Okay, here's a question for all the lawyers and attorneys out there...first, here's the jist of what happened:
I took my car into a shop for repairs. In the process of doing those repairs, they damaged my car (cosmetic). They agreed to repair the damage they caused, and then whilst fixing that damage ( for free because THEY caused it in the first place!), they caused ANOTHER damage of a worse but similar nature. (2 additional damages actually). Now, they are denying liability, and they have changed their story and are now refusing to admit that they caused the first damage, and are claiming that they fixed it "out of the kindness of their own heart" not because they actually caused the damage.
So....
Are they liable for damaging my car?
2006-12-20 17:03:01 · 7 answers · asked by grlinwhite 2 in Politics & Government ➔ Law & Ethics
If you can prove it yes, although, there are some things you need to take into consideration here, What you have is a case in small claims court, that will cost you to file the claim, you have to see what kelly blue book says your car is worth, then you have to see if the damage is more than the car, the court will look at all of this, also, if the price of the parts and labor to fix it are more than the value of your car you will not get the judgement for that. You can win this case but, you need to keep those things in mind, if you lose you are out your money for filing and you still have a damaged car, so, is it worth it to you to take them to court. if the answer to that is yes then by all means take them, if its not then, just remember to not take your car there anymore.
2006-12-20 23:19:04 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Yes, if you can prove they damaged it. Did you get anything in writing? Did you take pictures before and after? If you have photo proof and/or something in writing it should be a slam dunk. If not, then it comes down to word of mouth and who the judge believes. Be completely honest, don't try to fudge anything even if you think your answer might not get you everything you want. The one thing in your favor is that they did repair some of the damage for free which could show the judge that they took responsibility.
Good luck!
2006-12-21 01:09:16 · answer #2 · answered by TMH 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I took my car in for inspection at the dealership i bought it at and i got a little worried about an hour into it cause it don't take that long to inspect. A manager came out to the waiting room and told me that they accidentally dropped the garage door right on top of my car. They agreed to fix it and let me use one of the cars they had in the meantime. After about 2 months I was told to come in and pick up my car. I looked over everything and all they seemed to of done was pushed out the massive dent and replaced the light in the ceiling cause they smashed that too. I went in and bitched and moaned then finally took them to court. The judge tossed the case out. Apparently fixing my caved in ceiling was good enough for the judge. So because of them not totally fixing it and me having no money, I had to drive around with the biggest gash mark on top of my roof and when it rained badly it would leak a little. It took a year and a half to finally find someone that would take the car as a trade in. Thank you very much KIA for knocking the value of my car to below sh*t status. The best of luck to you. I hope you took before and after pictures.
2006-12-21 04:36:03 · answer #3 · answered by Coffee Lover 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Of course they would be liable. The catch is that you would have to prove it in court. If they win you have to pay the court costs and possibly their attorney fees. Nobody fixes something for nothing just out of the goodness of their heart if it is a business.You could express that to the court. It would seem that the damage caused would be minor compared to your attorney fees should lose. If I were you, I would file a complaint to the B.B.B. and tell my friends not to have work done there. Life is not a bed of roses. Sometimes you get pricked.
2006-12-21 01:38:59 · answer #4 · answered by gyro-nut64 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The fact that they 'fixed' the first damage is evidence that they assumed liabilty. It's like when someone sues you for a loan that you claim was a gift, but shows that you made a couple of payments on it. Those payments are proof that it was a loan, and not a gift. Same thing goes for the car repair shop; the fact that they tried to fix it weighs in your favor that they caused it.
2006-12-21 01:12:21 · answer #5 · answered by normobrian 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
First can you prove they are responcible for all of the damages?
If yes then they are responcible for the secondary damages, because if it wasn't for the innitial damage it wouldn't have been in a position to recive the follow-up damages. It doesn't matter why they fixed the first damage, if they were resoncible for it they are responcible for the condition of the car while its in their cair also.
2006-12-21 01:13:37 · answer #6 · answered by Mark G 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are morally liable to fix your car. Unfortunately unless their words to fix it are in writing, then they will deny it. You need a witness to confirm their agreement. Good luck.
2006-12-21 01:07:22 · answer #7 · answered by Tenn Gal 6 · 2⤊ 0⤋