find out that the repairs done to their vehicle were covered under warranty and that they may have been eligable for a loaner car while their car was in the shop.
When you take your car to an independant, who do you think they send it to when they get over their heads trying to repair it....you guessed it...the dealer.

Well, as it stands the shop is insisting that the computer is still bad.

They say the dealer will not admit to putting in a bad computer, or not fixing it at all with the intent of gaining more business. Am I just screwed here? This damn car is a money pit, and I am very frustrated. Is there a way to prove that the computer is bad, and have the first dealer reimburse us? Should I do what the mechanic said, and take it to yet another dealer? augh, I am on the verge of blowing up the car... and cutting my loses. I hate being jerked around by these assholes.

You need to make a decision...are you going to play the this mechanic, that mechanic said game or are you going to have someone fix your car. It sounds to me that the shop you took it to got in over their heads and is trying to cut their loses by pawning you off onto someone else!

The dealer installed a part on your car as you requested and against their advice of verifying that the part was needed. I really dont think you have much recoarse there. BUT!!!
If it was me, I would contact a Lawyer and see if you have any legal grounds to recoup any of your money back from the shop that first worked on your car and made the recomendation that the computor was the culprit. (This is probally going to be a small claims court case)

Believe me (and I can get Flatrater and Bowtiebandit to back me on this one) not every dealer tech is a good tech...we ( the auto repair industry)suffer from hacks. The good part is usually the hacks don't last long around a dealer. The down side is our customers are the ones that suffer.

Yes I agree with Merlin on this!!! Only thing I could add to this is when you go to a dealer ask the writer if they could give the car to your drive-ability and electrical tech. Usually the drive tech has the most experience because he is doing the hardest repairs on a car!!! Yes you should have the right to request a certain tech to work on your car.

Many times I have worked on a car doing something the owner wanted done and this didn't fix their problem. And usually it was something minor that was wrong but people are convince we are trying to rip them off!!! Most of the time the owners blame the dealer when the car isn't fixed!! Never the idiot hacks in the indy shops!!! Most hacks that work for the dealer got their start at an indy shop.

Nowadays cars are very complex and not easy to diag the problem!! I will not release a car unless I am sure I fixed the problem or that the owner knows that I am not 100% sure of the fix and its their call as to what to do. I don't hang parts on cars and ship them out the door!! Just so you know all you pay for this service from me is 1 hour of labor!!! If it takes me 3 hours to find the problem you still pay 1 hour of labor!!! How bout the indy shops?? How much did they charge you to troubleshoot your car.

Okay, as it stands now, we have taken the car to a second dealer just to diagnose the problem. They said a coil, (I tested the coils myself, they were fine). And now they say it IS a bad computer. So as I see it the first dealer did screw me over, and most of my ideas about the dealer have been confirmed. So my question now is, how do I go about informing the original dealer that they F@#$ed up, owe me money for both the new computer and the diagnosis, and should be kissing my ass. Do I send them a nicely worded letter along with the bill, or should I go straight to a lawyer?

If indeed you took it to another dealer and found that the previous dealer installed a defective computer then you have a warranty issue. I believe that most dealers offer a 12 month 12000 mile warranty on service. They should be able to repair and replace for free. Just don`t go in there pissed off and making demands. I see alot of customers coming in and being rude and demanding right off the bat. It doesn`t inspire me to want to work on this person`s vehicle. You refused a second opinion for the sake of cost and now you`re finding out that it`s gonna cost more. I would gladly spend the cost of diag time before i just threw in a very expensive computer especially when the original diagnosis was coming from a untrained factory service tech.