Well I was still trying to work out a deal with this guy to avoid court, even offered to split the damages in half and he will not do it. So first thing Monday I will file in small claims court and report to the BBB and Consumer Reports.

I will keep ya posted.

 

I would send an email or call Dodge. Ask them if their electrical systems are fused. Because if there was a penny dropped in my lighter I would certainly hope that the fuse would blow before any damage was done.

After they say of course that would do no major damage you can go into your story.

Chances are the dealer is not been in contact with Dodge. He is just trying to get a few bucks directly from you. The warranty work doesn't exactly pay the bills these days.

Good luck.

 

Call Tom Martino at 866-966-4357. He has a nationally syndicated radio show and all he does is help people out of problems like yours. He'll go to bat for you to get matters resolved.

 

Don't know whre you are so I can only go by California Law. The limit in small calims court just went up from $10,000 to $15,000 so you have plenty of room. You can only recover actual damages not pain and suffering. You'll need to get the car repaired before you file. The renatal car is also recoverable as you need to rent a car to continue to work that rental was damages. When you file name everyone. The alarm shop, the manager, the installer, everyone who touched you car. That way each will be daling with themselves. It will cause the installer to seek help from the employer. He will become an alli in the fight and incented to get it resolved. Also record a lien against the shop and the owner. It will become public record against what is probably a sole proprieatorship. This makes it an issue against the owners personal credit ratingt and might make it more difficult for him to borrow money or otherwise do business. He might not be able to get suppliers to offer him terms on his purchases and make him either prepay for shippments or pay by credit cards. This would otherwise tie up his cash. You will want to check and see if his wife is on the business licenses. If so name her in the suit. Absoutly get a hold of the Better Business Buearu They have a cgood deal of clout. Give the shop one last chance to do what is right in a very humble and non-infamatory letter. It is time to get things on the record. Specify exactly what you want and a reasonable amount of time, (10 days) to getit done. If the deadline is not meet nuke him.

While in small claims court you cannot use a lawyer you can recover court costs such as serving the compaint to everyone you can think of. The BBB is free but can take a long time.

Once you file the suit do not contact him or anyname any more let everything happen court. If they try and contact you simply tell them to either meet you demands by wiriting you for a check. Or put it in writing. Verbal stuff is of no value against writing.

If you don't want to go the court way get a couple if signs made about how they damaged you car and park it in front of the shop with the signs attached to the windshield, back window and the sides. Take a picture of it after you park it and set up a cbhair acorss the sereet and watch you car. Video it is necessary. also video any conversation the owner now has with you. He'll demand you move the car. video everything it can be used in court.

Sorry for the hassle but the system can help you. Your job is now to get things made right. I've had to do the small calims bit and event had to get a tenant evicted. It sucks but the alternaitve is...

Fight the good fight, tkae the hig road but use everything available to you John Q Public and keep us posted.

Oh at leat in California to void a a car warranty ther dealer must show positively that the mods cause the failure. otherwise everytime you put anything different from factory including motor oil, air cleaner, tires, even wind shiled washer fluid could give them cause to void a warranty.

Good luck

Cal Jeff

 

Thanks again guys, even more good info to work with. As I said before I will keep you posted on my progress.

 

One thing that strikes me as odd if it was a penny then the protection on the electrical system failed and did not pop the fuse. Also if it was a penny in the lighter then it sure wasn't the mod that did it so i would think warranty should cover it. I have to agree i think the shop screwed up. I have read that alot of GM dealers are making owners take out remote starts and putting thiers in or voiding the warranty. I've seen saturns that had an aftermarket remote start installed and the car would not start, the security system goes into defense mode and has to goto the dealer to be reprogrammed. Take him to the wringer you gave him every chance to make it right.

 

Well we are into the mediation phase now, have a meeting with the owner of the shop and some others to try and work out a deal. This will be our last ditch effort prior to court.

Will let ya know how it turns out later today or tonight.

 

see i get confused with some dealerships.......your warranty got voided because of an alarm?
and my dealer insisted that i go forward with the suicide doors.....youd think that would void a warranty...not an alarm system...
that makes no sense
id report both the shop and the dealership(depending on how the warranty was stated for you)

the first thing i asked the dealership was "can i mod it?"
they said yeah you can do what you want as long as you dont alter the engine........and i have literally went up and showed the dealership the doors...hell, they got the main guy to come check it out too......your dealership seems crummy

sorry for your bad luck
if it makes you feel better, i havent had my ride since december =)