Do I Have A Case?

[Beathan]

Seven months ago my roommate used my car without permission. Early in the evening i had told her to use my car to come visit me in the hospital, she had taken the liberty to use my car the whole evening until morning. I recieve a phone call at 2.30 a.m. from her saying my car is getting towed off the highway, it broke down. After talking with her i find out she does not have a drivers license due to two past d.w.i. tickets. Also find out she was drinking that night.(I have a recorded converstation of her admitting that.)Soon after i took the car to get checked out and they tell me the engine is blown. Several months after and having several opinions from different mechanics (her request) here i sit.The mechanics say you can not prove actually what happened. There doesnt appear to be any previous damage and it was not cased from lack of oil. Something definitely happened while she was driving the car. She has said she would pay all of it and take responsiblity then half and now i just recieved an email from her saying she will not pay anything and she has her lawyer ready.Small claims or no?If yes, how much?The cost to fix the engine is 3000.You can not tell until you fix the engine but the mechanics say the transmision is probably blown as well; cost 1750.With tow and mechanics i have already paid 500.

[Westbroc]

It is a 2001 Dodge Intrepid.

[Hozai]

From an automotive side, and consumer, not lawyer...just some information on what you may be up against if you try to fight this."Slap stick" I'm going to make the guess is the style that is an automatic that can also be shifted manually. If it is a true manual with a clutch pedal, disregard the following information in [].Without knowing the make and model, I will make a very broad statement. Nearly every automobile today has a rev limiter for the engine [and/or a preventative measure built into the transmission that will automatically upshift even if left in manual mode so no damage is done].The vast majority of the time, the rev limiter is done with fuel cutoff, meaning fuel supply would stop to prevent the engine revving any higher. The other method is spark control which severely retards the timing so that the engine basically snuffs itself out.If damage was caused by either of these methods, the damage would be in the combustion chamber: related to the pistons, cylinder walls, or the cylinder head chamber due to a lean mixture...not to the oiling system. Even then, the factory builds this in as a failsafe, meaning that they have tested their methods out to prevent damage in the first place.If the car is newer than 1996 and legal for sale in the US, it has On Board Diagnostics II (OBDII). These systems save engine codes that can then be later retrieved by a code reader device (mechanic, etc). I would say your best hope would be if a trouble code was triggered that set off the check engine/service engine soon light. Some manufacturers use only the basic required codes by law and others use more in-depth codes. If a low oil pressure code was stored, you might check with legal counsel about negligence. Take my Cadillac for instance. When the head gasket failed, the digital display read "Coolant Loss/Engine overheat. Shut off immediately" or something along those lines.As a side note, even when the mechanic disconnected the battery to pull the engine (and if he didn't, chose another mechanic), OBDII codes are stored in non-volatile memory which basically means the code will still be there unless someone erased the code or the ignition was cycled around 50 times and the same problem was not found on any of those run cycles.

[wahchintonka48]

do you have any idea what the high rpms would be from?and would the obdII code say something more specific than engine failure or such?and about negligence - she did tell me a light came on, either check engine or the oil light i dont remember but she continued to drive the car.anything?very good to know. thank you.

[jomei69]

there is no evidence that the oil pump failed.and the things that happened with all those other cars did not happen to mine.i am not neglecting that as on option although again the same things that happened to those vehicles, did not happen to mine.

[Raynard]

yes was verified there were high rpms.on the interstate.. so driving at some amount of speed.. not sure if that matters.they explained the transmission would fail if the high rpms had to do with the engine failure..

[denzell]

This is what you wrote earlier."which is the oil pump went out."Even if that wasn't what happened, it's still a good possibility that age and mileage took its toll.All I'm saying is that it's going to be tough to pin it on your friend unless you can dig up witnesses that'll testify that she was abusing the car that night.

[Spalding]

"Eight weeks before my partner employed my vehicle without permission. Early at night I'd informed her to make use of my vehicle in the future visit me within the clinic, she'd obtained the freedom to make use of my vehicle the entire night until morning."Gee, there is a contradiction inside your tale right from the entrance. First you state "without authorization" then you definitely state "i informed her to make use of my vehicle". Until you had a particular contract on restricted use, then she'd permission."I receive a telephone call at 2.30 a.m. from her stating my vehicle gets towed off the freeway, it shattered down."okay. "After speaking together with her i discover she doesn't possess a drivers permit because of two previous d.w.i. Seats. Additionally discover she was consuming that evening. (I've a registered converstation of her admitting that.)"Has practically nothing related to a physical breakdown."right after i got the vehicle to obtain examined plus they inform me the motor is taken. Many months after and having many views from various technicians (her demand) below i stay. The technicians state you can't show really what happened. There doesnt seem to be any prior harm also it wasn't cased from insufficient gas. Anything absolutely occurred while she was operating the car."Like what?Clearly, you wish to blame her and also have her purchase it. But, if you can not show that she did something which was the immediate reason for the breakdown, you have nothing. "She's stated she'd spend all it and get responsibility then half and today I simply received a contact from her saying she'll not spend something and he or she has her attorney ready."possibly that she experienced a meaningful obligation since she was operating and thought she might purchase a small fix and obtain behind it. However now that she is taking a look at thousands, that vessel completed sailed. I doubt if you're able to officially maintain her towards the present until you have an entrance or proof that she did something which triggered the breakdown."It'd to become her since she was operating" does not cut it."small-claims or number?"You can easily prosecute. But without proof that she did anything, you will not win."If yes, just how much? The price to repair the motor is 3000. You cannot tell before you repair the motor however the technicians state the transmision is most likely taken aswell; price 1750. With pull and technicians I've previously compensated 500."There Is A ton lacking from your own article. Like year, create and design, just how many kilometers about the vehicle, did the technicians draw the motor out and dismantle it to examine the shifting components? That will be expensive over 500. That kind of evaluation might let you know when the motor failure was because of something which occurred within a few minutes prior to the disappointment or whether it had been the finale of worn-out components because of age.Trouble is, before you anticipate a courtroom to consider 5000 from your own buddy, you're likely to require an automotive engine specialist to look at the motor and state in courtroom in regards to what occurred to it.

[Royall]

okay. You have an 8-year old car with possibly more than 100,000 kilometers on it.I googled it and discovered many individuals reporting oil-pump disappointment with that vehicle:http://www.google.com/research?hl=en&q=2001+dodge+intrepid+oil+pump+failureI believe your oil-pump might have failed that evening even when you'd been driving.Now your likelihood of earning the case are actually nearer to zero than these were before.

[Urbano]

"have you got any thought exactly what the large rpms could be from?"Had it been confirmed that there have been certainly large RPMs?"and might the obdII signal state anything more certain than motor failure or these?"Not that I will think about. Dodge is just a producer that ostensibly employs minimum OBDII requirements. To not seem depressing however, you could be fortunate when the motor actually understood it was not operating right."and about neglect - she did inform me a lighting arrived on, possibly check-engine or even the gas lighting i dont recall but she extended to generate the car.anything?"Dodgeis edition of OBDII is not likely to shop something that I will think about associated with disastrous motor failure or low-oil pressure. Their rules cope with electrical alarm failure, not physical failure.And today for that truly poor component: Dodge wasn't recognized for indication durability in 2001. The main reason the technician possibly included "there might be indication harm also" is basically because Dodge trans disappointment isn't truly unusual, actually at 80k about the odometer.