What are my rights if a dealership wrecked my car by not repairing it properly?
Get Legal Help Today
Compare Quotes From Top Companies and Save
Secured with SHA-256 Encryption
What are my rights if a dealership wrecked my car by not repairing it properly?
I have a car that was purchased brand new from the dealership. I take the car to the same dealership for maintenance and oil changes. While getting an oil change, I was informed by one of the techs that they had accidentally wrecked the car and scratched the front bumper and they would have it repaired free of charge. After keeping my car for a whole month, I went to pick it up to find that the work done was terrible. The whole bumper had been removed and the body shop wasn’t able to put it back on correctly and it’s not aligned with the rest of the car. The grill is also now damaged and not fitting properly. The bumper was also a completely different color from the rest of the car. After pointing these things out to the service department manager, he agreed with everything that I pointed out and told me he would send it back to be repaired again. After another 2 weeks, I went to pick up the car and the only thing fixed was the color. The grill was even worse than before. After the manager criticized the body shop for bad work, he then agreed to have a different person repair the grill and it would be done the next day. After waiting another 3 days and calling the dealership numerous times with no answer, I received a text saying it was the best they could do, it’s nothing else they can do. He then tried saying that the car was in an accident before so it couldn’t be fixed properly, which is not true. The car was purchased brand new and has never been in an accident. Not even a scratch until it was damaged by the dealership. I’m not satisfied and refuse to accept that. What can I do legally?
Asked on August 1, 2016 under Accident Law, Texas
Answers:
S.L,. Member, California Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
You can sue the auto dealership for negligence. Negligence is the failure to exercise due care (that degree of care that a reasonable auto dealer would have exercised under the same or similar circumstances to prevent foreseeable harm).
Your damages (monetary compensation you are seeking in your lawsuit) for negligence would be the cost of repairs (property damage) to your car.
If you prevail in the case, you can also recover court costs which include the court filing fee and process server fee.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: The Answer(s) provided above are for general information only. The attorney providing the answer was not serving as the attorney for the person submitting the question or in any attorney-client relationship with such person. Laws may vary from state to state, and sometimes change. Tiny variations in the facts, or a fact not set forth in a question, often can change a legal outcome or an attorney's conclusion. Although AttorneyPages.com has verified the attorney was admitted to practice law in at least one jurisdiction, he or she may not be authorized to practice law in the jurisdiction referred to in the question, nor is he or she necessarily experienced in the area of the law involved. Unlike the information in the Answer(s) above, upon which you should NOT rely, for personal advice you can rely upon we suggest you retain an attorney to represent you.