I need some legal advice. Ive been screwed

jezze269 · 01-06-2001, 07:22 PM

OK where do I start. I bought my 95 GT from this used car dealership that specializes in sports cars. My was looking at this car in early august but it would pop out of first gear so he looked for a different stang. I really needed a car that would be better in snow than my 89 LX so I went there to check out what they had. I got to talking to the salesman about the car and he told me they just put a new clutch in and rebuilt the tranny. I was really happy about them fixing it and I really liked the car so I bought it. Well time goes by and about a week ago it started popping out of reverse. It concerned me but it still worked and now its getting so bad it takes like 5 minutes to get it finally to catch without grinding or popping out. The car was sold as is but I went back to ask them where they got the tranny from because usually rebuilts have warantees. The salesman wouldnt look me in the eyes or tell me where the tranny was from. He just told me that hed talk to the owner about it and call me rite away. Well 2 days go buy without him calling so I went there today and he was still looking around like he did the other day and he told me that he talked with the owner and the mechanic of theres that rebuilt it(the mechanic is a big camaro guy and does work for them on the side) and they came to the conclusion that I must have tried shifting into 3rd but missed it and got 5th instead and I dropped the syncro for those gears and thats the same syncro as reverse.The mechanic told him that I probably installed the pro 5.0 shifter wrong and bent the linkages which I know is total BS cause theres nothing to adjust besides the stops and I know how to do that seeing ive installed 3 of them in other cars. I was really pissed cause I havent beaten on this car at all and I didnt think reverse was syncronized. I know that the mechanic was trying to shift the blame to me. Ive been thinking about taking them to small claims court, but do I have a chance cause the car was sold as is? I talked to a guy that has seen cases like mine and the car owner still won. I just dont want to give up. I would love to stick them with a nice ford priced tranny and install labor bill.Thanks for the advice in advance. Im gonna go file the paperwork at the courthouse on thursday if you guys think I have a chance.

pro88 · 01-06-2001, 09:08 PM

I say go after the S.O.B.!!! Is there a lemon law in your state? Hopefully there is. I can across something similiar with one of my customers. She had her car worked on by a mechanic at a shop and they was supposed to replace new parts in the front end. I looked at the car after this work was done, and the front end was definitely replaced by wrecking yard parts. She won her court case. I'm trying to figure out how the trans. went bad that soon anyway. Take it to a reputable trans. shop and have them give you their written conclusions of your trans. Get a couple for that matter. Arm yourself early. If there is a lemon law, check out all the options and rights you have...I know you have alot of them. Let us know!!

pro88 · 01-06-2001, 09:12 PM

Oh yeah, If all else fails get a very large aluminum bat!!

Unit 5302 · 01-06-2001, 09:18 PM

As far as I know, there is no reverse syncro on a T-5. I'm actually pretty sure there isn't. Furthermore, missing 3rd and going into 5th instead would have done no damage to the transmission. Finally, shift forks DO NOT bend. They break. They are made of cast aluminum, and cast aluminum isn't a bendable metal.

It's obvious this dealer is throwing you a major line of crap.

How as is was the car? Was there even a 30 day warranty? On a car that new there should have been. Was anybody with you when you asked if the tranny was fixed? Is there a receipt for work done on the car? Did the mechanic that worked on the car actually admit to making the repairs? Was anything about the cars condition written down referring to the tranny being rebuilt or in proper working condition?

If you can get it in writing that either the transmisson was good, or that the mechanic did the work on it, or if you have a couple eyewitnesses that were present when you asked about the transmission then you are in good shape. It's quite obvious if the mechanic did work on the transmission, his work was flawed or inadaquite. If the dealer signed anything, or gave you any documentation as to the transmission being in proper working condition, you have a good chance. If you can secure documentation as to the mechanic working on the transmission, you have a good chance. If you have a couple people that went with you to look at the car, and they can vouch for the fact you actually discussed the tranny's condition, you have an okay chance. Many times state laws require big ticket items on cars such as transmissions to have a required warranty of no less than 30 days when they are rebuilt.

Make sure you go after the dealer, and the mechanic, name them both in your lawsuit. Filing a small claims suit is usually quite inexpensive and easy. Before you file it, make sure you get written documentation that the tranny was worked on by the mechanic in question. Tell them you want to know exactly what was done to it, so you can figure out what may be wrong with it yourself. If the dealer says no, tell them very professionally that you'll have to file a small claims court suit if they don't, and make sure they know they will be the sole defendant in that lawsuit if they can't prove the mechanic worked on it.

Get an opinion on what is wrong with the tranny, and how long it's been bad, and whether or not the Pro 5.0 was a likely reason for failure from a neutral mechanic, and make that expense part of the lawsuit's damages.

Get written documentation of who worked on the transmission, if it was really worked on.

Check state law's on required warranty's on vehicles sold at dealerships. Usually safety items such as headlights and emissions equipment are required to be in operational condition when purchased. You may luck out and find a rule about transmissions, or the implied warranty regarding major components of the car.

Make sure your friends, if they went with you, will testify to the fact that the cars transmission was supposed to be okay.

Above all, be polite, but let the dealer know you mean business. If you can, tell them you'll be more than happy to let one of those local news investigation teams know about their practices so that the news teams can investigate, and file a complaint with the better business bureau if they don't decide to resolve this before your suit is filed. Don't say anything you don't intend to back up, this just makes the legitimate people who will use these tactics look full of BS.

Good luck,
Unit 5302

jezze269 · 01-07-2001, 01:14 AM

thankyou very much for the excellent information on this. My friend was there with me today when the salesmen told me that the mechanic rebuilt the transmission and he will be more than willing to testify to that. There isnt anthing in writing that says it was rebuilt. He told me that it was rebuilt when I was looking at the car, but I think when I comes down to judging characters he wont be very beliveable. Hes a very shady looking person ie he doesnt look at you when hes talking to you, he changes the subject, he plays pocket pool while you talk to him. Where is a good place to start looking for these laws? As soon as I find out im gonna start looking.

jezze269 · 01-07-2001, 01:31 AM

I know the required state warantee is 72 hours, im gonna check into the laws some more for required warantees on things like trannys. Ive been polite but down to buisness with him. If I there arent any warantees I will be taking them to small claims court. How much do you sue for? I plan on getting a couple estimates for repair of it from some local ford dealerships. Do I include any other money for time or anything like that? I dont know what I could get. Are there any other cort costs besides the filing charges? Any rough estimates? Again thanks for this excellent info!

pro88 · 01-07-2001, 11:49 AM

If you have free legal advice from your local court system, there's a good place to start. Most all states have legal advice for the consumer. You can also go to an attny. that works on a contigency fee(he only gets paid if he wins a case), also alot of attnys.give a free initial consultation. As for the amount you should sue for, get a couple of estimates from reputable shops and sue for the amount required to fix the problem. The courts may even give you time lost from work if you did lose time, they may even give you personnal suffering. It doesn't hurt to file all that with your case. The actual court filing fees differ from state to state. Call your local court house and they'll tell you what all you need to do. Go get him!!!

Unit 5302 · 01-07-2001, 02:56 PM

You will not be able to sue for loss of time or any type of emotional distress or suffering. Filing such a suit would more than likely make you look unprofessional to a judge. You don't want to seem greedy in my opinion.

There is very little an attorney can do for you in small claims court. In most cases he cannot testify or speak. He would be able to advise you beforehand, but it's not worth the kind of money you'd have to pay for his hourly charges, and it would be very difficult to locate an attorney to help you out much considering the very small stakes involved. They are not going to be real interested in your case.

Since the dealer says the tranny was rebuilt than surely he has a copy of the receipt for services that he could give you. Get it! Just a copy will be good enough so that they don't try anything screwy in court. If he says they threw it away, or no longer have it, try to get it from the mechanic (who in all likelyhood will not co-operate). If they cannot provide any paperwork, then either the work was done illegally, or it was never done, and that is exactly how the judge will see it.

File your suit.

You've now got one witness, get the receipt, and the opinion of an independant mechanic on why the tranny failed, and that the Pro 5.0 was not the problem, and this suit is over. You'll win easily.

Here is what you can sue for.

Expense for independant mechanic evaluation of the tranny. New tranny and labor for install. Possibly rental car, but more than likely additional cost of transportation, like bus fare (keep receipts). Insurance fee for having to keep insurance on it and not drive it.

Just make sure you stay under the max for small claims court or the chances of them being able to have an attorney represent them increases big time.

Sounds to me like you've got them against each other already. Meaning your chances of victory are great. They will more than likely settle out of court. Otherwise they'll have to pay court costs, and additional charges such as the insurance and transport costs, along with the mechanic's evaluation.

See if they are interested in that. It's gonna cost them some big $$ if they don't agree and you win.

Later,
Unit 5302

Mustangbelle306 · 04-25-2001, 11:14 PM

So what happened????????????????

grrr I hate when people dont finish their posts!!!

------------------
Elisha (Mustangbelle)
1994 GT: Cartech intake,4.10s, full exhaust, and pulleys.
Sold the 1986 LX sedan

http://www.geocities.com/mustangbelle_306
AOL name: GT306Chick

01-06-2001, 07:22 PM	#1
jezze269 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: appleton,WI Posts: 5	I need some legal advice. Ive been screwed OK where do I start. I bought my 95 GT from this used car dealership that specializes in sports cars. My was looking at this car in early august but it would pop out of first gear so he looked for a different stang. I really needed a car that would be better in snow than my 89 LX so I went there to check out what they had. I got to talking to the salesman about the car and he told me they just put a new clutch in and rebuilt the tranny. I was really happy about them fixing it and I really liked the car so I bought it. Well time goes by and about a week ago it started popping out of reverse. It concerned me but it still worked and now its getting so bad it takes like 5 minutes to get it finally to catch without grinding or popping out. The car was sold as is but I went back to ask them where they got the tranny from because usually rebuilts have warantees. The salesman wouldnt look me in the eyes or tell me where the tranny was from. He just told me that hed talk to the owner about it and call me rite away. Well 2 days go buy without him calling so I went there today and he was still looking around like he did the other day and he told me that he talked with the owner and the mechanic of theres that rebuilt it(the mechanic is a big camaro guy and does work for them on the side) and they came to the conclusion that I must have tried shifting into 3rd but missed it and got 5th instead and I dropped the syncro for those gears and thats the same syncro as reverse.The mechanic told him that I probably installed the pro 5.0 shifter wrong and bent the linkages which I know is total BS cause theres nothing to adjust besides the stops and I know how to do that seeing ive installed 3 of them in other cars. I was really pissed cause I havent beaten on this car at all and I didnt think reverse was syncronized. I know that the mechanic was trying to shift the blame to me. Ive been thinking about taking them to small claims court, but do I have a chance cause the car was sold as is? I talked to a guy that has seen cases like mine and the car owner still won. I just dont want to give up. I would love to stick them with a nice ford priced tranny and install labor bill.Thanks for the advice in advance. Im gonna go file the paperwork at the courthouse on thursday if you guys think I have a chance.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
eibach advice needed	mustardjohn	Small Ponies	6	08-19-2012 08:12 PM
I really need some legal advice....	bigwhitecobra	Blue Oval Lounge	6	02-13-2003 11:03 AM
AFR 165's emissions legal vs. non emissions legal	dragstang86	Windsor Power	1	12-11-2002 01:20 PM
legal nitrous kit??	dragstang86	Windsor Power	2	10-01-2002 08:44 AM
Car Breaking / Legal Advice	bluemustang	Blue Oval Lounge	2	11-25-2001 08:48 PM

01-06-2001, 09:08 PM	#2
pro88 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: roseburg, oregon Posts: 87	I say go after the S.O.B.!!! Is there a lemon law in your state? Hopefully there is. I can across something similiar with one of my customers. She had her car worked on by a mechanic at a shop and they was supposed to replace new parts in the front end. I looked at the car after this work was done, and the front end was definitely replaced by wrecking yard parts. She won her court case. I'm trying to figure out how the trans. went bad that soon anyway. Take it to a reputable trans. shop and have them give you their written conclusions of your trans. Get a couple for that matter. Arm yourself early. If there is a lemon law, check out all the options and rights you have...I know you have alot of them. Let us know!!

01-06-2001, 09:12 PM	#3
pro88 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: roseburg, oregon Posts: 87	Oh yeah, If all else fails get a very large aluminum bat!!

01-06-2001, 09:18 PM	#4
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	As far as I know, there is no reverse syncro on a T-5. I'm actually pretty sure there isn't. Furthermore, missing 3rd and going into 5th instead would have done no damage to the transmission. Finally, shift forks DO NOT bend. They break. They are made of cast aluminum, and cast aluminum isn't a bendable metal. It's obvious this dealer is throwing you a major line of crap. How as is was the car? Was there even a 30 day warranty? On a car that new there should have been. Was anybody with you when you asked if the tranny was fixed? Is there a receipt for work done on the car? Did the mechanic that worked on the car actually admit to making the repairs? Was anything about the cars condition written down referring to the tranny being rebuilt or in proper working condition? If you can get it in writing that either the transmisson was good, or that the mechanic did the work on it, or if you have a couple eyewitnesses that were present when you asked about the transmission then you are in good shape. It's quite obvious if the mechanic did work on the transmission, his work was flawed or inadaquite. If the dealer signed anything, or gave you any documentation as to the transmission being in proper working condition, you have a good chance. If you can secure documentation as to the mechanic working on the transmission, you have a good chance. If you have a couple people that went with you to look at the car, and they can vouch for the fact you actually discussed the tranny's condition, you have an okay chance. Many times state laws require big ticket items on cars such as transmissions to have a required warranty of no less than 30 days when they are rebuilt. Make sure you go after the dealer, and the mechanic, name them both in your lawsuit. Filing a small claims suit is usually quite inexpensive and easy. Before you file it, make sure you get written documentation that the tranny was worked on by the mechanic in question. Tell them you want to know exactly what was done to it, so you can figure out what may be wrong with it yourself. If the dealer says no, tell them very professionally that you'll have to file a small claims court suit if they don't, and make sure they know they will be the sole defendant in that lawsuit if they can't prove the mechanic worked on it. Get an opinion on what is wrong with the tranny, and how long it's been bad, and whether or not the Pro 5.0 was a likely reason for failure from a neutral mechanic, and make that expense part of the lawsuit's damages. Get written documentation of who worked on the transmission, if it was really worked on. Check state law's on required warranty's on vehicles sold at dealerships. Usually safety items such as headlights and emissions equipment are required to be in operational condition when purchased. You may luck out and find a rule about transmissions, or the implied warranty regarding major components of the car. Make sure your friends, if they went with you, will testify to the fact that the cars transmission was supposed to be okay. Above all, be polite, but let the dealer know you mean business. If you can, tell them you'll be more than happy to let one of those local news investigation teams know about their practices so that the news teams can investigate, and file a complaint with the better business bureau if they don't decide to resolve this before your suit is filed. Don't say anything you don't intend to back up, this just makes the legitimate people who will use these tactics look full of BS. Good luck, Unit 5302

01-07-2001, 01:14 AM	#5
jezze269 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: appleton,WI Posts: 5	thankyou very much for the excellent information on this. My friend was there with me today when the salesmen told me that the mechanic rebuilt the transmission and he will be more than willing to testify to that. There isnt anthing in writing that says it was rebuilt. He told me that it was rebuilt when I was looking at the car, but I think when I comes down to judging characters he wont be very beliveable. Hes a very shady looking person ie he doesnt look at you when hes talking to you, he changes the subject, he plays pocket pool while you talk to him. Where is a good place to start looking for these laws? As soon as I find out im gonna start looking.

01-07-2001, 01:31 AM	#6
jezze269 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: appleton,WI Posts: 5	I know the required state warantee is 72 hours, im gonna check into the laws some more for required warantees on things like trannys. Ive been polite but down to buisness with him. If I there arent any warantees I will be taking them to small claims court. How much do you sue for? I plan on getting a couple estimates for repair of it from some local ford dealerships. Do I include any other money for time or anything like that? I dont know what I could get. Are there any other cort costs besides the filing charges? Any rough estimates? Again thanks for this excellent info!

01-07-2001, 11:49 AM	#7
pro88 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: roseburg, oregon Posts: 87	If you have free legal advice from your local court system, there's a good place to start. Most all states have legal advice for the consumer. You can also go to an attny. that works on a contigency fee(he only gets paid if he wins a case), also alot of attnys.give a free initial consultation. As for the amount you should sue for, get a couple of estimates from reputable shops and sue for the amount required to fix the problem. The courts may even give you time lost from work if you did lose time, they may even give you personnal suffering. It doesn't hurt to file all that with your case. The actual court filing fees differ from state to state. Call your local court house and they'll tell you what all you need to do. Go get him!!!

01-07-2001, 02:56 PM	#8
Unit 5302 Registered Member Join Date: May 1999 Posts: 5,246	You will not be able to sue for loss of time or any type of emotional distress or suffering. Filing such a suit would more than likely make you look unprofessional to a judge. You don't want to seem greedy in my opinion. There is very little an attorney can do for you in small claims court. In most cases he cannot testify or speak. He would be able to advise you beforehand, but it's not worth the kind of money you'd have to pay for his hourly charges, and it would be very difficult to locate an attorney to help you out much considering the very small stakes involved. They are not going to be real interested in your case. Since the dealer says the tranny was rebuilt than surely he has a copy of the receipt for services that he could give you. Get it! Just a copy will be good enough so that they don't try anything screwy in court. If he says they threw it away, or no longer have it, try to get it from the mechanic (who in all likelyhood will not co-operate). If they cannot provide any paperwork, then either the work was done illegally, or it was never done, and that is exactly how the judge will see it. File your suit. You've now got one witness, get the receipt, and the opinion of an independant mechanic on why the tranny failed, and that the Pro 5.0 was not the problem, and this suit is over. You'll win easily. Here is what you can sue for. Expense for independant mechanic evaluation of the tranny. New tranny and labor for install. Possibly rental car, but more than likely additional cost of transportation, like bus fare (keep receipts). Insurance fee for having to keep insurance on it and not drive it. Just make sure you stay under the max for small claims court or the chances of them being able to have an attorney represent them increases big time. Sounds to me like you've got them against each other already. Meaning your chances of victory are great. They will more than likely settle out of court. Otherwise they'll have to pay court costs, and additional charges such as the insurance and transport costs, along with the mechanic's evaluation. See if they are interested in that. It's gonna cost them some big $$ if they don't agree and you win. Later, Unit 5302

04-25-2001, 11:14 PM	#9
Mustangbelle306 Yay for Chickys Join Date: Feb 2001 Posts: 1,532	So what happened???????????????? grrr I hate when people dont finish their posts!!! ------------------ Elisha (Mustangbelle) 1994 GT: Cartech intake,4.10s, full exhaust, and pulleys. Sold the 1986 LX sedan http://www.geocities.com/mustangbelle_306 AOL name: GT306Chick