Went to court again - looking good!

[N20LT4Bird]

Just got back from defending my friend in small claims court. If you dont know the story, I will rehash a bit, you guys will apreciate this:

My friend brought her car to Valvoline to have the oil changed. They also changed the tranfer case fluid. 1/2 mile down the road after service, she hears a horrible grinding noise. She brought it back, and of course they gave her the runaround; wasnt their fault. She brought it to the Chrysler dealer and they put a new transfer case in to the tune of $3000.

She had me pull the transfer case (NP 247) apart to find out what happened inside. Big BOO BOO on Valvolines part. They pulled the wrong plug. The detent plug/ ball/ spring assembly was pulled out instead of the drain plug, causing the shift fork inside to misalign and wipe out the fork internally.

We went to court together and I testified to this. The Judge adjourned the case because Valvoline didnt have an "expert witness" to examine the trans case. Well, their "ASE certified master tech" took a look at it and we were back in court today.

The judge let me and the "ASE certified master tech" (which he mentioned about 100 times ) debate back and forth about the technical side of it. The guy probably thought he was going to stomp on me (being uncertified and very young) but this guy didnt know his butt from a hole in the ground. (Though he pretended too) We went back and forth for 3 hours. In the end he looked very foolish and it was very obvious that the judge thought so too. (What was that ASE thing again????) We are going to be notified by mail as to the judgement, but we have a very good idea (just about positive) that we won.

The adrenaline is still pumping... I love a good debate.

[KnightFire]

Kudos to you!!!






KnightFire

[NorthernSS]

That's so awesome, stick it to the man!!!!!!

[JL8Jeff]

I just served on a jury last week for a civil case. It kind of surprises me to see some of the parties involved not really prepared and not armed with adequate proof. And the idea of an "expert witness" seemed to be nothing more than a "well educated guess". Hope your friend recovers the cost for the repair.

[TODD 2000 V6 CAMARO]

The same sort ofthing happened to a friend of mine a few years ago, only the oil change place put the wrong size oil filter on his '96 Camaro. On his way home the filter must have fallen off, oil drained out, and the engine locked up. His dad got involved and called the place and told them what had happened. The manager of the place, luckily, was cool and went out to look at the car. I think he fired the "tech" who put the wrong filter on and then they bought him a new engine and paid for the swap. It just amazes me how some business owners won't own up to their mistakes. Baaaad business.

[AndyLT1]

That ASE stuff is ridiculous. I'm not saying that someone that is ASE certified isn't good. I'm saying that I have ASE's in brakes and steering and suspension. I still don't consider myself an expert with either of these things. It just means that I memorized some stuff written in a book. It doesn't mean that I can actually do the work. I can do the work, but that's not the point. By the way, I worked at Valvoline when I was in high school, they don't hire a whole lot of "smart" people.

Andy

[N20LT4Bird]

Andy, I totally agree with you on the ASE's. Some ASE cert. techs are good, some are not. The ASE's have no correlation.

Funny thing, I worked at Valvoline when I was 16 too. It was my first on the books, real job. At 16 I knew more than most the guys there about automobiles, and that wasnt much. Not the brightest bulbs....