Mechanic/legal advice needed

[tailes151]

I'll try to make this short. Here's my situation:

About 5 weeks ago my clutch went out so I went and had it replaced at the local Nissan dealership (I drive an Infiniti.) It cost around $800 when all was said and done.

As I'm driving back to my house that weekend, which is the second time I've driven the car since it was "repaired" third gear goes out. Shifting into third is basically the same as shifting into neutral.

I take it back to the shop and they say some ring or something in my transmission broke and they need to order a new part. They say it is in no way related to the work done to my clutch and it is going to cost an extra $1350 to fix the third gear assembly.

Just today (a month after they ordered the 3rd gear part) they call me and say that they don't know if the part will ever come in and that they just want to put the car back together (without being fixed) and that they are going to charge us almost the exact same amount. (minus the part which was 147)

How should I go about handling this? Is it time to look for a lawyer? Is there anyway to go about this without getting one?

Thanks again guys.

Cliffs:
1) Clutch goes out. Get clutch replaced. ($800~)
2) Third gear goes out, they want 1350 to fix it.
3) A month later no part to fix it, they want to put it back together and charge 147 less than the 1350 since they dont have the part.
4) Advice??

 

[nweaver]

Don't pick your car up....call a lawyer

 

[Atheus]

I would take a towtruck and a couple of big guys and just go get the car without paying a cent - you can then take it wherever you want for a new gearbox. If they want to try and charge for work not done, let them take _you_ to court, see how that works out for them.

 

[Double Trouble]

First, tell them that you do *not* authorize them to do that work, and that you will not pay for any work done unless it actually fixes the problem.

Then, contact a lawyer and find out what your next step is. They are trying to screw you over.

 

[tailes151]

Originally posted by: Atheus
I would take a towtruck and a couple of big guys and just go get the car without paying a cent - you can then take it wherever you want for a new gearbox. If they want to try and charge for work not done, let them take _you_ to court, see how that works out for them.

I'm at college and don't have any big guys. My parents live about 2 and a half hours away. I'll let them know everyones advice though.

 

[Jeeebus]

as an attorney, the first bit of advice for you is to not call an attorney. we're expensive. call and demand to speak to whoever is in charge. manager, owner, district executive, etc. this is a dealership and not some small independent shop. there are various levels of accountability that you can in all likelihood take advantage of without ever having to involve someone like me.

 

[Double Trouble]

Most colleges have some sort of office of student affairs that can provide basic legal consultations for free or a small fee. It's well worth it to talk it over with them and find out where you stand.

Why the heck would they expect you to pay for all sorts of work when they are not fixing the problem? "Yay! I paid $1200 to do fix nothing!". Tell them forget it, take your car to another mechanic and have them take a look. There might even be a chance that the problem was related to the original work they did (they said it wasn't, but hey, they can say anything they want).

 

[JeffreyLebowski]

It IS possible that the work they did previously could cause 3rd to go out.
It's time to start barking up the tree until you get to the top. If they aren't going to fix it then you shouldn't have to pay the outrageous price. Tell them you will pay the ~$100 diagnostic rate. If they tore the trans apart already without having the part it is their fault.

 

[nweaver]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
It IS possible that the work they did previously could cause 3rd to go out.
It's time to start barking up the tree until you get to the top. If they aren't going to fix it then you shouldn't have to pay the outrageous price. Tell them you will pay the ~$100 diagnostic rate. If they tore the trans apart already without having the part it is their fault.

Indeed, when I took my car in for recall, they wouldn't touch it until the new tank was in the shop.

 

[MrBond]

If your at college, check to see if you get free legal services. At my school, you pay a "legal services fee" every semester that means you can get free legal service from the law school.

 

[Zenmervolt]

Did they dis-assemble the unit to diagnose the problem? If so, you're kind of up sh*t creek without a paddle as far as paying for the labor. If the dis-assembly was necessary to diagnose the issue, then you'd have been charged for the labor of disassembly and re-assembly regardless.

HOWEVER, they should be able to source the part just fine. The fact that they cannot get their suppliers coordinated is not your problem. If they couldn't get the part, they should have told you a month ago. Suppliers aren't so bad that it takes a month to figure out if they have the part or not.

Tell them that you expect to pick up your car FIXED as they promised and that the inability of their supplier to get them the part is THEIR problem, not yours.

ZV

 

[Zenmervolt]

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
It IS possible that the work they did previously could cause 3rd to go out.
It's time to start barking up the tree until you get to the top. If they aren't going to fix it then you shouldn't have to pay the outrageous price. Tell them you will pay the ~$100 diagnostic rate. If they tore the trans apart already without having the part it is their fault.

No, it's not possible that a clutch job can damage internal transmission parts. At most they can screw up the external linkage, but that's not what happened here.

To diagnose the issue properly, it's perfectly possible (indeed likely) that they needed to open the transmission. This is something that they would have had to tear the transmission down to find.

ZV

 

[ahurtt]

Ask them why they took apart your transmission before they had the part first of all. Maybe they needed to open it up to diagnose the problem. Sadly you might have to pay them for that work. Typically shops will charge you a diagnostic fee just for determining the problem regardless of whether they are the ones who fix it or not. It typically behooves you to then go ahead and pay them for the fix too since if you take it someplace else, the next shop might insist on doing their own diagnosis again. You already have a vested interest at the first shop and they know this.

Next, ask them for the exact parts list with part numbers and everything they need to fix the car. It's probably your synchronizer collar. See if you can have any luck obtaining the necessary parts on your own and maybe you can get them to agree to fix the car and charge you only for the labor if you supply the right parts. Of course, I would expect that even after they tell you the exact part/parts you need, and you do provide the parts, they will find something not right with what you give them if you know what I mean.

Like a previous poster said, do NOT authorize any further work. They will probably give you some BS line like, "well we already reassembled it so you have to pay" or something like that. I think this is going to get ugly. Maybe your best bet is just find another mechanic and explain what is going on and find out if they can definitely get your parts or have them in stock and have your car towed over there if so. I think what the dealership is trying to do here is make the repair so expensive that they end up selling you a new car. I for one think they are screwing you from what I read here.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: nweaver

Originally posted by: JeffreyLebowski
It IS possible that the work they did previously could cause 3rd to go out.
It's time to start barking up the tree until you get to the top. If they aren't going to fix it then you shouldn't have to pay the outrageous price. Tell them you will pay the ~$100 diagnostic rate. If they tore the trans apart already without having the part it is their fault.

Indeed, when I took my car in for recall, they wouldn't touch it until the new tank was in the shop.

In your case, the problem was already known when you took the car in. They didn't have to diagnose anything.

 

[ahurtt]

Originally posted by: tailes151

3) A month later no part to fix it, they want to put it back together and charge 147 less

By the way, this should tell you something. It tells you that the approximate cost of the part you need to fix your car is about $147. Any time you get your car fixed you are usually paying about 95% labor and the parts cost is trivial. Just tells you how much the mechanic shop is making off you just for labor. They are essentially trying to charge you the same labor rate here simply without replacing the broken part.

Another thought I had, leave your car with them and insist that they give you a loaner car (at no charge to you of course) to use until they get their crap with their supplier straightened out. Take your complaint to corporate HQ if you have to.