Legal Question in Civil Rights Law in Oregon

Six years from date that your contract with the shop was breached. You need not have a written contract. An oral agreement is enough. In essence, the shop contracted with you to fix the car. If you did not agree on a date for that, then the agreement would be for a reasonable date. You have 6 years from that reasonable date to file the suit.

If you also want to file suit against the car dealership where you bought the car, do so within 4 years of the purchase date. You would argue that the dealership breached an implied waranty that the car was in such condition that it would work for at least a reasonable period of time. ORS 72.7250 governs the sale of goods and provides:

72.7250 Statute of limitations in contracts for sale. (1) An action for breach of any contract for sale must be commenced within four years after the cause of action has accrued. By the original agreement the parties may reduce the period of limitation to not less than one year but may not extend it.

(2) A cause of action accrues when the breach occurs, regardless of the aggrieved party�s lack of knowledge of the breach. A breach of warranty occurs when tender of delivery is made, except that where a warranty explicitly extends to future performance of the goods and discovery of the breach must await the time of such performance the cause of action accrues when the breach is or should have been discovered.

General info on small claims is here: http://www.osbar.org/public/pamphlets/smallclaims.html