Obligation to have dealer make repairs

ltlredwagon

New Member
Jurisdiction
Oregon
My son had his "Honda" repaired by a local "Honda" service center. About $3,000 worth of repairs. Major engine work. The engine then blew up after 3,000 miles. The car was towed to an independent repair company. The owner has been rebuilding "Honda" engines for the past 30 years. He checked out the car and found specifically what had caused the problem -- in doing the repair, the previous service technician had left out a key oil seal. He had also ground the heads with an abrasive material. There were several other mistakes made. The mechanic was "no longer working there".

My son contacted the previous dealer and asked for a full refund. The head of the service department said he would have to get permission from the dealership owner, but that he would first like to stop by the independent dealer, 2 miles away, and inspect the car and see what was found. This was arranged, and the independent dealer called the head of the service department several times. He never showed up.

My son had the engine rebuilt at a cost of $4,000. The matter is now going to small claims court. I have heard that one point that will likely come up is the service center saying that their work was
guaranteed and that my son was required to have them do any repair work. This seems like an injustice -- forcing a consumer to have repair work done by the same company whose neglect and incompetence provably ruined the car in the first place. I would greatly appreciate any reference to the law on this or how I might research it.
 
My son had his "Honda" repaired by a local "Honda" service center. About $3,000 worth of repairs. Major engine work. The engine then blew up after 3,000 miles. The car was towed to an independent repair company. The owner has been rebuilding "Honda" engines for the past 30 years. He checked out the car and found specifically what had caused the problem -- in doing the repair, the previous service technician had left out a key oil seal. He had also ground the heads with an abrasive material. There were several other mistakes made. The mechanic was "no longer working there".

My son contacted the previous dealer and asked for a full refund. The head of the service department said he would have to get permission from the dealership owner, but that he would first like to stop by the independent dealer, 2 miles away, and inspect the car and see what was found. This was arranged, and the independent dealer called the head of the service department several times. He never showed up.

My son had the engine rebuilt at a cost of $4,000. The matter is now going to small claims court. I have heard that one point that will likely come up is the service center saying that their work was
guaranteed and that my son was required to have them do any repair work. This seems like an injustice -- forcing a consumer to have repair work done by the same company whose neglect and incompetence provably ruined the car in the first place. I would greatly appreciate any reference to the law on this or how I might research it.

Any research would need to start with an examination of the warranty (not guarantee) that your son received on the initial engine work.
 
I have heard that one point that will likely come up is the service center saying that their work was guaranteed and that my son was required to have them do any repair work.

Well, that depends on the terms and conditions of any written warranty that your son got regarding the repair.

I would greatly appreciate any reference to the law on this or how I might research it.

Not a matter of statutory law, it's a matter of contract.
 
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