What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? New Jersey
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NEW JERSEY
Hi,
I have a 2004 vehicle that I purchased new at that time and currently has under 29,000 miles. Up until 9/11, I still had the original tires on the vehicle and the wheels/rims were never touched/removed. The wheels were in mint condition as I always keep them clean and never hit a curb or damaged the wheels. I purchased new tires online and chose to have them installed at a dedicated wheel & tire place locally. Prior to having the work done, I inquired whether they could handle low profile tires and the answer was yes. I asked whether there was any risk of damage or scratching of the wheels, I was told no. I asked how much and was quoted $80 for the removal of the old tires, installation of the new tires I had and a wheel balancing for the 4 wheels. I said I woudl come back with the vehicle and the tires. I went home and got the car and tires and went back to the shop. I once again asked if they could do the job and they said yes. I drove over the lift and removed the tires from inside the car. They lifted the car and one guy was removing the wheels with an air compressor socket gun and another guy was starting to remove the old tires from each wheel. I was standing only 6 feet away from where they were working and although I could see what they were doing, I was not on top of them to see details. In any event they did the work and one guy asked me to go into another room to pay. I payed the $80 but was not given a receipt. I figured no big deal as maybe they would make the sale under the table. I asked whether there was any damage to the wheels and was told no. At that time I could not inspect the wheels because it was dark in the garage where the work was done and the wheels were left dirty with a brownish grease/substance which they use to make the tire slide more easily onto the wheel. I left the shop and went home immediately to clean the wheels only to find damage to all 4 wheels. One wheel had a cut on the front almost 1/2 size of the rim/wheel. All 4 wheels had physical markings of a screwdriver or tool used to pry the wheel weights off the wheel and all 4 wheels showed scratching, markings from the socket used to install/remove the bolts from the wheel. I immediately went back to the shop and called one of the guys and indicated they did damage. They looked only at one wheel and only indicated that the owner was on vacation and that he would take care of the damage. I indicated that the other wheels had damage as well but they focused only on the wheel that had the long cut. I then asked for a reciept and indicated I wanted this to show the work was done and that I came back indicating they did damage. Another guy from the shop indicated that no receipt was necessary because they know who I am and one of the other guy's is always at the shop. They really had no answer as to why the damage ocurred. I asked when the owner would be back and they initially said in 1 week. I went home all upset and the follwing week I decided to take pictures and noticed even more damage which I did not see initially because the wheels were wet. I went back to the shop and asked whether they were even capabel of doing the work and they said yes but then I said how could you have damaged the wheels. They really had no answer other than saying the machine did it. I asked if they spoke to the owner and they said yes and now said he would be back beyond the original 1 week. I once again asked for a receipt and was denied getting one. I said I really should call the police and one of the guys said it's not necessary and that the owner would take care of this but he needs to see the damage. So I had to wait nearly 10 days until the owner returned. I went to the shop to speak to the owner and he saw the damage and offered to paint the wheel that was cut. He then said how could he know whether the other damage I indicated was not there before. I said come on, look at the rest of the wheel - it's mint other than where work is performed which is at the bolts, lip of the wheels and where the wheel weights were located. I told him I wanted my wheels replaced and he said he could not do this. I then said I would call the police just to record that we had a conversation and that I indicated that there is damage and that the owner offered to paint one wheel. The police man took the info for a loss report but bottom line it's a civil case. I then told the owner I was going to sue him and he indicated that this could take some time and I might get nothing back from the judge. He said I should go through my insurance and he would then work with me on my $500 deductible. I said I'll check it out. My insurance company offered to have my wheels reconditioned at almost $900 which is a repair/paint job. According to the body shop, the wheels are not original looking and there was no guarantee I would get my wheels back. Bottom line - the wheels are not what they were. I told my insurance to hold the claim. I called the owner and told him that I would sue him. He then chose to go through his insurance and they sent an investigator to see my vehicle and wheels. She took down my story and took pictures. She said off the record no insurance company is going to replace my wheels for new wheels which I got a cost of almost $3000. She said at best I might be able to get the $900 for the cost of the reconditioning of the wheels but no guranteed. This cost did not even include a car rental by the way. Her reasoning was that my vehicle has been on the road for 6 years and no one will replace the wheels even if they are in mint condition. I await to see where this option is going.
Another note - I spoke to the owner over the phone and recorded an 18 minute conversation where he admitted damaging the one wheel in which I questioned why his guys did not say anything to me about the damage (considering it's a large cut). He said that's another story. I then asked about the markings on the wheels and he said the guy had a tough time removing the wheel weights. I said I was standing right there and did not see a struggle to remove them. I said if someone brought a vehicle with $10K of wheels, you are going to use a screwdriver/tool and not be careful? No answer. If I go to small claims court can I use the recording to my advantage?
What are my chances of winning my case assuming I provide detailed pictures of the damage? Do you think the judge will use the depreciation rule as the investigator did or will he/she say look, you damaged his wheels and you have to replace them. I don't want to hear about reconditioning.
Should I take what his insurance company offers or take a 50/50 chance in small claims court?
If I go to small claims court, should I get an attorney to defend me?
Any help here would be advantageous.
Thank you
What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NEW JERSEY
Hi,
I have a 2004 vehicle that I purchased new at that time and currently has under 29,000 miles. Up until 9/11, I still had the original tires on the vehicle and the wheels/rims were never touched/removed. The wheels were in mint condition as I always keep them clean and never hit a curb or damaged the wheels. I purchased new tires online and chose to have them installed at a dedicated wheel & tire place locally. Prior to having the work done, I inquired whether they could handle low profile tires and the answer was yes. I asked whether there was any risk of damage or scratching of the wheels, I was told no. I asked how much and was quoted $80 for the removal of the old tires, installation of the new tires I had and a wheel balancing for the 4 wheels. I said I woudl come back with the vehicle and the tires. I went home and got the car and tires and went back to the shop. I once again asked if they could do the job and they said yes. I drove over the lift and removed the tires from inside the car. They lifted the car and one guy was removing the wheels with an air compressor socket gun and another guy was starting to remove the old tires from each wheel. I was standing only 6 feet away from where they were working and although I could see what they were doing, I was not on top of them to see details. In any event they did the work and one guy asked me to go into another room to pay. I payed the $80 but was not given a receipt. I figured no big deal as maybe they would make the sale under the table. I asked whether there was any damage to the wheels and was told no. At that time I could not inspect the wheels because it was dark in the garage where the work was done and the wheels were left dirty with a brownish grease/substance which they use to make the tire slide more easily onto the wheel. I left the shop and went home immediately to clean the wheels only to find damage to all 4 wheels. One wheel had a cut on the front almost 1/2 size of the rim/wheel. All 4 wheels had physical markings of a screwdriver or tool used to pry the wheel weights off the wheel and all 4 wheels showed scratching, markings from the socket used to install/remove the bolts from the wheel. I immediately went back to the shop and called one of the guys and indicated they did damage. They looked only at one wheel and only indicated that the owner was on vacation and that he would take care of the damage. I indicated that the other wheels had damage as well but they focused only on the wheel that had the long cut. I then asked for a reciept and indicated I wanted this to show the work was done and that I came back indicating they did damage. Another guy from the shop indicated that no receipt was necessary because they know who I am and one of the other guy's is always at the shop. They really had no answer as to why the damage ocurred. I asked when the owner would be back and they initially said in 1 week. I went home all upset and the follwing week I decided to take pictures and noticed even more damage which I did not see initially because the wheels were wet. I went back to the shop and asked whether they were even capabel of doing the work and they said yes but then I said how could you have damaged the wheels. They really had no answer other than saying the machine did it. I asked if they spoke to the owner and they said yes and now said he would be back beyond the original 1 week. I once again asked for a receipt and was denied getting one. I said I really should call the police and one of the guys said it's not necessary and that the owner would take care of this but he needs to see the damage. So I had to wait nearly 10 days until the owner returned. I went to the shop to speak to the owner and he saw the damage and offered to paint the wheel that was cut. He then said how could he know whether the other damage I indicated was not there before. I said come on, look at the rest of the wheel - it's mint other than where work is performed which is at the bolts, lip of the wheels and where the wheel weights were located. I told him I wanted my wheels replaced and he said he could not do this. I then said I would call the police just to record that we had a conversation and that I indicated that there is damage and that the owner offered to paint one wheel. The police man took the info for a loss report but bottom line it's a civil case. I then told the owner I was going to sue him and he indicated that this could take some time and I might get nothing back from the judge. He said I should go through my insurance and he would then work with me on my $500 deductible. I said I'll check it out. My insurance company offered to have my wheels reconditioned at almost $900 which is a repair/paint job. According to the body shop, the wheels are not original looking and there was no guarantee I would get my wheels back. Bottom line - the wheels are not what they were. I told my insurance to hold the claim. I called the owner and told him that I would sue him. He then chose to go through his insurance and they sent an investigator to see my vehicle and wheels. She took down my story and took pictures. She said off the record no insurance company is going to replace my wheels for new wheels which I got a cost of almost $3000. She said at best I might be able to get the $900 for the cost of the reconditioning of the wheels but no guranteed. This cost did not even include a car rental by the way. Her reasoning was that my vehicle has been on the road for 6 years and no one will replace the wheels even if they are in mint condition. I await to see where this option is going.
Another note - I spoke to the owner over the phone and recorded an 18 minute conversation where he admitted damaging the one wheel in which I questioned why his guys did not say anything to me about the damage (considering it's a large cut). He said that's another story. I then asked about the markings on the wheels and he said the guy had a tough time removing the wheel weights. I said I was standing right there and did not see a struggle to remove them. I said if someone brought a vehicle with $10K of wheels, you are going to use a screwdriver/tool and not be careful? No answer. If I go to small claims court can I use the recording to my advantage?
What are my chances of winning my case assuming I provide detailed pictures of the damage? Do you think the judge will use the depreciation rule as the investigator did or will he/she say look, you damaged his wheels and you have to replace them. I don't want to hear about reconditioning.
Should I take what his insurance company offers or take a 50/50 chance in small claims court?
If I go to small claims court, should I get an attorney to defend me?
Any help here would be advantageous.
Thank you
