i need advice on my court case?

Question

here are details:

brought my car to firestone because battery kept being drained.. they said change batter cables for $110, did it, week later, problem happened again

went back, they said i needed a new battery, went spend $100, same problem

so i took it to AAMCo, they said the battery wasnt put it perfecting (smoething about a terminal)... and that there is an electrical short which was the problem the whole time.

i emailed firestone, telling them i demanding the cost of BOTH repairs and two days of lost income. total $400.

do you think this is valid, should i fight this? i live in NJ, do i have any basis.

the manager left me a voicemail and said to call him tomorrow, what should i say

Answer 1

The situation here is more of incompetence rather than any kind of malicious intent. I agree with AAMCo that the problem was due to a short initially and I hope they solved that for you. Sounds like you authorized Firestone to perform the procedures that were done. Even if the diagnosis is inaccurate, the work was authorized and performed. You should ask yourself a couple of questions: Are you really out $400? Depends how you look at it. You have a new battery (the old one had a shorter life span due to the short) and new cables. The loss of work usually doesn't hold up unless you can prove that they intended to make you lose work by holding your car, which I doubt. I realize you are angry with this situation but I think you should count your lucky stars that your car is okay now (if it is). I know of situations much worse. The best thing you can do is never go to that Firestone shop and tell them why. Email or call their corporate office and tell them why and that you will recommend to all your friends not to go there for anything other than tires (Firestones are great tires.) When you talk to the manager tell him exactly what happened and that you are not happy. Tell him you feel you were ripped off and considering legal action. He will likely offer some kind of restitution. You could take them to small claims and go through the headache of it, which is probably not worth it. I mean is the feeling that you got back at someone who didn;t INTENTIONALLY hurt you worth it? I've been involved in similar types of small claims situations and it looks like your chances of winning aren't good with this situation.

Answer 2

Well, if it's $400 you can take them to small claims court. Did you authorize all of the repairs? Did they ask you first, can we change the cables and the battery. Then did you sign on the dotted line? If you did than you are SOL. The law is on their side. You gave your signature which means you authorized the repairs.

Now if they made repairs to your car without your authorization and demanded pay. Then you would have a case in court. In any case it would help to speak with a paralegal about this. Every State is different.

Answer 3

Here in Tx where im at it cost $92 to file for small claims court dont know what it costs where you are but keep all your recits you definatly got a case might take awhile and have to miss more work but the satisfaction will feel good

Answer 4

first, do not delete the voice mail from you or the vendor and if possible record it. then take them to small claims court and sue not only for the lost time and repairs but for the cost of going
to court.try to get the guys from AAMCO to go with you to
help testify if not subpoena them (hope not as this makes a lot of people mad).then enjoy your day in court. remember if you have all your facts and documentation together the only way that you can lose is by not showing up.

Answer 5

You need to negotiate with Firestone Manager first as they may have actually followed your instructions. What I mean by this is that they may have offered solutions to you which you agreed to them doing, without them having done a full check over of your car.
If they fitted the battery incorrectly then you need this in writing also, do you have the old battery cables? If you are going to sue them you need evidence to back up your claim.
As I said first up, you need to negotiate with the Manager at Firestone in the first instance. These types of claims are very difficult to prove in most cases.
Good luck with it.

Answer 6

I don,t think; you can prove your case to the court!
If you had bad cable in the first place
If you had bad battery in the first place
they should check after they put new battery and new cable if there is a short circuit .
SHORT CIRCUIT IS NOT RELATED TO THE ABOVE COMPONENT.
If you lose the case you may pay the court fee.

Answer 7

first was these battey cables made of gold, for 110, you could went to wal mark , an got the batter an cables, an yes you do have a good case, an too i bet you are a women ,,,yes,, often a lot od dealer will do this to women, i fight them all the way