Mechanic STOLE my car and Blew my motor help!!!!!

98spydert · Jan 12, 2005

Kill him and his first born

... but remember you can't sue a dead guy so make you do that first

No but seriously, do the small claims thing and hope for the best. Sorry to hear about your car. Make sure to post pics of your new 400hp awd spyder if it ever happens

1993eclipseGS · Jan 12, 2005

Thats really bad, And it might be very hard to prove in court.

Even though he did infact drive the car 200miles you said, You do not have proof, Unless you took pictures with a camera and with a date and everything. Also, You drove it from the shop, Which was not acting up? Therefor they're going to say it was your fault. It left the shop ok, And then after it went to mitsubishi, It blew up.

There was a huge article somewhere about a guy getting a free body kit/body work because his car was the test car, And he got screwed over REALLY BAD.. This story kind of reminds me of this.

Hopefully you can prove he is guilty. Good luck

miteclgst · Jan 12, 2005

1993eclipseGS said:
Thats really bad, And it might be very hard to prove in court.

Even though he did infact drive the car 200miles you said, You do not have proof, Unless you took pictures with a camera and with a date and everything. Also, You drove it from the shop, Which was not acting up? Therefor they're going to say it was your fault. It left the shop ok, And then after it went to mitsubishi, It blew up.

There was a huge article somewhere about a guy getting a free body kit/body work because his car was the test car, And he got screwed over REALLY BAD.. This story kind of reminds me of this.

Hopefully you can prove he is guilty. Good luck

I have to agree with 1993eclipseGS that it won't be cut and dry. You will have to prove "beyond all reasonable doubt" that the mechanic was in fact the reason your engine grenaded. Your milage isn't documented (as they normally do at the dealership) so your claim is just your word against his. You will need to stress the fact that he had your car evaded you and delivered a car x many days later w/o a single thing done. The ruptured piston will more likely be a your word against his word debate agian. You can say that you never beat the car before but unless you have a pic with the head off of the car and pristine pistons before he worked on it then you will have a tough time proving that he did the damage.
I have no knowledge about specific laws about taking a car for that extended period of time for no reason. There was a body shop down my way that had an owner who had transportation problems. He, on more than one occasion, used customer cars as his source of transportation. Needless to say his shop is "up for rental". Just make sure you get a real sharp lawyer, it's all going to be about the delivery. I wish you the best but I would have to say it's going to be a hell of a fight.

yugotdonkey · Jan 12, 2005

You should do everything you can to show that your car was in as good of condition that you said it was BEFORE you went to this guy. Go to everywhere you have had your car serviced (i.e. dealership) and request records of what labor was done, odometer readings, costs for parts/labor, suggested repairs, etc. That way you can support your claim that you babied the car, and it required only usual maintenence. Then, see if you can get records and a report from your mitsu dealer for the clutch work, and then when that work was done when the engine blew, what the mechanic said had happened, pictures, whatever you can find to show that the car was really trashed because of him. Also, you could try to find out any info of other incidents or poor service on the part of this guy. Hand all that shit to your lawyer, and hopefully he can pull you a sweet deal from this guys ass in court. What a bastard.

95AWD_TSI_TALON · Jan 13, 2005

Linkizunlistd said:
Well you should sue the hell out of him cuz you are gonna need a hell of a lot of cash to convert that spyder to awd since they dont make em. I do believe there was one guy on here that did that tho. Search the gallery.
One.

Are you kidding me.....Quite a few people have done this now! Just you need an entire doner awd car to do the conversion. I have personal seen 2 sitting on lifts at Extreme Motorsports and RRE's main page had the silver GSX spyder.
matt

97ClipseDSM · Jan 13, 2005

Dude im so sorry to hear that happened with u. Ive had similar things happen to me when dealing with mechanics, but not this bad. I use to let the mechanics down in dumfries VA called "auto king" do most of the mechanical work/repairs/etc. Everytime they would f-ck something else up while fixing something, and there quality was fair to poor at best. Im not gonna go into detail about what they did wrong, lets just say it ended up costing me a good $1000 for there mistakes. To make things worse, all they do is repair what they think is wrong, not what is wrong. Now what i mean by that is, they dont check througly the problem, if something comes in there mind they would make me pay for the parts/labor, and it turned out that wasnt even the issue. They charged me $300 for a timing belt which wasnt even the issue. They believed it was a bad timing belt once, and changed it without even asking me for the go..and i ended up paying for nothing. When i had a bottom end knock in my old motor, even after countless times of telling them it was coming from the bottom end and its not the head, they advised me to send my head to the machine shop because they said that was the problem (i just had it rebuilt weeks before by a machine shop). I argued with them to f-king prove it, but they wouldnt get there lazy ass to check the head, they just wanted me to send the head to the machine shop for nothing. So i went and got my motor back from them, my buddys and I parted it out one by one. Indeed it was a Bearing that was spun, and the head was completely fine and untouched. Now if i had let them send that head to the machine shop (which woulda never happened), that wasnt gonna fix the issue. Worst of all, just in october i needed some work done, my car stayed there from october till December 11th at the mechanic shop, it was untouched. I mean it was my daily driver and everytime i called they would come up with stupid excuses about how some mechanic didnt show up or how they got the wrong part..i mean get the sh!t right the first time (cough cough..they get it wrong everytime). Anyways, im trying to get over that crap. I have my fellow DSM'ers that help me out now and have helped me do most of the hardest work. If i only had time/and experience to do some of the hardest DSM work, i wouldnt be paying $$$ labor to mechanics. Thats what my DSM buddys are there for, to help me out so i learn the same way that they once were when they didnt know sh!t. I gotta give credit to IvanR4G63 (Ivan), KPWSerpiente (Travis), Rob. These guys are like the best DSM'ers you could ever hang with. Always there to help you out.

Back to your situation, right now im in a current situation with a company which im not gonna mention any names. I notified the BBB first, because thats my first action. Its been 1 1/2 week and i havnt heard anything from BBB yet besides an email saying theyll send my complaint to the company. Just get a lawyer like everyone said, and try to get as much proof as you can. Its all about being smart, accurate, in court. I wish you good luck and hopefully youll win the case.

Defiant · Jan 13, 2005

808_SpyderGST said:
I have over $ 6000 in lost revenue for the months of decmeber and january.

From not having your car? What's your answer when the judge asks why you didn't rent one for $150 a week?

I am currently searching for a used car to use until the situation is resolved so if I add up repairs, loss revenue, cost of having to purchase another car plus attorneys fees and court cost were talking around 20,000.

Best of luck, and we all are on your side, but I don't think it'll ever happen.

hopefully will settle of of court or have a judgemnt of 10-15 thousand.

With what, a third to the lawyer?

Oh and I am using the quote from the dealer for cost of repairs 85 dollars and hour on a rebuilt motor! add it up

Again, good luck.

92_75i · Jan 13, 2005

Damn, man I dont know where to start... besides that just too fkd up, I have never heard something like that. I took my car to 1 mechanic and thats when I had my 1st Gen, and he was an awesome guy, he put my engine in, he specialized in 2.0 DOHC engines, even though hes got a 9 second colt

but I think hes the only guy I would take my car too. Now that he moved

, I just hit up the ol DSM' buddys to help me out, and boy do they know stuff

But damn man, best of luck on this one, and keep us updated... N E pics of the car ??

Guess we all learn from mistakes, but this one is huge

Good Luck

-Az-

97ClipseDSM · Jan 13, 2005

92_75i said:
Guess we all learn from mistakes, but this one is huge

Good Luck -Az-

And that said..i still keep making them..hopefully thats not in his case. $7000 later in just repairs cause of faults/mistakes/Bullsh!t/getting screwed over, im still glued to my DSM. Im finally begining to see some light out of this car ever since i got a new engine and basically did all the maintainence that needed to be done. I think its a reliable DSM now..and u dont hear that too often. :shhh:

But im still nervous every second of my life when i get on the road or crank her up..i guess im scarred for life from what ive experienced. Im sure my friends think im crazy to worry that much, because nothing is wrong with it, but im always expecting the worst.

97ClipseDSM · Jan 13, 2005

Defiant said:
From not having your car? What's your answer when the judge asks why you didn't rent one for $150 a week?Best of luck, and we all are on your side, but I don't think it'll ever happen.With what, a third to the lawyer?Again, good luck.

Defiants good some good points, your gonna have to put up a good fight in this one and be smart..remember to leave the anger at home (cause that might screw ya up)...its gonna be a tough battle but if I were you right now, Id try to get as much evidence as i can, then go from there. Remember, its Proof that is gonna win you this one.

Good Luck once again

Redmachine · Jan 13, 2005

First off I am extremly sorry adn almost heartbroke to hear you get ####ed over, it's something you don't want to hear happen, because it could be you.
Second, did you research the shop? The better buisness bureau has a complaints section and if the shop has any complaints it's there. They can look like a reputable place but you never know. Time to drag his name in the mud, get a webstie together, have a place where his other screwed customers can post, then take it to a judge, it will prove that he has a history of criminal activity.

So this can be a lesson to the rest of us, research research and yes research those shops you take your car to. Turn around should be no more than 3 days on maintainance ie, water pump,timing belt etc. If they cannot accomplish that then you go get your car right away. And phone calls don't cut it anymore, make a personal appearance, let them know you're watching, take a camera phone, take pictures. They can't run you off, thats your car.

karbon · Jan 13, 2005

Local news loves stories like these...

808_SpyderGST · Jan 13, 2005

Defiant said:
From not having your car? What's your answer when the judge asks why you didn't rent one for $150 a week?Best of luck, and we all are on your side, but I don't think it'll ever happen.With what, a third to the lawyer?Again, good luck.

This happened around christmas, have you ever tried to rent a car in florida around christmas, cmon familes going to disney, old people visiting becuase its warm? Every car place that rents to someone under 25 was booked, yes only enterprise, thrifty, and dollar rent cars to drivers under 25 and they were fully booked. All the others ONLY rent cars to you if its and insurance claim if your under 25. But my insurance would not kick in ( second lawsuit). I did rent a car after new years I finally found one, and with under aged drive fees and taxes its costing me 250 a week.

As for the lawyer he's my corporate law attorney, he handles any legal issues for my company, so he's already been getting paid, he's on retainer. So most of the money if I ever get it will be mine.

but thanks for all the suggestions guys, it nice to know that dsmers out there care. You all are definetly creating some ideas I never thought of and helping me to build a stronger case.

anomalyinva · Jan 13, 2005

97ClipseDSM said:
Dude im so sorry to hear that happened with u. Ive had similar things happen to me when dealing with mechanics, but not this bad. I use to let the mechanics down in dumfries VA called "auto king" do most of the mechanical work/repairs/etc. Everytime they would f-ck something else up while fixing something, and there quality was fair to poor at best. Im not gonna go into detail about what they did wrong, lets just say it ended up costing me a good $1000 for there mistakes. To make things worse, all they do is repair what they think is wrong, not what is wrong. Now what i mean by that is, they dont check througly the problem, if something comes in there mind they would make me pay for the parts/labor, and it turned out that wasnt even the issue. They charged me $300 for a timing belt which wasnt even the issue. They believed it was a bad timing belt once, and changed it without even asking me for the go..and i ended up paying for nothing. When i had a bottom end knock in my old motor, even after countless times of telling them it was coming from the bottom end and its not the head, they advised me to send my head to the machine shop because they said that was the problem (i just had it rebuilt weeks before by a machine shop). I argued with them to f-king prove it, but they wouldnt get there lazy ass to check the head, they just wanted me to send the head to the machine shop for nothing. So i went and got my motor back from them, my buddys and I parted it out one by one. Indeed it was a Bearing that was spun, and the head was completely fine and untouched. Now if i had let them send that head to the machine shop (which woulda never happened), that wasnt gonna fix the issue. Worst of all, just in october i needed some work done, my car stayed there from october till December 11th at the mechanic shop, it was untouched. I mean it was my daily driver and everytime i called they would come up with stupid excuses about how some mechanic didnt show up or how they got the wrong part..i mean get the sh!t right the first time (cough cough..they get it wrong everytime). Anyways, im trying to get over that crap. I have my fellow DSM'ers that help me out now and have helped me do most of the hardest work. If i only had time/and experience to do some of the hardest DSM work, i wouldnt be paying $$$ labor to mechanics. Thats what my DSM buddys are there for, to help me out so i learn the same way that they once were when they didnt know sh!t. I gotta give credit to IvanR4G63 (Ivan), KPWSerpiente (Travis), Rob. These guys are like the best DSM'ers you could ever hang with. Always there to help you out.

Back to your situation, right now im in a current situation with a company which im not gonna mention any names. I notified the BBB first, because thats my first action. Its been 1 1/2 week and i havnt heard anything from BBB yet besides an email saying theyll send my complaint to the company. Just get a lawyer like everyone said, and try to get as much proof as you can. Its all about being smart, accurate, in court. I wish you good luck and hopefully youll win the case.

Thats your own fault for continually taking your car to a mechanic wh you know isn't the best.

ryanman · Jan 13, 2005

Good luck getting money outta someone who most likely doesn't have it. He probably won't even show up to court and he most likely won't give a #### and he'll just let the judgement go onto his credit. Good luck.

Mr.Tao · Jan 13, 2005

Wow, alot of people saying alot of funny things. Sorry to hear about your story. I dont trust anyone with my car, sometimes not even myself. Spend some money and get yourself some good set of tools, and a air compressor. THis will save your a-s-s in the long run. And hire someone or have a friend or relative to run your business for the time your car is in repairs. A second car will be good too.

hooper2 · Jan 14, 2005

Post the name of the guy or at least his shop.

Mr.Tao · Jan 14, 2005

oh what the h-e-ll, kick his a-s-s!!!

switch · Feb 3, 2005

well i feel your pain, the same thing happend to me, and no cop, judge or lawyer could help me... so a called a couple of friends broke in to his shop and you can imagine what happend next, turns out he dirint have insurance and had to close the so called shop

98spydert · Feb 3, 2005

And you blab about thise on the internet!!!! Good way to get caught...

Honestly I got revenge on a shop one time long ago but I'll never give details or even the state it was in. It made me feel better though

RaysTsi · Feb 3, 2005

On a revenge note dont bother burning his shop down its probably insured.He would actually make money if you did that. Instead just continually vandalize his personal property even if he has the best car insurance in the world he still probably has a 250$-500$ deductable. Slash his tires, wait for him to put new tires on,slashem again,wait for him to replace those and keep doing that until he puts used tires on instead of new ones and then move on to his windows, just keep ltting him fix it until he gives up and then start breaking something else. Its very effective I promise. My favorite revenge was bustin this guys headlights, and he ended up getting a ticket for driving without headlights :laugh: Take his plates,peal his inspection sticker off, use a can of "stuff"(its at lowes,its a hardening foam) to clog his muffler so his car wont start.

All this only takes about 60secs to do to somebodies car and it will make thier life a living hell.

Goodluck with the case it'll take a few years but you might get some money eventually.

The Top DSM Community on the Web

Mechanic STOLE my car and Blew my motor help!!!!!

98spydert

1993eclipseGS

miteclgst

yugotdonkey

95AWD_TSI_TALON

97ClipseDSM

Defiant

92_75i

97ClipseDSM

97ClipseDSM

Redmachine

karbon

808_SpyderGST

anomalyinva

ryanman

Mr.Tao

hooper2

Mr.Tao

switch

98spydert

RaysTsi

Similar threads

Latest posts

Build Thread Updates

Vendor Updates

Latest Classifieds