help with legal recoarse?

[adamsbomb]

This is a bit off topic as it is not related to my 911, but my daily driver truck. Going to go to vegas today, so I had my front brakes done friday, (were supposed to do all four but thats another story in anger management). Any way, always cautious and overprotective of my vehicles, I was out smoking a cigarette while the technician was working on my truck, ('01 dodge 4x4), anyway, he went to the drivers side wheel and did what sounded like adjusting your brakes with the star wheel. Didnt think too much about it, but fifty miles outside of Phx just now the brake on that wheel was smokin so bad it aint funny, judging from the spit method I would say 275 300 degrees, I work with steam lines alot so, believe it or not this is close to the temp of the drum. Any way, I lay underneath the truck, and the grommet where the adjusting wheel is is the only one on the truck that is still not covered with mud so you can tell it had been removed. I took digital pictures on the side of the road of all the grommets along with my watch to time and date the photos to be safe. Any way, this is the first time the brakes have been done, and those are are quite a few coincidences to be mistaken. If I made errors in spelling or grammar forgive me, I am in the mood to rip the f..... mechanics head off right now. Any suggestions on how to handle this, besides what I feel like doing?

[jbripps]

Hey,

First of all, relax. Things could have been worse, right? You were very smart to have documented your damages. Is the truck still driveable? If so, I would bring to the shop that did the work, and POLITELY approach them and explain your situation. You know, as well as everyone else, that they should admit to the wrongdoing, and offer to fix all of the damage. Most shops with a decent reputation will want to protect that same decent reputation. If they fail to honor your request, then you may want to advise them that you will seek a legal remedy.

With that, you can sue them in a small claim. You do not need an attorney, but you will need to PROVE they caused your damage, usually by a "preponderance of the evidence". In english, you must prove that the shop "more likely than not" caused your damage. This shouldn't be so difficult. You need someone, an "expert" to testify that the only way this could have happened is by negligence, etc.......... You can find a person in the automotive industry who is familiar with the brakes on your vehicle. Usually, a certified mechanic from your dealership will suffice. If you have to pay them by the hour, do it, and ask the judge to reimburse you for the additional cost.

Couple the expert's testimony, with your testimony that no-one has touched the brakes before that time, you should prevail. You should note that some judges are idiots, but most are not. Please keep in mind that I am advising you based upon NY law. Also, one note, in NY, in order to show "damages" in a small claim, you will need either a bill marked "paid" or 2 separate estimates for the repair.

Best of luck.

By the way, are you under warranty?

regards,

[adamsbomb]

Yes, still under warranty. The thing is this was not negligence, as they did not work on the rear brakes, but rather a deliberate act, as I actually saw the mechanic at that rear wheel, when they were not actually working on the rear brakes. If some one were to drive around town this would have merely worn your brake out rapidly, but driving 75-80 mph for 70 miles tends to heat them up a bit more rapidly, lol, (you should have seen the smoke), I am more concerned about warped drums than anything else now. I did not even pull the adjuster grommet so I could leave it just how I saw it, I could have adjusted them on the road but that would have destroyed my evidence, or what I consider to be my evidence.

[MRM]

What JBripps said. First explain it to the shop owner or manager and ask for them to fix it. If they disagree with you, then pull out the pics. If they still disagree, do not waste any more time with them. You will never convince them of the error of their ways. Arguing with them at that point is kind of like trying to teach a pig to sing: it wastes time and anoys the pig.

Just get the truck fixed, your evidence together, and file a small claims court suit. Stop by your local county courthouse or call their court clerk or check the county court's web site (yes, they'll have one, look for the county web site) and you will get all the forms and directions necessary to file the case.

At the small claims court hearing just bring any eye witnesses, your photos, and any mechanic you can rope into letting you use them as an expert witness. Tell your story in narrative manner just like you did here, show everyone the pics, and ask your mechanic to add a few closing opinions and remarks.

Small claims court is really the only legal thing that is the same in real life as it is on TV. The judges aren't as obnoxious or sarcastic as Judge Judy or Judge Wopner (usually) but everything else is the same. And if you stay long enough to hear enough other cases you'll swear the parties are auditioning for The People's Court.

Good luck and keep us posted.

[adamsbomb]

Thanks for the replies, I guess ripping there heads off is out? Could have been worse, aint my porsche, but still a 30k truck

[john70t]

Just to play the devils advocate:
"what do you mean 300 degrees? What kind of scientific proof do you have? You're not an ASE credentialed mechanic are you?"
"How do we know you didn't fool with the brakes after the truck was fixed?"
"Your watch could have been set to any ol time."
"Nobody else around except the tree's and squirrels? What other evidence is there?"

[Huey581]

Just remember, You will catch more bees with honey than with vineger. How motivated would you be to make a wrong a right is someone
started ripping into you?

[adamsbomb]

lets just play adversariel for fun. Try this as an experiment, take a pan and a pyrometer, heat it to 250-300 degrees and spit on it, at this temp the spit will slowly bubble and evaporate, now take it to 375 + spit on it, the spit will bounce right off the metal. Not exactly scientific, but when we are drilling into live steam lines, this is kind of a ballpark test. As for the watch, the digital camera also time stamps the pics. As for the witnesses, they are biased, but there is a wife and two children to testify to that, as well as the couple that brought the smoking rim to my attention @ 75 mph, as well as diamler roadside assistance. As for me messing with the truck, I can provide you with literally hundreds of people that will tell you I would rip the head off my own mother if I thought she was going to cause damage to one of my vehicles, (yes I am a car freak fanatic).

Sufficient, lol.

Bottom line, regional manager admitted it was there fault without admitting intent, rather an act of negligence. They repaired and replaced all that was damaged.

[Huey581]

Adam!

Good ending! How's the blood pressure?

How many Pelicanites in AZ? I will be in Scottsdale in late
April. Do you guys get together for Porsche talk and cold beverages?

[Randy Webb]

If deliberate you should contact the attorney general's office. Maybe you can get the shop closed down. Do you think it was an attempt to get you back for more work? Or did he hate you for some reason? What is his motivation to damage your car on purpose?

[makaio]

You came out better than my buddy from work. He took his Dodge truck like yours in for a brake job, took off down the road, and about 5 miles into his drive, the right front wheel goes zippy by the truck. He finally wrestled it to a stop, after grinding most of the right front axel assembly to pieces. Needless to say the shop that had done the work fixed their mistake, and gave him a bunch of other free services.

[john70t]

There's a minority of mechanics out there that have the proper experience, time, and access to information/specifications, a majority that have some of both, and a few mf's that will most likely end up on "Cops"(in the middle of the street at night).

The proof is in the puddin. An honest shop will recognize a simple mistake and suck up the comeback cost. They will more than earn it back in a year with the referals alone. And keep earning it.
If the service writer can utter more than "yup-nope" it might be a good sign.

[Superman]

Backing off the star adjuster solves the problem.