Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and hope someone can help me!

MY 1988 RX-7 CONVERTIBLE WAS AT THE MAZDA DEALERSHIP FOR
SOME MINOR WORK! TODAY THEY CALL ME AND TELL ME MY EMISSION WIRE HARNESS BEHIND THE ALTERNATOR CAUGHT FIRE! THEY ARE TRYING TO BLAME ME EVEN THOUGH THE CAR HAS BEEN THEIR FOR OVER A WEEK AND THE MECHANIC MENTIONED WHEN HE STARTED IT IT WAS RUNNING FUNNY!I WAS THERE YESTERDAY AND HE DIDN'T MENTION ANYTHING AND I DIDN'T SEE ANYTHING WROND ESPECIALLY A BIG *** BURNT MARK ON MY HOOD FROM THE INSIDE!

SHOULDN'T THEY COVER THIS COST OR THE DEALERSHIPS INSURANCE?
WHAT THE HELL DO I DO-DEALERSHIP IS TELLING ME THE WIRING COSTS
800 ******* DOLLARS!!!!:

 

Yeh, they need to cover that.

 

First of all, you don't need all capitals. If we're going to read it, we're going to read it. All caps makes you look like an immature jerk-off.

Next, call the dealership and ask for the manager. Calmly explain the situation. Ask him how he plans to rectify it. If he refuses or claims it's on you, explain the situation again, calmly. If he again refuses, tell him that you will hire an attorney, and that you will sue the dealership for damages, court costs, and legal fees. If he scoffs, call an attorney, preferably one you know, explain the situation, and see what you can do.

 

So was it an electrical fire, or a fuel fire from a bad PD?
If it was electrical, then its definitely their fault. The car was running when you took it in, I assume? If so, then they must have screwed something up to catch the damn harness on fire. They should cover all costs to get it fixed. Unfortunately, there is a good chance you will have to involve a lawyer in this.

 

dealerships love to scare people by claiming they don't have to fix stuff that breaks or is stollen in their property. Infact, several dealerships will have signs posted at the entrance of the service parking lot saying they are not responsible. If you calmly explain the situation and they still deny responsibility all you have left to do is take them to court. as stated previously, a lawyer will probably be needed. I had to do something similar with my honduh. Sometimes they rather pay up then have their business hurt...in the long run it could cost them more in loss of customers ( if you know several people that go to that dealership > ) then to pay for your car to be fixed themselves. If you can bring negligence up ( the mechanic started and ran the car even though he claims it was running "funny" ...you said there is a black mark on the hood? do you mean when the hood is closed you can see a burn mark ontop? how long would a fire take to burn the paint like this? if it would take a while then maybe you can claim the mechanic took long to turn off the fire....are they not equipped with fire extinguishers? i believe all shops have to have a few around no? ) just some idea. Good luck.

 

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You can also threaten to file a report with the BBB. Just the threat of a BBB report can sometimes jolt a place into action. Thats what it took to get a refund for the deposit on my rebuild when they screwed me over.

 

Well my mom is a sale woman at a dealership, and my dad is good good friends with all the mechanics. Talking to the mechanics they say your **** outta luck. jus playing, they say it is not your fault. If the car was running without this problem when you took it in then it is "covered." I say this because its only 800 which isn't prolly worth them filing a claim and everything for insurance rreasons.

So just stay calm because if you tell them they HAVE to fix it, then that gives them that much more incentive not to fix it! Just relax and everything will be worked out

 

what were they working on anyway? this just goes to show you you should try and learn to do your own maintenence. besides, it saves you more money so you can put all that bling on it sorry this happened. be calm cool and collective. do some legal research so you sound like you know what your talking about when you calmly talk to the manager.

 

Yea they should be held completely responsible for the damage. It was in there care sould be there responsibility. Try mentioning the Better Business Bureau, and that your gonna get an attorney if they keep trying to dick around.

 

Wait a minute- what was the "minor work" the car was initially in for?
This could be completely coincidental, after all the car is at least 16 years old already and the mechanic may not have been anywhere near the harness that fried.
I've had people claim that their radio didn't work after an oil change and try to get the shop to cover it.

More details are needed before the mechanic/shop are automatically assumed responsible for the damage.

 

Generally speaking wires don't just catch on fire. I've only seen it happen once, and that was on an old 60's british sports car, which is a notable exception to the rule when it comes to wiring.

 

I agree but we have no idea if this was due to a pre-existing condition or not.
Until the OP states the reason he took the car in for service to begin with there's no way of knowing that the tech was even near that harness or should have been aware that the harness was a potential problem.