Have you ever taken a manufacturer to court over an issue with your Vehicle

Beta Ray Bill

A friend of mine is having an issue with a relatively new vehicle she purchased from new (Still under manufacturer warranty)

The manufacturer will not cover the warranty issue (I'm not going to go into the details of what's wrong with her car, only that it is cosmetic and was caused by what is technically a mechanical issue).
The dealer has been apologetic and allegedly is trying their best to sort the issue.

My question is, have you ever taken a manufacturer to court over an issue with your vehicle that they won't fix. How did it go? How long did it take and did you win?

I'm not looking for legal advice here, only experiences.

Henry Ford III

The type of fault is critical. Without details it's impossible to comment with any relevance.

User1998

Hard to say without knowing the terms and conditions of the warranty, and what is actually wrong with the car. If its only cosmetic then its unlikely to be covered

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058351929/have-you-ever-taken-a-manufacturer-to-court-over-an-issue-with-your-vehicle

Why take the manufacturer to court and not the business who actually sold you the vehicle?

Regardless, absolutely everything that happens, happens depending on why this "is technically a mechanical issue". Without details you are not going to get a meaningful answer.

prawnsambo

Individuals won't take manufacturers to court unless they have very deep pockets and an over-inflated ego. Especially for what on the face of it seems a relatively minor (in proportion to the gigantic defendant) issue.

Something that is a problem inherent to the model will tend to take a different route and usually ends up with a recall.

Best to leave it with the dealer and/or head office for the brand.

But as others have said here, it's hard to know when there's no detail.

Very unlikely you'll get any experiences on here. Such cases would be as rare as hen's teeth. Google will tell you for sure.

Casati

if it’s less than 2k claim then the small claim court is ideal

https://www.courts.ie/small-claims-procedure

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122150578#Comment_122150578

Not at all. Claims against dealers/manufacturers are reasonably common. Some dealers/manufacturers are worse than others.

It’s true it is hard to say what an outcome is likely to be when the post is vague, but there is something of a sliding scale as to what is expected from a brand new car to an old banger.

It’s generally worth getting a motor assessor involved early. They are not hard to pay and their reports tend to hold water.

You will often have to go down the arbitration route if the dealer is simi affiliated. This is both good and bad.

Beta Ray Bill

The issue is some of the panels on the vehicle of moved and there are noticeable gaps between the plastic panels, specifically around the front of the car. My guess is heat and poor design.

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159571#Comment_122159571

May be a good idea to post the make and model of car along with photos. If it's a manufacturing defect, you could get other people on here with the same problem and maybe alert some to check.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159571#Comment_122159571

Get a motor assessor. Ask first if they work for the garage in question. Then get a solicitor if the assessor is of the view you have a decent argument.

I say this as a solicitor who acts on both sides of the fence with cases like these.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159594#Comment_122159594

Don’t do that.

Beta Ray Bill

Perfect

This one can be closed mods

prawnsambo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122160183#Comment_122160183

Any particular reason? We had a similar experience with the Tesla Cybertruck's accelerator pedal issue that eventually led to a recall. All from a couple of owners posting details and pictures/videos of what had happened to theirs.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159571#Comment_122159571

Can you not share the make and model of the car?

For example when the new model Civic was released there was a similar fault - the grilles were shifting and making the front parking sensors show up as detecting an object. But Honda released a recall and replaced all the grilles.

I suspect its something similar but the first thing people jump to is to start going legal. We need more info.

User1998

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122160870#Comment_122160870

Agreed. Its easy to suggest going legal when the money isn’t coming out of your own pocket. The other posters suggestion of a motor assessor and solicitor would not be cheap. Theres no reason not to post the make, model, and photos.

maidhc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122161271#Comment_122161271

a motor assessor will cost about €500 and will give far better advice than the Internet!

sometimes if things do go legal it’s helpful not to have things in the public domain.

Hellrazer

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122161460#Comment_122161460

Make and model isnt going to make the slightest bit of difference to any court case. Otherwise no one would be asking for advice on the internet on fixing anything on their car or problems with their car.

sumo12

Most cases are sorted amicably between individual and dealer/manufacturer. I've handled plenty of cases from the dealer side. None of the parties wants a day in court. Dealer and Manufacturer will do their level best to sort genuine complaints rather than have it escalate. Before someone jumps down my neck, I know there are manufacturers who dig their heels in and try to avoid liability but that isn't my experience.

Unfortunately, some individuals get poor advice and persue legal avenues in the belief that the end result will be better. But that is their right so there's not much we can do about that!

Any SIMI dealer has an arbitration clause in their sale contract so it goes there first before going to court and again, court is a last resort.

Beta Ray Bill

This literally got sorted this morning I'm told

bucketybuck

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169377#Comment_122169377

For most manufacturers, its literally part of the dealer agreement that the dealer has to take reasonable steps to prevent customer issues going to court. No manufacturer wants the hassle or the publicity.

sligopaul

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169554#Comment_122169554

Great, what was the resolution

dubliniift

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122159145#Comment_122159145

Delete

dubliniift

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122169377#Comment_122169377

You suggested you have handled plenty of cases? Are you a solicitor? I'm looking for support/legal action in one case, whereby known faults are denied, issues not fixed inspite of multiple visits. SIMI - Read they always favor the manufacturer.

dubliniift

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122160178#Comment_122160178

I have an issue with a motor vehicle which could not be fixed inspite of multiple visits over 1 year. dealer denied issues until other dealer agreed with issues. Any legal support/action will be appreciated.

sumo12

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122917430#Comment_122917430

Hi, no I'm not a solicitor. I worked in main dealers for many years and that's how I came across the cases. The SIMI arbitration process is provided by independent aribitrators. In my experience, they tend to lean towards customer rather than manufacturer. Good luck with your case!

MetzgerMeister

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122917448#Comment_122917448

Users can't give legal information on boards FYI