Legal Question in Civil Litigation in California

Re: new car catches fire

Good Morning!

Congratulatins on getting a cool new car. Unfortunately, the single incident that was caused NOT BY A VEHICLE defect, but dealer stupidity, DOES NOT qualify you for relief under either the Consumer Legal Remedies Act or the so-called Lemon Law.

If the Dealer has "cleaned up" the under hood area, done the nominal repair work and otherwise checked the car out, then there are no dirivability or safety issues left.

$500 is a modest sum, not a true insult, and you really do not have a lot of bargaining power. You can stamp your feet and make a lot of noise, but, legally, you have no grounds to seek greater damages.

You should have the car checked at ANOTHER dealer to make sure there are no other issues that need attention, though.

Sorry I did not have better news.

Regards,

Mark Geyer

Re: new car catches fire

Was the car under a warranty? It appears to me that due to their negligence, you are not going to have a "new" car anymore. The fire under your hood may have damaged other components. Obviously, you bought a new car with the hopes that it would have a long service life, and now you have what NASA has in the shuttle fleet.

My recommendation is that you contact a bar referral service, and speak with an attorney who handles problems like this. My argument is that they gave you a defective car when you left the dealership, and the defect was caused by their negligence.

Very truly yours,