So sorry you are going through this but it's exactly why I take my cars to the dealership.

Goldust, we always had our cars serviced at the dealership, too. One day they forgot to put any oil back in during a routine oil change when the car was around two years old. Gee, they were very sorry. This is the same car on which a bolt fell out of the axle when the car was five weeks old! Oops...factory error! Makes you wonder what else they forget to do. The amazing thing is that the car, a '98 Corolla, is still going strong at 292,000 miles.

I hope they settle up with you quickly, pesky.

I hate to burst anyone's bubble, but because it is a dealership, doesn't mean they are trustworthy. My sister had the exact same thing happen several years ago at a dealership with a vehicle her husband wrecked. At the time, she was going through a divorce, and the vehicle became her problem. My husband, although he no longer does that type work, went to a diesel mechanic college. He worked on cars for many years. My sister, of course, didn't know anything about parts, etc. so when the time came to pick up the wrecked vehicle, my husband went with her. He recognized that many of the replacement parts were not new, but used. Insurance was paying for new parts (this was all spelled out) and of course the dealership thought they'd make some money. Thankfully it was through insurance so they were the ones that dealt with the dealership. My MIL has a cadillac CTS, probably about her 5th cadillac. My husband has tried to get her to find a good, trustworthy mechanic and stop using the dealership. No matter what she goes down there for, they tell her she needs something additional. She is on her own, believe anything they say, and has spent $$$ on unnecessary repairs.

Thankfully, I am on my third Toyota, probably will be on my fourth soon. Each have been driven over 100,000 miles and the most done to any of these vehicles was a water pump. I've never allowed the dealership to do any work on the cars. Well I think I did have some minor recall on the first one and had them do that. My husband is able to do maintenance such as oil, brakes, tune-ups, etc. He also has a good friend who we can trust if we need a mechanic.

My moral of the story is you need 1) a dependable vehicle and 2) a dependable mechanic.

Do you have a state Auto Repair Act? This requires all auto repair shops to abide by a list of requirements. One of the notable is used parts without the customer being aware of such. Plus all parts replaced should be offered to you. A claim is made by doing exactly what you are doing. Having another reputable company state the obvious. The Auto Repair Act has people who are licensed to look at your car to back up the claim.

Gold, same here. We take all of our vehicles to the dealership and we've never had a problem. Maybe it's because we're a small town (with almost every type of dealership, lol) so they know their reputation could get bad.

Pesky, I'm taking a wild guess here, but I don't think your car insurance will cover this.

This will be a hard case to litigate, so if it were me, I'd bite the bullet and move on. I know it's a hard pill to swallow, but you're in a "he said-she said" position. And you would need an attorney since you're now dealing with two shops.

We have never had a problem either, Oakley. It will bs a hard one to litigate. Maybe a bad Yelp review would warn others?

I don't think it's going to be hard in small claims. The burden of proof isn't as high in SC and we have proof from the 1st transmission shops failure to do right...our receipt stated NEW rebuild kit. We have the parts from the transmission that show they're factory parts and/or parts that would not have been in a rebuild kit.

As to the engine shop screwing up, again, I don't know that it'd be hard to prove...facts are in evidence, and we have another shop that will state the technical aspect.

Frankly, I half expect neither party to show up in court if we have to go...we'd win on default in that case.

Oak, it's not our insurance, it's the coverage the shop carries that I'm referring to. It's pretty clear, tho...there was negligence on the part of the engine shop and fraud by the first transmission shop.

As to going to a dealership...I'm mixed on them. I've not had good luck with the shops at our local Chevy dealership. The sales, yes, service, not so much. We have a mechanic that *I* like, but his quote for the engine install was more than my DH wanted to pay, so he went with the yahoo. This is a LONG history with my DH...he picks the cheap guys and it always, ALWAYS comes back to bite him. He handled the first two transactions, I chose the trusted shop this time. He's learned his lesson...he griped hard about it costing so much, but he did admit he should have listened to me the first time.

Sounds like you have a pretty good case Pesky. Let us know what happens!!

tina

Did I ever mention my dad had owned a shop pretty much since he came to this country? He was one of the 1st certified mechanics in NJ & took his certification very seriously. My dad would never use cheap parts to cut pricing & at times; it lost us customers; like what happened with you & going else where.

How long ago was the trans done? Does it say they bought the rebuild kit or that they turned in your core & bought a rebuilt tranny?

Sounds like you may have a mess on your hands since you did not have the tranny in that you were sold. Worst case scenario; the motor shop may end up paying a portion with the trans shop paying the rest since you were taken. They may argue; why should we pay a new trans when that trans could have worn out anyway because they didn't do the job right.

You're very lucky that your trusted mechanic didn't get pissed off that you went else where to begin with & once this is over; you should find some review sites; you may want to do the same with the other 2 shops. Also consider doing something nice for him. You're very lucky to have a great mechanic. I use the dealer but that ended up costing me a motor because I kept complaining of a tap & I've worked at a garage all my life & knew better but it was during hubs cancer & I just did not have time to find another shop in this new town. I miss my dad...