This started with a suspected oil filter blowing off.(see how far can a car go after an oil filter blows off) I took you advice an got a lawyer and he said. since they are blaming eachother, have it towed to a third party. The third party, who would have loved to blame the dealer, found evidence of oil leaking around the filter, and says the filter blew off. He is taking pictures of everythiny and is doing the work for $l000 less than the dealer wanted. The dealer says he ordered the used engine and I couldn’t have my car until I paid it. It came from Phoenix which is 100 miles from Tucson. He charged me $400 restocking fee. Is that reasonable?
So how exactly is this third party taking pictures and estimating repair costs if the dealer has your car?
Sorry, guess I didn’t make my post clear. I paid the bill that he insisted on and then he released my car the the 3rd party.
What was the total cost of the used engine? I have seen up to 15% of the item cost as a restocking fee.
400 dollars seems expensive to me.
By the time this is over and you have paid all the bills you could have bought a new car…
The used engine that the 3rd party found has 30,000+ miles and cost $2,900. The one the dealer ordered had 40,000+ miles, so I assume it was a little less costly. Hopefully I will recupe some when I present the oil place with the bill or sue them.
The 400 is reasonable considering the price of the engine and the time involved in procuring this engine.
The fact that you changed your mind and found someone else to do the work does not mean you should get off the hook at the dealer. I do question why your 3rd party mechanic “would love to blame it on the dealer”.
You should be able to hold the original oil change facility accountable no matter if the filter fell off or blew off.
However, you may not get back all of your money, such as the restocking fee, on this deal. The oil change facility is not going to be responsible for a change of heart, and to be honest, you should not even have to have your car taken to a 3rd party. I think your lawyer is a bit offbase on this one.
The third party was involved because the dealer blamed the oil place and the oil place was saying that the dealer was trying to get out of the warantee.
I’m afraid the dealer has a bad reputation. It was not warranted in this case. But the attorney felt the third party would be more credible as he is well known as a very honest mechanic and he has no stake in the outcome.
I am not going to try and recoupe the restocking fee or the $80 diagnostic fee that the dealer charged. It is worth it to know that the car is in good hands. I just wondered if the charge was normal, it seemed like a lot. From what I see here, it is about right, even though it was only two days from the time I gave a verbal ok to fix the car and my calling them to say don’t do anything until my attorney checks things out. Maybe the dealer couldn’t have put a stop on the order anyway.
Well one good thing, I’ll sure pull over if I ever see the oil light go on, as will all my friends that have lived though this with me.