Can I sue if I have taken my vehicle to the same mechanic and for the same issues twice but my issues still exist?
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Can I sue if I have taken my vehicle to the same mechanic and for the same issues twice but my issues still exist?
I took my vehicle to a mechanic to have my transmission rebuilt. Before I picked my vehicle up, the mechanic advised I would need a tune up. I picked my vehicle up but my vehicle’s issues still existed. I made contact with the mechanic to advise him of this on the same day. He told me that a tune up would bring about a noticeable change, and to “make me happy”, he would complete the tune up and only charge me for parts. I agreed to this. I returned the vehicle to him a week later and picked the vehicle up 6 days later. I was advised to drive the vehicle 150 miles however the gears are now changing smoothly. On that same day, once again I advised the mechanic that the gears were not changing smoothly but I would drive it for the 150 miles. I have now driven the vehicle for over 150 miles and I have paid $1105 yet my issues still exist.
Asked on June 7, 2012 under Business Law, Georgia
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 11 years ago | Contributor
The answer is "maybe." If the mechanic gave you a warranty or otherwise guarateed the work, you may enforce that warranty or guaranty. In the absence of a warranty or guaranty, however, the mechanic is not liable simply becausue the problem persists--some problems are very hard, if not impossible, to eliminate, even for careful, highly qualified mechanics. The issue is whether the mechanic--
1) Committed fraud--that is, he lied to you about something important, such as the nature of the problem, his qualifications, or even whether he was doing the work.
2) Was unreasonably careless, or did the work much more sloppily or poorly or carelessly than would be expected of a reasonable mechanic (which includes using substandard parts).
Basically, in the absence of a warranty or guaranty, you have to show that the mechanic actually did something wrong; if you feel you can show that, you would have a viable claim, and could potentially sue to recover the money you paid and/or for the cost to have someone else correct the problem.
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