How does one sue a mechanic?

rascalman · #1 02-10-2006, 06:43 PM

Hey all,

Has anyone had the luxury of suing a mechanic before?
Concerining our 98 chevy siverado 2500
with a vortec 5.7 350

We have gotten word from a second mechanic that there is no
compression at all in number six. He says we pretty much have to get
a new motor put in. In the meantime the previous mechanic kept telling
us it was timing at first put in a new timing chain and gears, then went to injectors four of them, then saidit was the fuel regulator, and changed all of these before he finally gave up. One stop at this next mechanic and he is saying there is no compression after the first mechanic said compression in all cylinders was good. So how does one sue the first mechanic to get the money spent back for the motor needing to be put in?

The above cost us 2500 and for another 500 we could of had a new
motor put in complete..........

Please let me know if you have knowledge of how to do this.

Thanks,

Rascalman

BlenderWizard · #2 02-10-2006, 09:18 PM

I wish I knew how to sue one. I went in with a small coolant leak and left with all 4 valves bent and no compression on all 4 cylinders in my old honda.

rascalman · #3 02-11-2006, 07:56 AM

Yep, mine was pretty much exploretory mechanicng and all he had to do was
a compression check at no more than a 100 dollars and we would of had a new motor by now..................Now we have to save up another month and then get one.........Some are very good and we had one where we lived and wish we had just towed it to him........

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlenderWizard

I wish I knew how to sue one. I went in with a small coolant leak and left with all 4 valves bent and no compression on all 4 cylinders in my old honda.

KahneFan · #4 02-11-2006, 10:47 AM

My first thought would be small claims court. Most of the time they only do cases under $3000 (or so). You are your own attorney and their are theirs. It's litteraly like the court cases you see on most daytime tv. You may even be able to bring the other mechanic in as a whitness to explain how easy it was to figure out.

If you win, great. If you lose, your out your time, but not any attorney fees.

Google's Results

vnotaro · #5 02-11-2006, 01:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KahneFan

My first thought would be small claims court. Most of the time they only do cases under $3000 (or so). You are your own attorney and their are theirs. It's litteraly like the court cases you see on most daytime tv. You may even be able to bring the other mechanic in as a whitness to explain how easy it was to figure out.

If you win, great. If you lose, your out your time, but not any attorney fees.

Google's Results

This is pretty much on the mark. The dollar limit probably varies from state to state or maybe even county to county. Go to your local court or the local court that has jurisdiction where the shop in question is. A lot of the local courts have a package of instructions on how to file a small claim. If they don't have that, the court clerk should be able to direct you.

Good luck.

maxwedge · #6 02-11-2006, 02:53 PM

You will need an expert witness to back up your case in court, forget about what you see on tv.

tykrz · #7 02-11-2006, 11:23 PM

If you think the mechanic screwed you over, wait till you get a lawyer.
Anyway, I'm of the opinion that its always best to take to a dealer for repairs. At least when theres a problem, they are more inclined to resolve to the best satisfaction of all parties involved as they don't want their franchise pulled by GM

GMMerlin · #8 02-12-2006, 06:50 AM

Your first mistake was not going to a factory trained and certified TECHNICIAN.
Second mistake was to keep OKing the additional repairs.
You have done more research into sueing him than you did in finding him.

Best bet is to get all your documentation in order and go to small claims court and the BBB

rascalman · #9 02-12-2006, 08:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GMMerlin

Your first mistake was not going to a factory trained and certified TECHNICIAN.
Second mistake was to keep OKing the additional repairs.
You have done more research into sueing him than you did in finding him.

Best bet is to get all your documentation in order and go to small claims court and the BBB

Well Merlin, retro spec is always good after the diagnosis and not knowing the full circumstances easy to judge but thanks for the latter info will do. Now that I have your attention though a compression leak test was done and number six has no compression at all. What is the cause of that if you know?

Bad valve, worn piston, cam, if there is no compression through the whole rotation what can this indicate?

Best regards,

Rascalman

tykrz · #10 02-12-2006, 09:49 AM

I agree with Merlin. Always go to a factory trained and certified GM tech. They know your truck best. Sure they cost more but whatever money you save by going elsewhere, they usually end up costing you more money in the long term.
As for the no compression, it could be anything, you'd have to do a diagnostic test. If it's a high miler, I'd just get a rebuilt engine. No use doing the top end and then having the bottom end go out a little later.

maxwedge · #11 02-12-2006, 11:37 AM

A leakdown test will most likely reveal the problem more so than a static compression test.

sreve · #12 02-12-2006, 01:58 PM

a dead miss on a v-8 is still a vehicle that is drivable if it has no other issues. you mentioned that you should have had it towed to someone else. was this truck not drivable?
no compression at all is not real common. low compression is. with the valves backed off on #6 and shop air applied it should be obvious where the compreesion is going. a broken valve spring is one possibility. it is even possible that it would not show on a compression check (low r.p.m. cranking)
breaking too the point later of holdin the valve open.
i am not sayin this is the problem, it is a possibility . too have any success in a court room you will need all your ducks in a row, you will have too be able to document the eng. condition.
you never stated the milage or the symtoms but it sounds like more than a dead miss. i don't think i would be looking to sue anyone until you find the actual problem.

xtreme barton · #13 02-12-2006, 02:23 PM

agree with small claims and BBB

make sure you do the following.

one: get at least two shops to do a test and check compression. preferably dodge for the next one since you already got a second opinion

two: visit the first garage and explain what the deal is. dont argue or shout threats. explain what you have found from other shops and ask why he made the repairs (and why if he explained why the repairs were necissary)

third: send him a letter with your claim and request that he respond in 2 weeks with his decision to handle the situation

fourth: have all your documents and copy them, have 4 sets of each paper

fith: all things you mail have them certified

sixth: ask teh other two shops you went to if they can write you a statement explaining why the things shouldnt have been replaced and that they found no compression.

seventh: make sure you send copies to the first shop of all your paper work.

eigth: send a final request and mention you will be taking to small claims if the situation is not resolved in a timely manner and if your expectations are not met.

thats all you can do unless you wanna dish out 2g's for a lawyer. you can make that back up in stress and etc.. but it hink your best bet is small claims

tykrz · #14 02-12-2006, 03:09 PM

A note of caution, if you do take him to small claims court and he decides to have a lawyer defending him and perchance you lose your case, you stand a very strong chance of being counter sued by the mechanic and end up footing his legal bills on top of it. That would add insult to injury. I'd just cut my losses and chalk it up to the experience. About the best course of action is to lodge a complaint to the BBB. That way he'll be on record and if someone else inquires as to his service reputation, his file will be flagged and hopefully someone else wont get fleeced.

mike65072 · #15 02-13-2006, 03:59 PM

My bro-in-law has a small repair shop and has been sued on more than one occasion. I can tell you he very seldom loses. In order to win you will need to prove the original mechanic intentionally tried to rip you off. The mechanic will say the compression was fine when he checked it, something must have happened after you left his shop...you will have to prove otherwise. He will contend that all the other stuff he did was to try to fix the problem...again, you will have to prove otherwise. Your best bet might be to calmly discuss the situation with him and try to negotiate a compromise of some sort. Good luck.

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