APLark

You have to do what you have to do. DO NOT PICK THAT CAR UP AND DRIVE IT OFF THE LOT IF THEY TRY AND REPAIR IT AND GIVE IT BACK TO YOU. You will never get the money back that you have and will invest in a wrecked Vette. Keep all correspondence between you and the dealership. Any good lawyer would love to take this case on they terms that that will get paid "when" they win. Because they will win. You can have your lawyer fee's paid, new car and strain and stress which the proof is in the correspondence. I din't believe in the sue syndrome but this is a true exception. You've given them the chance to make it right and they won't. Go for blood. I had a fender bender in my Chrysler 300M and when I wanted to trade it in the could tell and I was only going to get half of what the car was worth. The fender was just replaced. They could tell by the inside of the fender. Plus I had other problems later down the line after a year that wasn't covered after that amonut of time. Police weren't involved. Other car wasn't damaged, air bag never went off. It was just a slight fender-bender.

webdzynes

The dealer intended to cause some strife at home and as such, put you into a position to "get through it as quickly as possible" and turn the screws on you a bit in the process. What he didnt realize is that he hurt himself that much more. Here's why: If you were highly aprehensive about letting your trusted life partner drive your car, you certainly would not want a complete stranger doing so. This adds credibility to your comment telling them NOT to drive it when the car was dropped off. It is a bit of a stretch but because he shared the dialogue between you and he with your wife, he made clear an intention to create some disharmony, which he did. That in turn starts falling under the auspices of punitive damages as that conduct was malicious in intent. (Conduct is malicious if it is accompanied by ill will, or spite, or if it is for the purpose of injuring another.)As I said, it is a reach but worth pursuing.

Hoonose

We still drive a 'wrecked' new car, since it was correctly repaired 3 years ago. But the yearly depreciation of Jags is so horrific, that the report would have minimal impact at resale time.

I said in my previous post that I meant no offense, just throwing out some ideas.

When I meant 'ego', I meant the overall mental damage, which you do confirm.

I do believe that owners of new Corvettes will be considered 'rich' by the general public, and I just don't think the public would be too sympathetic with any negative campaigning, assuming the car is properly fixed.
You do need to consider and look at this issue from more angles.
You will find that on this forum when there is a thread about a dealer screw up, the comments start out mostly kill, kill, kill, or sue, sue, sue. Not always the best or most realistic course to take.

webdzynes

If the car is "properly fixed", there is no case. Afterall, legally, that is all that is required. May not be right, but at least in the states I'm familiar with, thats the law.

KingAustin

Be careful of what? What could he possibly do to us by creating a false story, and also why would someone go through the trouble of doing this?

Also he could have just been a lurker and just read threads about people and their corvettes that could have made him decide to buy a vette. Someone's paranoid

Rich Z

I disagree. That is EXACTLY what lawyers and the courts are for: To arbitrate over a situation where harm has been done by one party and will not make good on it through other means. The courts are there to FORCE restitution in such instances. That is what the legal system is there for. To protect US from the depredations of others that leaves us no other avenue to right a wrong.

And this guy does not want a wrecked and fixed car. If he did, he would have likely bought used in the first place to save money. He wanted NEW, which implies undamaged and in perfect condition off of the showroom floor. I wouldn't even THINK of buying a new car if I knew it had been wrecked but then repaired, no matter how "perfectly" that repair was done and by whom.

The dealer was entrusted with the care of this vehicle, and everyone who takes their car to a dealer in such manner fully expects due care in the way it is handled. Allowing an employee to take the car and wreck it is culpable negligence. Allowing the injury to stand without proper and complete restitution is ethically criminal, albeit not legally so, IMHO. No one in their right mind would take a vehicle to a dealer who allows such actions from their employees. That employee still works there? The dealer has not made good on THEIR responsibility to their customer? They could be the LAST Corvette dealer on earth and I would not buy a car, much less a spark plug from them.

OzzyC4

find a lawyer to take it on contingency, and sue for damages and included a large amount to compensate for emotional stress, inconvenience, etc.

Hoonose

Of course he's been wronged.
But the whole car is around $50K. I could see something progressing if the car was gone. But it's not. It's repairable. Most insurance companies leave it at that.

But also there are emotional damages. But how much? $50K?
Never.
1/2 that, I really doubt it.
$10K? Well maybe.
I can't imagine going through the courts for that amount of money.
Unless someone has a wild enough hair up their *** to try.
And there are certainly enough rooters in this peanut gallery to support going in for the kill!

AP

... but it was an accident that someone else created ... and they should pay something ...

ECV

If the dealer thinks a repaired wreck is fine, they should have no quams keeping the car they wrecked and give you a NEW one!

johnodrake

The gent entrusted his car to a dealer. An agent of the dealer wrecked the car. The gent should get from said dealer an equal or better car as a replacement. The dealer can keep the wreck and do whatever with it. The dealer should also pay whatever payments are due until the replacement is provided.

Nothing less...nothing more. You don't get rich, you just get whole.

knkali

Hoonose and I are on the same page.

Hoonose

Or how about repairing the car like new, plus offer the owner a check for 10 G's?
Does that sound fair?

cthusker

... but the dealer isn't going to think that's such a great idea! Why should he pay out of pocket when he thinks he can stick the cars owner for the loss. Right now the dealer is out EXACTY ZERO because his insurance covers the repairs. Only person I see holding the bag here is the cars owner! This isn't about going in for a kill it's about the dealer stepping up and doing the right thing. He can accomplish that by buying the car at full market value and offering a new one at dealer cost. Not a heavy financial burden for a dealership to handle. It’s a cost of doing business in such a slipshod manner. I think the dealer can afford it a lot more than the cars owner. The dealership even had the gall to drag the guy’s wife into the fray! That is pretty damn low and another reason I would sue this POS! Obviously the cars owner has to make the decision on what’s best for him and his family. I do believe his best course of action is to seek legal counsel to fully explore all his options. If that’s considered by some as going for the “KILL” or advice from the peanut gallery so be it………

webdzynes

Certainly we can all agree on what "should" happen and what would be proper and ethical conduct. Unfortunately however, the law dosent require that. Repair which is deemed reasonable and satisfactory is all the dealer is obligated to perform. No, it isnt right but on the surface, that is the only legal issue of merit which the law will clearly stand behind. Essentially, anything beyond that is emotionally driven justice which may sound fair but in actuallity, has no legs in court. (Unless you get a very shrewd and articulate attorney - which can happen!)

9T3vert

Well I have been reading all of these post from the beginning and I have not heard mentioned anyone recommending that you contact the witnesses of the accident. They are the best leverage that you have. Especially the ones that were also involved in the accident.
It has been said 10,000 times GET A LAWYER! If you look hard enough, you will find one that will take this case for very little down. If you don't get a lawyer then you are just wasting your time and ours.

427Z

i have not read all the 200+ replies but has anyone who is an actual lawyer given any advice for this situation? i know there are several lawyers on this board

ask1ed

He was pissed off about the publicity. Maybe we can turn it around for a pos. google result.

ask1ed

Exactly.

jabez

What a joke of a dealership. They do thousands of dollars of damages to your car when you take it in for minor fixes. As soon as you get a decison of your liking take your business elsewhere immediately. Its the actions of dealerships like this that give all a bad name. I hope GM gets word of this place and pulls the plug on them.

Sorry for all your problems. You shouldn't have gone through any of this and be treated this way.