Car Dealer Uses Court to Block Damning Video | Justice Ensues - Freedom of Speech Restored!

[GatewayDashCam]

March 23, 2012
The parties in the Jim Butler Chevrolet, Inc. vs. Dwayne Cooney lawsuit have reached an amicable resolution.

 

[jokiin]

Was posted here previously, interesting the approach the dealer took which is surely going to end up worse for them in the long run

 

[jokiin]

I have to think they've made a very stupid decision in trying to silence you rather than just addressing the real problem and admitting their error, they only look worse now

 

[flank]

Get an All Data DIY account. I have a subscription for each car in my household and for siblings. It will show you how much the book labor rate is, that is how shops charge. The woman even mentioned All Data in the final call.

I'm pretty sure they charged you for each repair by the book rate even though they didn't spend that much time on it. So if a brake job for rotors and pads for all 4 wheels calls for 3.8 hours, they will charge you for 3.8 hours even if the tech only spend 2.1 hours on the job. It is a win win situation for the tech and the stealership. Most shops pay the techs by the work and not hourly. So a tech can earn 12 hours worth of work even though he only worked 8 hours. So there is an incentive for the techs to pile on more work that is not needed.

www.alldatadiy.com

 

[sludgeguts]

If All Data says a job takes 4 hours & the tech does it in half that time then one of two things is seriously wrong.
Either the tech has not done the job properly OR All Data is an industry-driven book drawn up to seriously rob the customer.
IF a garage uses this as a guide "that should take a maximum of 4 hours, therefore the charge will be $400 plus parts... giving you a total of $$$" You then turn up & discover the job only took half the time & therefore get $200 knocked off the bill, you are going to keep on going back - you will even recommend them as an honest workshop. Very few workshops will spend longer than they have to in order to remove a part, if they have to chop nuts & bolts to get it out - it has to be a cheaper alternative to an extra hours' labour?

In this instance, the stealership robbed the OP blind & now seek to continue robbing him through the shadiest of legal channels.

 

[Screen name taken]

I have question, and I hope I am not being too nosy.
Why do you leave the cam on whist at eh garage? Is it due to motion detection or is it always on.
Just hoping you get some justice on this case.

 

[flank]

If All Data says a job takes 4 hours & the tech does it in half that time then one of two things is seriously wrong.
Either the tech has not done the job properly OR All Data is an industry-driven book drawn up to seriously rob the customer.

Thats the way its ran in the states. They all go by the book rate and charge you accordingly. Of course they can and will charge you more if they go over this allotted time but I don't think you get a break when they finish it faster.

 

[extraoneya]

Why do the d___a___ businesses keep trying to silence any criticism ...in every example I've seen, the resulting publicity from their actions is far worse & more expensive then if they just placate the customer.

Good job & let's hope they lose plenty of future customers.

 

[flank]

I looked over the PDF, I don't see what is really the problem. If you take your car to a dealership for repairs out of warranty, you are already allowing yourself to be bent over and poked in the arse.

Why didn't you have them call you before they started the work after their diagnoses? You had the TPMS fixed, key fob reprogramming, air bag fixed, inspection and a rental car. Why are you complaining about $550. That is going to be the going rate to fix a crappy Chevy with a bag of problems.

 

[Gabolinche]

You had the TPMS fixed, key fob reprogramming, air bag fixed, inspection and a rental car. Why are you complaining about $550. That is going to be the going rate to fix a crappy Chevy with a bag of problems.

Really, dude? You're defending the dealership? If you really believe $550 is a fair price for the work done then it's no wonder stealerships believe they are "correct" to rob people the way they do...

 

[flank]

$120+/hour labor rates. They charge what they charge. You already know ahead of time. Even if you bring it to a qualified indy shop, they're still going to rob you. A guy on craigslist might have tackled it for $200 monkeying around.

This is why I have AllData DIY subscriptions for all my cars and for the siblings. I try to tackle all problems on my own.

 

[GJHS]

I looked over the PDF, I don't see what is really the problem. If you take your car to a dealership for repairs out of warranty, you are already allowing yourself to be bent over and poked in the arse.

Why didn't you have them call you before they started the work after their diagnoses? You had the TPMS fixed, key fob reprogramming, air bag fixed, inspection and a rental car. Why are you complaining about $550. That is going to be the going rate to fix a crappy Chevy with a bag of problems.

$120+/hour labor rates. They charge what they charge. You already know ahead of time. Even if you bring it to a qualified indy shop, they're still going to rob you. A guy on craigslist might have tackled it for $200 monkeying around.

This is why I have AllData DIY subscriptions for all my cars and for the siblings. I try to tackle all problems on my own.

Here what your saying, except some problems you expect a dealer to handle better, even out of warranty. Dealerships have a bit more model precise info than your general corner mechanic, especially on electrical/computer issues. Normal brakes, tune-ups, fluids, etc that are standard are best handle by a good local mechanic.

Besides he said in the video that the problem with air bag light was from a previous service. Of course the same dealer was the place to bring it.

 

[Gabolinche]

This is why I have AllData DIY subscriptions for all my cars and for the siblings.

So, even with your said subscription, I guess you just decided to ignore the previously stated fact:

First. the AllData book rate for the RCDLR replacement is 0.3 hours diagnosis and 0.5 hours for the replacement. She said herself on the video they charged me 2.5 hours and "it could have went up to 3 to 4 hours". Secondly, there is no book time for the fuse that they misdiagnosed.

I'm not saying that a dealership should be cheaper than doing it yourself, I'm just agreeing with the opinion that the dealership charged WAY more than what they should have charged, even considering the high rates and labor that's expected from them.

 

[flank]

So, even with your said subscription, I guess you just decided to ignore the previously stated fact:

I'm not saying that a dealership should be cheaper than doing it yourself, I'm just agreeing with the opinion that the dealership charged WAY more than what they should have charged, even considering the high rates and labor that's expected from them.

He was charged $66.06 for this door lock. I don't know what he is crying bloody murder about.

Here are his charges,
$334.62 Tire Pressure Monitor Module replacement
$66.06 Key Fob/Receiver
$267.70 Air Bag
$0 Multipoint Inspection
$0 Car Rental
-$120 discount
--------
$553.61

These are charges I would expect from a dealership. What is your gripe? That they scared you into removing your video or the cost? Seems like you are angry over the video and are not making a claim about the charges with the lawyer?

 

[romeski]

It is always on...

What setup do you use?

 

[Screen name taken]

These days one can purchase diagnosis equipment easily for any car over the inertweb. I am not talking about code readers either.
However all this arguing is irrelevant. The OP took the car to the dealer. The vid shows the work done and the dealer has had to allow the vid to be shown on line. It is all in the past. Now we have to get on and discuss something a bit lighter, please.

 

[romeski]

These days one can purchase diagnosis equipment easily for any car over the inertweb. I am not talking about code readers either.
However all this arguing is irrelevant. The OP took the car to the dealer. The vid shows the work done and the dealer has had to allow the vid to be shown on line. It is all in the past. Now we have to get on and discuss something a bit lighter, please.

Not sure if I am reading your post wrong but you might be missing the big picture.

Yes, the dealer allowed the user to post online, only after the dealer used the legal system to shut the OP up. The OP had to take legal action to post the video again.

Yes, the dealer shows work in the video, but only doing 1/4 of the hours told. Also, not being clear or correct details of what was done. How does one trust the dealership after this?

If you want to discuss something lighter, maybe a different post? This is a pretty serious issue the OP has on his hands and everyone should be aware this is a prime example of why everyone should invest in a dash cam. Heck, if he gets reimbursed for the work not done, that pays for most dash cams right there!

Sorry if this seems harsh Screen Name Taken, but I believe OP is a perfect example of why dash cams are good. If you think this is dark, or want to rush past the facts, it only hinders the dash cam cause. This is the type of stuff we need to talk about and people should be aware of.

Edit: lets not forget, the OP is still going through this (he is being sued for $25,000 unless I missed the part were that was dropped). To try and dismiss this and talk about other things, does no help to the OP.

 

[flank]

These days one can purchase diagnosis equipment easily for any car over the inertweb. I am not talking about code readers either.

Yep, I have a Techstream. Its a Toyota/Lexus special reader. Cost $30 on ebay. Honda has their own reader. My Honda is so reliable, haven't even had to use a regular generic reader yet. Haven't ran across anyone that even needs the special Honda reader yet either.

 

[Screen name taken]

romeski I do understand the situation, but this thread is getting into arguments that to be quite honest are just worthless. The situation has occurred and the poster has everything on "tape".
But we are getting opinions about DIY v garage servicing. That is not the issue here is it?

 

[romeski]

romeski I do understand the situation, but this thread is getting into arguments that to be quite honest are just worthless. The situation has occurred and the poster has everything on "tape".
But we are getting opinions about DIY v garage servicing. That is not the issue here is it?

Ah, see, I misunderstood your post.

Point taken, I agree.