InnerCityBlues
Junior Member
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? North Carolina
Hello, sorry if this is too long.
I recently moved from NM to NC and I ran into car trouble as soon as I reached NC. Since I was new to the state and the only family I had there was a cousin and her husband, I asked them if they knew any mechanics. They directed me to a mechanic who suggested my car needed a tune up. Basically the issue I had was having was the car stalled when I got to traffic lights. I got the tune up, got my car back, but the very next day I was having the same problem, the car was still stalling, so I took it back to the mechanics so they could remedy the situation.
I left the car with them and it was with them for four days and everyday I called, but they had no progress. Finally I went in on Friday personally, told them they needed to have it done by noon on Saturday or I would take my care elsewhere. I went there noon the following day and of course they had no progress, but they said my fuel pressure was too low and I needed to replace my fuel pump. I didn't care and said I wanted the car back. When the manager first tried starting the car, it wouldn't start, he called one of his mechanics up, he quickly connected some lines and then car started and off I went.
I decided I would drive my car up to NJ, so I could go to mechanics I knew (since I'm originally from there), but I only made into VA before the car stalled. Luckily there was a car dealership close by, so I used AAA to get me to the dealership. The dealership fixed my stalling issue and checked my fuel pressure, which was normal and not too low. They also told me that my distributor had a broken piece on it. I took note of that and then left the dealership. As I was driving, my engine just cut off completely, so I called the dealership, they towed it back and said they would cover the tow if it had anything to do with their negligence. Well it turns out that the reason the engine cut off was because my distributor coil was not connected and secured to my spark plugs; there is some sort of boot you use make sure these wires don't come out during driving, it wasn't put back in. They came out because the mechanics in NC didn't put them back in. So I had to eat the tow fee.
I haven't contacted the repair shop yet, but I plan on going down there on Monday to what looks like will be a negotiation for two things they messed up on my car. I will clearly state that the dealership in VA didn't do any work close to my distributor (broken part) or my distributor coil (came out during driving), the only place that worked on this part was the auto repair shop in NC. What I plan on doing is seeing if my distributor needs to be completely replaced as a result of this broken piece. In addition, I want to ask for reimbursement on the towing fee because the engine cut off (the engine cut off while driving, the car stalled issue occurred at stops) as a direct result of their repair shop not plugging everything back in securely in my car when they returned it to me. In other words, they gave me my car in worse condition than I gave it to them.
I wanted to know what I need to ask for to get those two things covered (I'm also considering asking for reimbursement on the distributor parts (they replaced the cap and rotor) and/or labor percentage as a result of the installation of those parts).
At the outset, I assume there will be resistance to pay for the tow or distributor repair so I wanted to know what methods should I exhaust beforehand so I don't have to take this to small claims. I have all my receipts. And I guess, another question is do I have a case and do you have any pointers for getting together everything I needed if I have to file a claim? I am thinking and hoping they will just admit their wrong in this, but I really don't know.
Hello, sorry if this is too long.
I recently moved from NM to NC and I ran into car trouble as soon as I reached NC. Since I was new to the state and the only family I had there was a cousin and her husband, I asked them if they knew any mechanics. They directed me to a mechanic who suggested my car needed a tune up. Basically the issue I had was having was the car stalled when I got to traffic lights. I got the tune up, got my car back, but the very next day I was having the same problem, the car was still stalling, so I took it back to the mechanics so they could remedy the situation.
I left the car with them and it was with them for four days and everyday I called, but they had no progress. Finally I went in on Friday personally, told them they needed to have it done by noon on Saturday or I would take my care elsewhere. I went there noon the following day and of course they had no progress, but they said my fuel pressure was too low and I needed to replace my fuel pump. I didn't care and said I wanted the car back. When the manager first tried starting the car, it wouldn't start, he called one of his mechanics up, he quickly connected some lines and then car started and off I went.
I decided I would drive my car up to NJ, so I could go to mechanics I knew (since I'm originally from there), but I only made into VA before the car stalled. Luckily there was a car dealership close by, so I used AAA to get me to the dealership. The dealership fixed my stalling issue and checked my fuel pressure, which was normal and not too low. They also told me that my distributor had a broken piece on it. I took note of that and then left the dealership. As I was driving, my engine just cut off completely, so I called the dealership, they towed it back and said they would cover the tow if it had anything to do with their negligence. Well it turns out that the reason the engine cut off was because my distributor coil was not connected and secured to my spark plugs; there is some sort of boot you use make sure these wires don't come out during driving, it wasn't put back in. They came out because the mechanics in NC didn't put them back in. So I had to eat the tow fee.
I haven't contacted the repair shop yet, but I plan on going down there on Monday to what looks like will be a negotiation for two things they messed up on my car. I will clearly state that the dealership in VA didn't do any work close to my distributor (broken part) or my distributor coil (came out during driving), the only place that worked on this part was the auto repair shop in NC. What I plan on doing is seeing if my distributor needs to be completely replaced as a result of this broken piece. In addition, I want to ask for reimbursement on the towing fee because the engine cut off (the engine cut off while driving, the car stalled issue occurred at stops) as a direct result of their repair shop not plugging everything back in securely in my car when they returned it to me. In other words, they gave me my car in worse condition than I gave it to them.
I wanted to know what I need to ask for to get those two things covered (I'm also considering asking for reimbursement on the distributor parts (they replaced the cap and rotor) and/or labor percentage as a result of the installation of those parts).
At the outset, I assume there will be resistance to pay for the tow or distributor repair so I wanted to know what methods should I exhaust beforehand so I don't have to take this to small claims. I have all my receipts. And I guess, another question is do I have a case and do you have any pointers for getting together everything I needed if I have to file a claim? I am thinking and hoping they will just admit their wrong in this, but I really don't know.
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