legal question about repairs

[jeremy taflinger]

i have a 2009 spyder (sm5) with under 20,000 miles and I recently noticed on the drive home from work my clutch was slipping. so the next day I took it to a repair place and i specifically asked them to check the vaccuum line to the clutch because i had read on here of some people having problems with that, well instead they they replace my clutch and everything that goes with it costing me about 700.00 dollars but the best part is after they put it back together they call me to tell me the clutch was still slipping but they found out why... the vaccuum selinoid to the clutch was not working which is another 50.00 dollars plus 100.00 for labor. I would like to add i have an extended warranty but they told me nothing is covered. so do i have have a reason to expect compensation if I take this matter to court since they replaced my clutch when it was not necessary?

[Arr MiHardies]

Probably not worth the time and effort. Also time to find a new dealer to do the work. If there isn't another dealer within a reasonable range for you then definitely dont go to court, as they will refuse any and all future service with you. But at the least a talk with the manager is in order.

[SpydermanCT]

Even if the vacuum solenoid is a covered component under your Extended Service Contract most warranties will not pay for consequential damage.

[Kinderhook]

The best place to get legal advice is from an attorney. Just be prepared to pay for it.

[Illinois Boy]

I would find it difficult to believe you didn't sign a "work authorization" document. If you did, then you are out of luck -- period.

Go on about your way... licking your wounds...

[Bob Denman]

Sorry... but I'm pretty sure that I've got to agree with the above...
It's a bummer; but this is where building a working relationship with a shop that you trust comes into play...

Arr is right; Go have a talk with the Service Manager... Good Luck and let us know what he says!

[Mr. Duece]

Tough situation here. I have owned an Auto Repair facility since 1990. On the bottom of our work order there is a signature line where the customer must sign to authorize estimated repairs. I will admit we have gotten sloppy over the years enforcing signatures. Legally if they do not have a signed repair order you are not liable to pay for the repair. The situation however is hard to dispute with a $700.00 repair being that most attorney's will charge $200-300 to send them a threatening letter. My advice as with most situations is get with the OWNER of the facility and try to discuss the situation in a civilized manner. If the two of you can work something out, you'll be way ahead in the long run. I understand no one wants to throw their hard earned money away but with 20K miles I would imagine there was a significant amount of wear on the clutch. Just my opinion. Hope it works out.

[Firefly]

Sorry about your troubles. I don't think you need an attorney.... talk to the owner and service manager, etc. If you really want to push the matter you can always to go small claims court.

Laws vary from state to state, here in Michigan for example... they have to give us the old parts upon request.... if they refuse to do so... you don't have to pay for the repairs.

I had this happen to me once.... with a clutch. I had a Nissan Pathfinder and the clutch went out. I dropped it off two days before a family vacation. The service manager called me and said they had bad news and good news. The bad news was the clutch was bad. The good news was that it was covered under my warranty as I only had 12,000 miles on the vehicle.

I called before going to pick it up to ask if there was any deductible or anything I needed to pay for and was told NO. I get there to pick it up and the service manager is on the phone with Nissan. He says there's a problem--- and the problem is a clutch is considered a consumable and that it is NOT covered under warranty. I kindly asked how much they were talking about to fix it then.. and he said $900.00. At that point I lost it... but stayed somewhat calm.

I kindly told him that I would NEVER had taken it to a DEALER to get a clutch fixed if it wasn't covered under warranty because the local tranny shop would do a clutch for $450 ! He asked what I wanted him to do.... I told him "put the old clutch back in and I'm taking it to the local tranny shop". He then told me they no longer had the old clutch.

At this point I had him.... and he knew it. I told him that was illegal and I was taking the vehicle and not paying a dime and he has my info should he need to contact me he has my info. Never heard a thing. For all I know they could have just made an adjustment and never replaced any parts.... thus why we have such a law to begin with.

In your case, I would check what state laws you have to protect you. A clutch shouldn't go out at 20,000 miles. I beat the hell outta mine and it was still going strong at 56,000 miles. Mine was an SM5.... if yours was an SE5 then there is more going on in there... not sure what the longevity is supposed to be on those... but 20,000 seems barely broken in to me.

You'll never know if things would have been just fine had they found the vacuum hose off or bad solenoid and just replaced it. I'm also not sure that in itself would cause slippage. You certainly should have felt it harder to use the clutch as you were not getting any vacuum assist.... but I don't know if that would cause slippage.

I guess if you're not wanting to ever use that dealer again.... go after them by whatever means you can afford.... but if you want to maintain a relationship with them.... try and come to some kind of compromise......

Good luck!

[Bob Denman]

Very well said; especially for a new RT owner...
We just have throttle body troubles!

[ARtraveler]

Good advice above. Can't add much more. Keep us posted and let us know the outcome.