That's just it, that isnt the case here...

 

Uh...jeff48 is an attourney, and a seriously nice guy to boot

Bottomline, the original poster has made the decision, and the forum seems to agree with that decision.

BTW, I agree with Majik about not streetporting if you can't get afford a Power FC. No offense, but if you don't have the money to do a streetport properly with a stand-alone ECU, just get a good reman from Malloy Mazda. Ray Crowe offers an outstanding deal. I don't know what their current price is, but when I bought my reman last Nov, it was $1950 plus shipping and original motor as core. I had KDR tear down the Malloy reman, and rebuild with reliability mods (ported water and coolant passages, eccentric shaft mod, silicone water seals), and add large intake and exhaust ports. I bought a Power FC from KDR, and Dave loaded a base map with the ignition values modified to suit the large streetport job. If your bank account doesn't allow this, then the stock reman is your most cost-effective and reliable route to go

 

Can you SAY "Dumb ***"

 

Lets put this into context.

Your car, with a new body kit comes into the shop. Let's say we just change the oil, on the way out of the shop, one of the sideskirts falls off Maybe because it wasn't fastened right, who knows, doesn't matter.

Would you (or the average customer) expect us to fix it?

 

I'd expect hypntyz7 to fix it 'cause he's such a
fair, understanding guy, just a little careless with a jack.
Ok, enought of this 'inside joke' between Kevin & I...

 

Ah, c'mon Mike, you know you cant even get that fiberglass **** to stay in one piece at your own place

plus, you got a free rebuild out of the deal, in a manner of speaking, so you shouldnt have any complaints.

 

If the sideskirts were in place when the car arrived at the shop they should still be in place when the customer takes possession of the car. If they are not, and there are no specific disclaimers of responsibility for aftermarket, previously damaged or modified parts etc. on the work order that indicate that there may be problems with the sideskirts, there is a solid case for assessing liability against the shop for the damage. Every shop should inspect the car at the time it comes into their possesion and note on the work order any problem areas which could result in failure during the time the shop has possession of the car.

These " in the shop" cases are VERY different scenarios than the ones in which (for example), 200 miles after an oil change, the engine seizes because some idiot at the jiffy lube didn't tighten the drain plug. In that scenario, the shop has the usually winning defense that the car was not in their possession when the damage occured and therefore it is more likely the damage was caused by the customer or some other intervening event.

The law makes the assumption that while you have possesion of a car, anything that happens to it your fault...it is up to you to prove that someone else is responsible for the failure unless you have taken certain steps to limit that liability.

Once again I urge any shop owners reading this to consult with their attorneys (or get one for advice) AND consult with their insurance agents about "Omissions and Errors" (aka "screwup") insurance.


Manny: Thanks for the kind words. We all think you are a great guy too.

Hope to see you next year.

 

Wasn't complaining at all..just messin.
Actually, I'm getting pretty good at that fiberglass work. Never too old to learn something new, I guess!

 

Late addition thoughts---Personally, I wouldn't be too eager to allow a mechanic to test drive my car without me in it. Just ain't happening!

 

Sucks for you, but that's what's nice about Steve Kan being my mechanic

Although I have seen him drive autocross and drag....

 

Hello all,

From my 'customer' view, I still think the shop has to 'fix' all the problems that happened when the car is in their hands.

Remember, the owner asked the shop to 'fix' the car not to blow the engine. The engine blown because the shop test driving it, which they will make MONEY from! I think when you are trying to make profit, you gotta take the risk for it. And, the rotary shop, knowing the fragile of this type of engine, still decides to work on this engine, they should be responsible for all the consequences that follow.....profits, money, blown engines.

As for the installing new engine for free, I think it's fair for the shop also. The shop only has to pay labor cost...not that 1000 bucks if you have to pay yourself. If one might ask to get 1000 bucks in installing, you think the shop would do that? Or, just say the owner would pay for half of rebuilding the engine (stock) and shop pays another half....then, the owner would install elsewhere. You think the shop would agree?

Hell, I'd be mad as hell if my motor let go when someone else drives my car....and I'm paying for them to drive! You could always say how fragile the engines can be, but the fact is if you know that, you should be very careful. EX....

I had two machanics who won't drive my car boosting. I had no idea why until now. The first was a friend of my friend. He tried to help testing the boost guage I had. I said to him to test drive. He said NO. He will sit in passenger seat and let me show him the boost. The second time, I had turbos hesitation problem, he let me show him how that happened. I drove for a while showing him that hesitation. Then, after then, he would drive my car to find how that hesitation came on.

The second mechanic never drive my car w/ boost. I had him install new Clutch. He just drive around one block...quitely. That's how I know the boost didn't come. He installed PFC, he told me to drive it a while....I did. I came back to him to check if everything is alright. He check the idel and adjust idel control and stuff. Never driven. Maybe, he's just lazy, I don't know. But, I think the main reason is they tried not to put their asses on the line for what would be problems.

Just my 'customer' opinion. Please no flame

POM HB