Question:

Can I threaten a garage with bad internet advertisement?
Click at http://www.taxtipcalculator.com/ebay-craigslist/garage.htm This is my true story. On wednesday, I will see the manager of this garage to ask her to refund me $97 for wrong diagnostic. In case she refuse, I plan to show her my web page and threaten to advertise it on the internet. Is it risky for me? Can Dodge sue me because of that? I just want that they refund me $97 for something they didn't do right. Which signage did I post? a photo and a web site address? What sentence should I remove? I just want to post a testimony of my story. Many people post opinions (good and bad) about items they bought on internet forums, so why I can't do the same with this web page? My warranty expired and Geico don't want to refund the $97. I just want things to be fair with me. If the window was not working before the accident, I would have not insisted on that. But I was hit in the back and as a result, the window didn't work for a while. Why should I pay $97 because the other driver didn't brake in time?

Answers:

A-Best: Yes, they can sue you on a number of levels for that web page. First, you are posting their signage which may be protected by copyright laws. The sign is in the picture of your truck you posted. Second, you are posting your opinion about the condition of the motor. If you can not prove the story, then it is liable. Your posting is not an opinion, it is stated as fact. That is the biggest issue. Just had another thought. They could also seek extortion charges against you. Extortion is basically "if you don't pay me money I will do this bad thing against you". It does not matter if the "bad thing" is legal or not. As an example, it is not illegal in most states for a man to cheat on his wife. it is not illegal for a person aware of the situation to tell her. However if a person went to the man and said "pay me X dollars or I will tell your wife you cheated on her" the person could be charged with and convicted of extortion.  

A: If you still have the owner's manuel ,contact Dodge consumer affairs departmentor use the web to contact dodge(dodge.com?). They maybe able to help! Good luck!  

A: With the possible exception of your "conclusion"...which is largely opinion and hearsay...and COULD be considered slanderous... neither Dodge nor the specific dealership is LIKELY to sue you for what is written on the webpage you created. The first poster is correct that the picture showing their sign should be removed if you do post the page. Keep in mind...aggressive lawyers can almost always find grounds for a lawsuit if their client wants to litigate bad enough. Remember the guy who sued the dry cleaners for $67 million dollars, because they lost a pair of his pants!! That said...I'd get a second opinion before talking w/ the South Dade Doge people. Despite the fact that the window has worked for the last week...there may still be a problem w/ that motor. And, the fact that it's working now isn't PROOF that they lied to you or tried to cheat you. If it IS a loose wire...it could just as easily bounce out-of-place again and make the window inoperable....for who knows how long? I had a similar problem w/ the antenna motor on Infinity a few years ago. And, the $97 dollars you paid was a diagnostic fee...which you would have paid whether or not they found anything wrong with the window motor. If you're unable to get satisfaction through the dealership... call Chrysler LLC (the parent company of Dodge) and discuss your frustrations about the dealership. It's more likely to get you the resolution you're seeking than a webpage...unless your Blog is getting thousands and thousands of hits/day! Good luck!  

A: Here's the problems that I see. #1. your car was hit in the rear. An impact to the rear will NOT damage a door regulator. The door regulator is located inside the door - between the metal skin and the trim panel. Geico did the right thing telling you to have it looked at by the dealership. But if it was something simple like the glass being off the track a bit - the window would not go up and down. #2 "it worked before the accident" - is only proof that it worked before the loss. It does not mean the accident caused damage to the door regulator. The shop telling you they can't say if the window regulator is related to the accident or not - is the shops really nice way of saying it's not related to the accident. #3. You took the car to the dealership b/c you said it had a problem and the dealership gave you their professional opinion. That there is a problem with the regulator and that it could go out again. You don't like their diagnosis - you can take the car to another shop and get a second opinion. However, if the shop ran a diagnostic on the car - you owe it. Even if you don't like what they came up with or disagree with their diagnosis you still owe them for the service rendered. #4. Did you check to see if there was a recall? Probably not. Also - just because there is not a recall does not mean there is no problem. The techs at a dealership know what cars are known for what problems - things they see frequently but are not recalled. It is very possible that door regulators are a problem with this car. The dealership or tech will not tell you that -unless you happen to be friends with them. #5. "It was probably a fuse or wire or some wire that moved after the accident". You are not a mecahinc or a tech. You have no professional background to challenge their diagnosis. You don't actually know what the problem was! You assume that because the problem is not happening now that it is fixed. All you can prove now - is that the problem is currently not happening. #6. Every thing you are mad about is based on faulty assumptions. You have not proof of anything you say. You have no objective evidence to back you up at all. Dodge - on the other hand will be able to support why they made the diagnosis they did. #7. The Dodge dealer ran the diagnosis. You owe them the $97 for the service. Just because you do not like their diagnosis or in your non-professional -no- training- experience you disagree with it - does not mean you don't owe for the service provided. Do you not pay the Doctor when you don't like him to tell you that it's just a sinus headache but you thinks it's brain cancer? You still have to pay the doctor when you don't like or disagree with his diagnosis. Same thing with your car's "doctor". That's what a second opinion is for. #8. "north dade is notorious about this kind of buisness" - ok - prove it. Your story alone is not enough. Your story alone is not notorious. From what I see of your story - North Dade did nothing wrong. Sure - go ahead and threaten them. But keep in mind - they have the big stick - not you. You have no objective evidence to back up any of the allegations you are making. My two cents - get a second opinion at another dealership/shop if you are worried about the door. Or just live with it. Let it go - you got what you paid for with your $97. If you want to - you may be able to submit the bill for 97 to Geico. They may consider paying you back for that. But since the door regulator is not damaged from the accident - they don't owe it to you. But it does not cost you anything but time to see if they will pay you for it.  

A: MSAD gave you an excellent post explaining the flaws in your engineering logic. As an engineer, I might add that intermittent issues are the hardest to test for in any system, and you may be describing nothing more then a short circuit somewhere in the wiring. I am sure you can have it repaired at some shop for less then the quote of a particular dealer. Look for a plain old repair shop if price is an issue. Or, since Chrysler has been touting its end to end warranty for ages now, maybe your repair is covered under warranty *if it was NOT accident related*. Did you even bother to ask?