should I sue?

[sykaemail]

Recently, the local dealership replaced my Jetta's fuel pump under warranty. Soon after the repairs I noticed the smell of gas as I drove to work in the next county. I was unsure of the cause of the smell and worried that the problem was serious so I decided to drop the car at the nearest mechanic and phone the dealership that had done the repairs to see if the smell was a result of their recent work. The dealership believed the problem was unrelated so I decided to have the local mechanic perform a diagnosis rather than risk driving it back to the dealership and pay the higher costs involved.


The local mechanic determined that the dealership had installed a cracked fuel pump and charged $340 for raising the car and dropping the tank. I decided to return the car to the dealership for repairs which they performed at no charge and offered to reimburse $100 to cover the costs of a reasonable diagnosis. I'm seeking a full reimbursement from the of the bill for $340.


My question: Was it reasonable for the local mechanic to charge $340 to diagnose the problem by raising the car and dropping the tank? The dealership and local mechanic disagree over the claim that the amount is excessive and that a reasonable mechanic would have simply checked the fuel pump first and only charged around $100. I'm not knowledgeable enough to know what a reasonable mechanic would have done so I'm hoping an expert on the forum might offer an opinion on who is responsible and should I sue for reimbursement.



Thanks,
Confused girl

[GMMerlin]

IMHO the independant mechanic charged you entirely too much to diagnose your problem.
Also, the dealer should have offered to pick your vehicle up (tow) or directed you to a dealer near your location to have the car checked out.
A charge of $100 to diagnose a problem is fair and reasonable.
I would get some estimates on diagnosing the same problem, then go back to the mechanic and request a refund.

[SLJ2137694]

I hope I understand this correctly. If your car needed a fuel pump and they installed one that was defective, they should re-install another one for free. As far as refunding your money, you paid for a needed repair but a defective part was installed. You still needed a repair so why why do you want your money back? As for the diagnosis expense at another location I would push for the refund of it. If the new part was truely defective the warranty from the factory on that part possibly covers this expense in unusual conditions.

[J-Ri]

On some of those cars, the rear axle assembly must be dropped prior to dropping the tank. If that is the case on yours, the $340 was probably reasonable, however, they should have called you for approval before they went past the first hour of diagnosing. I don't know if there is a law that says they must call for approval, but IMO it's dishonest not to. At the same time, if there is a fuel leak above the tank, it's safe to assume that the pump and/or lines are the only possible source. In that case, they would have been able to give you a rough cost without even dropping the tank.

If I were you, I would threaten to sue if they don't reimburse you for most of it. I think it would be reasonable to charge $100 for diagnosing it, and since the dealer offered to pay $100 for the diagnosis, you may as well give them something for their work. It should also be easier to get them to refund a portion than all of it.

[GMMerlin]

In most states there are laws in reference to preathorization of work before the work is performed.
Usually these laws have an "implied" dollar amount (usually less then $100) that work can be performed without an authorization beyond the fact that you signed the repair order and was told there would be a cost involved.
Anything above that amount or repair cost over 10% of the original estimate require the customer to OK the additional costs. If not, the customer does not have to pay the additional expense.

That is why I always over estimate my jobs and the customers are alway happy when they find out the job actually cost less then the original estimate.
If they question it, I tell them I gave them a discount.