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Small claims or GL4x4 Court of Appeals ????

8K views 58 replies 24 participants last post by  tyzstuff 
#1 ·
I would like some of your opinions on an issue that I am involved in.

I'd like to say sorry for the long read ahead of time.I don't know how to really shorten the story much.

I am looking at either taking a small business to small claims court or possibly a circuit court over services provided by the said business.

In July of last year I bought a 2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport from a local dealer.When the vehicle was purchased it had low almost non existent oil pressure.The dealer knew the problem was cam bearings as well as I did.But the price was right.
Upon purchasing the Jeep I had a Chrysler mechanic friend look at it and he came up with the same scenario(cam bearings)
I looked high and low for a decent used engine but was looking at $1000 for something with 100,000 miles.i then came across an ad on Grand Rapids Craigslist for a company that rebuilds 4.0L for $1300 with a year warranty.Turns out one of the salvage yards I contacted said they do business with this shop and recommended them.
After calling and speaking with the owner of the shop I pulled the engine and took it to them to be rebuilt.They called when the engine was finished and I picked it up.After install the oil pressure was the same.I called the shop back and spoke to the owner and he said to bring the Jeep to him.
I then towed the Jeep to Grand Rapids with my gauges installed for a manual oil pressure test.(takes about 15 minutes to do)The Jeep sat there a week and a half before he touched it.Then calls me and says the engine had to come back out.If he did it,it would be another week or 2.I then went to G.R. pulled the engine in his parking lot at night.He went back through the motor and said the cam bearings he put in had a spot weld on them.I know that weld won't stick to a cam bearing and called him out on it.He threatened to throw me off from his property.After calming down he gave me the engine and I had to reinstall it in the parking lot at 8:30 at night.Everything was fine,or so it seemed.Motor ran great for about 5000 miles then lost oil pressure again.
I call the shop and get no answer.Finally I get a voice mail on one of my calls and left a message.They call me back and had me pull the motor again and bring iot to a new location.Bad business I know.They then state that the motor was overheated and charged me another $500.I got the engine back and had to go back to G.R. to retrieve the proper timing cover.they put one on from a Grand Cherokee not the same.He also said my distributor was froze up and teeth were broke.The Jeep was drove up until I pulled the engine,which says that the distributor wasn't mine.As well as I had just put a new one on a month earlier.And this one wasn't mine.He said teh crank bearings and cam bearings went to crap from the overheat.The bearings he showed me my mechanic said came out of a motor with over 100,000 miles on it.After getting the correct timing cover and a trip to the salvage yard on a Saturday morning,to get the harmonic balancer bolt and washer he didn't return.I installed the engine and had a rocker clatter.Pulled the cover and found a collapsed lifter.Drained the new now milky oil and antifreeze.Pulled the head and replaced the lifter.Put it back together and still clatter.Upon closer inspection I found that 1 pushrod was a 1/4" shorter than the rest.Put a new pushrod in and voila good oil pressure and no noise.But when I checked the yet again new oil after a short run time milky.Pulled the valve cover while hot to see a crack that was bubbling on the #4 exhaust bridge.
Called the guy that rebuilt the engine explained what was going on.Text pics to him of the oil and pushrod,as well as teh cracked head.He said that I could get a new head for $420 but that he wasn't buying me one.Even though the receipt he gave me says 6 months parts only warranty.
My question is do I hassle with small claims or do I get an attorney and try and nail his ass to the wall?
I know some will say buttsecks.But that's too kind.
Thanks for any advice.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
:eek:



On a side note, a quick look online, and every review I read simply states the place fucked up their ride after they rebuilt the engine. Of course any shop will make a mistake here or there, however it's how they handle the mistake afterward.

Seems like you put a lot of effort into making this right, it sucks that you got bent over like this. There are always two sides to a story, however I'm not really sure what they could say that would make them seem not-liable.
 
#15 ·
Yes not starting any slander.And all documentation is in receipts and phone records.The member on here was really just drug into the middle of it all.The other shop tried to make things right.I actually think that they are unaware of what the result was.
 
#19 ·
I hate CL rebuilders. Sure there might be a few good guys out there but there are ALOT of crooks. I bought a 4L60E (2000+) off CL in Baycity and it was suppose to be rebuilt and all nice and the guy even offered me a 3 yr/100,000 mile warranty but it was full of water when I got it home and it wont go in reverse so now Im stuck because I bought it for a project and didnt use it right away. Too bad his number is disconnected now too, guess he wasnt too good of a rebuilder and I should have known better since he was doing it out of his garage and everything including his yard was very trashed except for the corner of his barn that had a table he rebuilt them on but parts everywhere. Good luck!
 
#24 ·
Holiday Inn of Midland and Big E's sports Grill rebuilds engines now?
Yup they do, and Parker from Q106 is the head mechanic......
 
#25 ·
Didnt have time to read this whole thread,but I saw Gr and engine rebuilders.Is this lanny at accurate engines by chance? If it is he has been in court hundreds of times over similer shit.His bussiness was performence world until he had to change the name because of a bad reputation.
 
#27 ·
As far as I know they aren't related to accurate engines in anyway.Thanks for all the responses.
Sorry to hear the messes some of the rest of you are in.It really sucks to pay someone to do a job and not get it done properly.Due to time constraints it would have been easier and more reliable to do the jobs yourself sometimes I guess.
Do you think it should be small claims or should it be taken to a civil court?
 
#33 ·
Thanks chad I'll try court first.If that doesn't work I'll call on ya.lol
The reason I didn't do it myself was to save time.But thats long gone now.If I would have known it was to be this much hassle,I would have just rebuilt it myself.Probably for a third of what I have spent.
Oh well live and learn I guess.
 
#34 ·
Well went to small claims court and watched that fat F@%* sit there and bold face lie in circles and change his story to the judge.
I went there out the money and came home the same way.
Still no real reason why I was given parts that weren't mine and why the engine had more problems when it was returned then when it went in.
 
#36 ·
Apparently it does pay to be dishonest and a scammer.Don't plan on using this business unless your willing to spend 3x what you plan on.
Yes a loss.The judge was impressed with my paper trail and presentation.(If that has any reward):sonicjay:
 
#40 ·
Well I wish I would have seen this sooner........I work for the Judge Mathis TV show and could have got you on there....especially if the guy was a douche... If the Matter was under $ 5000.00 then it can be heard in small claims.......Was the case against his Business or him? If you want to sue him personality..PM me ! Cases with good paper trails usually win on Court TV...and Yes .It's real cases !
 
#44 ·
From experience, the defense to slander is the truth. If you are 100% truthful on what you type here, there is nothing that he can do about it. Absolutely nothing. If he stole your money by deceit, and you have proof, there is NO slander. Got proof? Say what you want.
 
#45 ·
If the Judge Mathis poster is for reals, you CAN sue the individual if you sued the company, and did not mention his name on the suit. The other way around too, if you sued him, his company can be sued in a separate suit. Paper trails are good. Here say is bad. If he has nothing, or makes up stories, show the judge the broken distributor, and the receipt for the new part. Pictures of fuck ups. Affidavits from other mechanics stating that the bearings from a new engine had wear of a motor with 100k miles on them. Show the cam bearings with spot welds. Show the missing parts and blown up lifter. Show the heat tab that was deliberately placed within 2 inches of an exhaust header. Shops are supposed to use more than one tab. The statutory limit in Michigan is $3000, so that would be the max award, but nail that fucker to the wall.
 
#46 ·
Well even after a loss at small claims he had the gall to call the shop where my nephew works and tried to get him fired over an invoice from their shop.His supervisor had authorized the invoice for my paperwork and basically told him that.He in turn contacted the owner of the dealership and tried again with him stating that my nephew was doing work for free and that he was stealing from the dealership.
 
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