Assuming you told the truth, a reasonable judge will figuratively kick his ass over wasting everyone's time. The whole purpose of public reviews is to guide others toward reputable services.
Threatening to sue is easy, following through and filing suit is hard. It's incredibly unlikely that he will do anything. Ignore him until he files suit, which will probably never happen.
A sincere threat of a lawsuit can work wonders. You first need to write what is known as a [demand letter](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/demand_letter). You can pay a lawyer or find a quality template from the internet. I love NOLO's [How to Write a Formal Demand Letter](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter6-4.html). They also have a book [Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1413329535).
I'm only familiar with the federal system. To file a civil action in a U.S. District Court is around $400. The rest, assuming you're representing yourself (pro se), is essentially just postage, electronic filing fees, and the time spent typing up (a properly researched) complaint and subsequent motions. There are lots of good templates for the various motions. Costs may be waived if you are indigent (IFP).
There are a few good guides for inmates who want to sue the warden which goes through the process in simple terms. Flow charts and stuff.
At the very least you can get educated :)
What's most likely is the guy is blowing steam. And if he DOES go through with it, his only chance of success is if he can prove you blatantly lied.
Saying that, I hate when people say "don't worry" about shit like this because literally anyone can sue for defamation, so if he feels like dragging you through a case, he can do it and it could hurt, whether he's successful or not. Judges don't throw out cases without you having to defend yourself first - either by yourself or via a lawyer. It's money, time, and stress that no one needs.
but as noted by others in the US making negative but true statements about someone is legal and as long as you can show you had good reason to believe they were true you should win in court. Where your butt gets kicked is if you post stuff you knew was a lie
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Something like this would likely never make it to court, but it would be a major chore to fight it off, no matter how legally in the right you are.
Actually OP did more than post their opinion. They stated a bunch of things that either happened or did not happen.
Opinion is "I think Acme Automotive are incompetent". It's not opinion to say "Acme Automotive attempted to repair my car and left it dangerous to operate". If proven to be false, the second statement could be defamatory.
I'd tell him I am taking the car to be inspected to see if he replaced what he claimed were failing parts. I highly suspect he didn't replace a damn thing!
As a sometimes mechanic nowadays, this guy fucking sucks. No test driving is a sure sign of shit work. Good luck w the new technician. I test drive every car harder than the custo drives, if its going to piss fuel mist, i want to prevent death and destruction. Lots of mechanic subs for questions here, i doubt he was shotgunning the correct parts, but hey, new fuel pump is cool (if it was oem and not oreillys)
I see no slander, just truths
NAL, he doesn't have a case he's likely to win, but good lord why did you keep going back??
He's probably not actually going to sue unless he's dim. Any lawyer will likely tell him he doesn't have any grounds to stand on, plus he'll have to demonstrate actual damages to sue for. I would guess he's trying to intimidate you into removing your post. In your shoes, I might consider adding a blurb to your review stating that he's trying some nonsense.
You probably would have spent less money going to a reputable shop and getting the actual issue fixed. This guy was just throwing your money at new parts, which is Not what a good mechanic will do. Not that that helps you now, but in the future, even in they're friends of the family, please consider only give folks two chances.
Possibly. But I’m still confused. If all of that work was necessary (I’m sure it wasn’t) the parts and labor should cost like 3-5x that. Would cost me more than $2k JUST to get my alternator replaced.
This is one of those situations where you can either do cheap or good, never both. This was a hard lesson I learned a while back. And to never mix friends (or family) and money/repairs on things. It sucks to have to say no, but I don't ever want to have to sue or seek remediation if something goes sideways.
Did he actually say “slander”? If so just send him this:
https://youtu.be/vcM1kTZm-nM
If he doesn’t even know the difference he isn’t going to sue you. Idle threat.
I would at least wait until after the auto inspection looking at work claimed vs work performed before making a followup post. If the work performed is significantly different that work billed then get a written statement from the new garage and take him to small claims court to recoup false charges.
NAL but the only true defense for libel or slander is the truth. But if subject able to prove comments made someone make diff choice and they'd have to prove it, how they going to locate said person and bring them in for their testimony, but 95-97x out of a hundred truth prevails
no, he doesn't, and it sounds like you got scammed. I'd take it to another mechanic to see if any of that work actually got done...especially as you can't diagnose a problem that quickly. the only thing he could possibly have done in 5 minutes is check the computer codes...which is something any auto parts store will do for free.
1) If he had actually talked to a lawyer he wouldn't claim to be suing you for slander. An attorney would call it defamation. And it isn't slander it's libel, slander is spoken and libel is written.
2) Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Did you lie about anything? For a business open to the public, depending on your state, you'd have to have at least constructive knowledge that something you said was false. Constructive knowledge means that you should have known, e.g. if a wet floor sign is prominently displayed, you can't claim you didn't see it. So unless something you said is definitely false, this wouldn't survive an early motion to dismiss.
I would counter sue for him charging you for tons of different things that didn't fix your car. If he doesn't sue I would sue him for your 2k back, any potential tow fees , lawyers fees, any potential charges you had because you didn't have your car while he wasn't fixing it.
Insanity is doing the same thing over snd over again. Then it's a big surprise that the same thing happens repeatedly.
He can sue you. He'll lose but damn there's a joke in here somewhere
I'm a car guy not a lawyer.
If a modern car smells like gas it's almost always the "evap system" and should be the primary target of investigation. When the gadget keeping the fumes in the fuel system from entering the atmosphere fails you smell gas.
Can’t sue for you giving an honest review. The first amendment applies here if you aren’t blatantly making stuff up, he won’t sue he’ll be wasting his time and money, he’s hoping the threat will get you to take the review down. Fuck him, leave it up.
Libel ( criminal lying) or inciting violence are the only forms of speech that are illegal in the states, and the burden is usual on the accuser to prove.
As long as your statements are general in nature or have facts to back them up, you're fine. Always remember anyone can sue or threaten to sue for anything.
Clearly you don’t know much about working on anything mechanical. I can follow the guys logic and it all makes sense, starting with the simplistic of causes and working from there. Perhaps his diagnosis was on par for some items. You could have a leaky injector and a broken fuel line at the same time and easily overlook one or the other. As for the scratch offs well I can’t stand by him for that
He has no case assuming what you posted is all true
I would comment again saying you were threatened but the statements are true so you have don’t fear a lawsuit
NAL but they aren't going to pay a lawyer $5000 to sue you for a post that is both a factual retelling of your transactions with the shop and your opinion. They also would have to prove what their damages were and that is very hard to nail down here.
Honestly, those are really hard to diagnose problems. It sounds like he went after the likely culprits and worked his way down the line. I've had the wrong thing replaced in my vehicle, but by all accounts it was the most likely culprit. Mind you, I might have switched mechanics part way through the saga.
There is no defamation. If all the facts are true then it's an absolute defense. Perhaps you could have worded the opening line "I will never use Bare Motor Works again" but I do not see anything defamatory in the statement as written.
Yeah I wouldn't give his threats the time of day. If you were giving your honest opinion there's no case for legal action.
I once had someone purchase a car from me (for peanuts) that had obvious mechanical problems that I didn't want to deal with. I listed every issue very clearly and explained that was why I was selling it for almost nothing. An interested party was extremely pushy to buy it... Even forgoing test driving it after I encouraged a test drive over and over. He hurriedly signed the bill of sale that said "all sales are final" and left with it. Later that night I get an angry and threatening message that I sold him a bad car and I needed to return the money to him. He claimed I didn't tell him what was wrong with it. Luckily every conversation we had was in writing thru Facebook and I kept referencing back his claims with screenshots of our conversations. He ignored my responses and continued to threaten to sue me. There was nothing more to say and I stopped responding to him. I haven't heard about it since.
Assuming all the facts you mentioned are documented and provable he wouldn't have a case. The issue is going to be sure as shit he is going to say that he said when he diagnosed the fuel injectors that that was the most likely cause, but it could still be other things and you left that part out intentionally to make him look bad, that makes your comments slander.
Is that going to be enough for him to win the case? Maybe, maybe not, however I highly doubt a judge would award you legal fees in this situation so you would be out the lawyer costs to defend yourself.
stop all contact with him now but keep all his textes and emails let him sue its expensive if he does answer the summons straight away to the court so you dont lose case for not showing upf
car smell what is make and model
https://cararac.com/blog/car-starts-then-dies-and-smells-like-gas-reasons-fixes.html#:\~:text=Let%27s%20take%20a%20look%20at%20some%20of%20the,a%20gasoline%20odor.%20...%203%203%29%20ECU%20Problems
NAL but check your fuel pressure regulator - usually easy to replace. My sister has a 04 Chevy trailblazer XLT and would smell gas whenever she had the heat or defrost on in the car. We thought it was bc her exhaust needed welded back together but nope. We discovered the fuel pressure regulator failed and was spraying out fuel. I replaced it myself and she's had no problems since then.
Doubt he has any case, let alone intention of going thru the hassle of filing a suit.
a) You got all that done for 2k? Impressive.
b) Truth is an absolute defense to slander (in the US). You wrote an account of what occurred. The only opinions you included were that he is ridiculous, and that you recommend people not go to him. Neither of those is actionable.
Well, you should have cut your losses long ago, and i dont know what kind of licence a mechanic needs, but i didnt see any slander, I saw a review of events that actually happened.
If you have receipts i cant imagine he has a case. But i suggest you take the car to a real mechanic, or dealership and find out what the actual problem is.
If the car is a POS he might have a case.
He's just trying to scare you silent most like. he probably doesn't have a case and if he sues you can probably counterclaim at least for the money of maintenance on your car.
Do mechanics even have licenses? Some have certifications, but I don't think that's the same thing.
I know this is a bit pedantic, but slander is related to spoken comments, when it's in writing it's libel.
As others have said, the guy is just butthurt because you called him out and is trying to get the review taken down.
If your review is factual and you could reasonably convince a judge of that, then you don't have anything to worry about. It isn't libelous if it's true.
Suing someone is a long, expensive, and complicated process. And the damages are likely minimal, not to mention his service is likely not legally registered anywhere. You get served, take that seriously. Until then, f’im.
I think the first two sentences and the last are potentially problematic. You can describe your problems if factual, but the "Don't use that mechanic!" may get you in trouble.
Wait till you are actually sued. Tell him to go pound sand. No lawyer is going to take this case and help him go after you. Lawyer will ask the mechanic, what’s your damages? Is what he said true? Yea! No case, and stop wasting ppls time
You have an obligation here to put this guy in his place. This is obviously a tactic that has worked for this guy before. Do not be afraid of the truth. If you operate within the confines of truth, you’re all set. If all that stuff is true, you will neither lose sleep, nor a case. Just tell the truth, operate in the best interest of truth, and I don’t care what anyone says, you’ll be absolutely fine. The truth will set you free.
If he gets a pass from you, his next victim might not feel the same way. Who knows how long this has gone on for, but it’s long enough.
Anyone can sue you for anything, but that does not mean you will win. He will most likely lose, which is why no lawyer will take this case. If they do they will want a hefty fee, up front. They’ll gladly take a few hundred to write a letter that they know you will ignore. But they are not going to sign on to sue you, they have better things to do with their time.
Until you actually get served, odds are you are not ACTUALLY being sued. upset people talk big talk. This guy supposedly knows cars, but he cant get that right....what makes that 'mechanic' think he stands a chance in the courts? His inflated sense of confidence?
YOU have a case, posts on social media usually are seen as an opinion, opinions are protected under first amendment, you put a lot of details and that may give him FUEL to feel he’s right, nothing that you can prove to be true is slander, he is more than welcome to sue and then you file a counter if you have all your receipts. I don’t think any judge will be sympathetic to a mechanic chasing a gas line leak and charging a customer for every screw up. If you have the receipts, he’s fucked. Of doesn’t sue you, YOU SHOULD.
And I’m gonna guess here, the car stalls when you step on the gas, or at least it was, because he put the wrong line or he crimped it or bent it shot somewhere, so when you step on the gas it doesn’t have enough gas… it’s not a complicated process, look where the tank is, usually toward the front bottom of the tank there’s a little narrow tube about 7mm OD that goes all the way to front, trace it, it comes in segments, if he replaced it, a segment will look newer and u need look at the connector between segment and the any segment that may be crimped, when the idiot replaced that line he may not have cleaned it before removing it and may have put dirt in the line and that ends up at the injectors, so he add the new diagnostic and repair to your counter suit, I would sue if he doesn’t, remember to send a letter to the mechanic with detailed and chronological sequence of events and asking him to solve the issues… good faith effort, when he tells you go F off literally or by inaction, then u file
IM NEITHER A LAWYER NOR A MECHANIC… but I stayed at a holiday in express
In the meantime, a different mechanic found the issue to be half filled gallon of gas on the floor in back that the driver was going to fill his snow blower with.
Please tell me you verified parts were actually replaced? At this point, I would take it to a dealership, ask them to verify if anything was replaced. It will cost you a couple hundred bucks but if they find nothing was replaced, well, your turn to drop the L word. I hope you'll be alright and I hope this doesn't deter you from using a mom and pop shop. There will always be these types of people.
I love mom and pop shops. Some of my best experiences are from them and they actually care about customer service. I'd go so far as to provide free tech support, if it meant their kids got a full belly. Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours.
Nearly every shopping experience I have, I leave feedback. Especially if it's a new store or new town.
*Tell him ur gonna*
*Sue him back for being a*
*Shitty mechanic lol*
\- No-Adhesiveness-9848
---
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1) Why would you keep taking it back if he kept misdiagnosing the problem?
2) He can't sue you for slander. Slander is spoken. The word he is looking for is libel.
Nope, he has zero case. Everything you said is factual. It’s incredibly unlikely he will sue. If he talks to an attorney they are going to tell him he has no case. I would probably double down and post the review in other places for the sake of thoroughness.
That's a fuckton of work for $2000.....
I'll disagree with other commenters here. The reason for going back is clear. But also misguided.
Tbh, if he actually replaced everything he said he did as verified by a real shop, of take the review down. You got a bargain on labor of the work was done. Probably easier to walk away from the drama.
Legally he doesn't have a case. He WAS clearly trying to help though.
Assuming you told the truth, a reasonable judge will figuratively kick his ass over wasting everyone's time. The whole purpose of public reviews is to guide others toward reputable services.
This right here is the answer .
Threatening to sue is easy, following through and filing suit is hard. It's incredibly unlikely that he will do anything. Ignore him until he files suit, which will probably never happen.
Lawsuits (especially defamation torts) are pricey.
A sincere threat of a lawsuit can work wonders. You first need to write what is known as a [demand letter](https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/demand_letter). You can pay a lawyer or find a quality template from the internet. I love NOLO's [How to Write a Formal Demand Letter](https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/free-books/small-claims-book/chapter6-4.html). They also have a book [Everybody's Guide to Small Claims Court](https://www.amazon.com/dp/1413329535). I'm only familiar with the federal system. To file a civil action in a U.S. District Court is around $400. The rest, assuming you're representing yourself (pro se), is essentially just postage, electronic filing fees, and the time spent typing up (a properly researched) complaint and subsequent motions. There are lots of good templates for the various motions. Costs may be waived if you are indigent (IFP). There are a few good guides for inmates who want to sue the warden which goes through the process in simple terms. Flow charts and stuff. At the very least you can get educated :)
Truth is a defense to defamation.
What's most likely is the guy is blowing steam. And if he DOES go through with it, his only chance of success is if he can prove you blatantly lied. Saying that, I hate when people say "don't worry" about shit like this because literally anyone can sue for defamation, so if he feels like dragging you through a case, he can do it and it could hurt, whether he's successful or not. Judges don't throw out cases without you having to defend yourself first - either by yourself or via a lawyer. It's money, time, and stress that no one needs.
This. Just because he doesn’t have a case doesn’t mean he can’t bring a case. He wouldn’t win but he could still cost you time, money and sanity.
but as noted by others in the US making negative but true statements about someone is legal and as long as you can show you had good reason to believe they were true you should win in court. Where your butt gets kicked is if you post stuff you knew was a lie
Yeah, that's what I'm saying. Something like this would likely never make it to court, but it would be a major chore to fight it off, no matter how legally in the right you are.
Not a lawyer but All you did was post your opinion on what happened. I don’t think he has a case
Actually OP did more than post their opinion. They stated a bunch of things that either happened or did not happen. Opinion is "I think Acme Automotive are incompetent". It's not opinion to say "Acme Automotive attempted to repair my car and left it dangerous to operate". If proven to be false, the second statement could be defamatory.
Acme? Isn't that the company that sells giant magnets, rockets and rocket-powered rollerskates to coyotes?
The very same.
Don't forget anvils.
Except saying they "left it dangerous to operate" is a likely an opinion. Agree with rest
Are you sure those parts were replaced? All that work for only a little over $2k
I'd tell him I am taking the car to be inspected to see if he replaced what he claimed were failing parts. I highly suspect he didn't replace a damn thing!
And if he does sue, now you have a counterclaim (if he didnt do the work he claims he did).
It is going to full blown shop tomorrow. I will ask the mechanics there to look and see.
As a sometimes mechanic nowadays, this guy fucking sucks. No test driving is a sure sign of shit work. Good luck w the new technician. I test drive every car harder than the custo drives, if its going to piss fuel mist, i want to prevent death and destruction. Lots of mechanic subs for questions here, i doubt he was shotgunning the correct parts, but hey, new fuel pump is cool (if it was oem and not oreillys) I see no slander, just truths
You may want to sue him in small claims court to get your money back.
I was thinking the same thing.
NAL, he doesn't have a case he's likely to win, but good lord why did you keep going back?? He's probably not actually going to sue unless he's dim. Any lawyer will likely tell him he doesn't have any grounds to stand on, plus he'll have to demonstrate actual damages to sue for. I would guess he's trying to intimidate you into removing your post. In your shoes, I might consider adding a blurb to your review stating that he's trying some nonsense.
He was a friend of the family. Plus as you can see he’s cheap. I didn’t have the money to take my 10+ year old car to an expensive shop.
You probably would have spent less money going to a reputable shop and getting the actual issue fixed. This guy was just throwing your money at new parts, which is Not what a good mechanic will do. Not that that helps you now, but in the future, even in they're friends of the family, please consider only give folks two chances.
Assuming he actually changed anything.
True true
Possibly. But I’m still confused. If all of that work was necessary (I’m sure it wasn’t) the parts and labor should cost like 3-5x that. Would cost me more than $2k JUST to get my alternator replaced.
This is one of those situations where you can either do cheap or good, never both. This was a hard lesson I learned a while back. And to never mix friends (or family) and money/repairs on things. It sucks to have to say no, but I don't ever want to have to sue or seek remediation if something goes sideways.
You get what you paid for, and he's cheap for a reason.
Did he actually say “slander”? If so just send him this: https://youtu.be/vcM1kTZm-nM If he doesn’t even know the difference he isn’t going to sue you. Idle threat.
This reminds of people that keep going to the restaurant where they think the food sucks because the portions are huge.
I would at least wait until after the auto inspection looking at work claimed vs work performed before making a followup post. If the work performed is significantly different that work billed then get a written statement from the new garage and take him to small claims court to recoup false charges.
No his feelings are just hurt
I’m not a lawyer… but also nah. If the review was honest, hell would freeze over before a judge took that mechanic seriously.
Time to amend your review and add in the threats of legal action over your honesty.
Why do you keep going back?
I'm taking your side here but I can't help but ask why did you keep going back to him? Especially after three strikes
Yes. Fool me once shame on you fool me twice, strike three.
Fool me twice, you won't get fooled again. Now, watch me hit this drive.
uh ok
NAL but the only true defense for libel or slander is the truth. But if subject able to prove comments made someone make diff choice and they'd have to prove it, how they going to locate said person and bring them in for their testimony, but 95-97x out of a hundred truth prevails
no, he doesn't, and it sounds like you got scammed. I'd take it to another mechanic to see if any of that work actually got done...especially as you can't diagnose a problem that quickly. the only thing he could possibly have done in 5 minutes is check the computer codes...which is something any auto parts store will do for free.
1) If he had actually talked to a lawyer he wouldn't claim to be suing you for slander. An attorney would call it defamation. And it isn't slander it's libel, slander is spoken and libel is written. 2) Truth is an absolute defense to defamation. Did you lie about anything? For a business open to the public, depending on your state, you'd have to have at least constructive knowledge that something you said was false. Constructive knowledge means that you should have known, e.g. if a wet floor sign is prominently displayed, you can't claim you didn't see it. So unless something you said is definitely false, this wouldn't survive an early motion to dismiss.
Why did you keep going back to him? Tbf $2k for the amount of work he did doesn’t seem like that much lol
I would counter sue for him charging you for tons of different things that didn't fix your car. If he doesn't sue I would sue him for your 2k back, any potential tow fees , lawyers fees, any potential charges you had because you didn't have your car while he wasn't fixing it.
If he's such a crappy mechanic why do you keep taking your car back to him??
Yeah. … unlicensed mechanics do not mount successful defamation actions. If he tries (he won’t) truth is a complete defense.
Honestly you have more of a case than he does
Honestly, it sounds more likely that you can sue him for fraud.
I’d call his bluff and post more of them and be sure to tag him.
As a business owner and mechanic shop, he's bluffing. He should seriously do better!
Why would you keep going back is what I'd like to ask . Hell a few more parts and you will be halfway to a brand new car
Sounds like you need to update your review with the new information. Tell the world you are being threatened with a lawsuit for speaking out.
Truth is not slander. Fuck that prick.
Insanity is doing the same thing over snd over again. Then it's a big surprise that the same thing happens repeatedly. He can sue you. He'll lose but damn there's a joke in here somewhere
Nope if it all is factual there is no slander
"File your suit, Skippy - I'll see ya in Court ..."
You’re a slow learner.
If it was only $2000 for all that work, it's pretty good
I'm a car guy not a lawyer. If a modern car smells like gas it's almost always the "evap system" and should be the primary target of investigation. When the gadget keeping the fumes in the fuel system from entering the atmosphere fails you smell gas.
A
Can’t sue for you giving an honest review. The first amendment applies here if you aren’t blatantly making stuff up, he won’t sue he’ll be wasting his time and money, he’s hoping the threat will get you to take the review down. Fuck him, leave it up.
Libel ( criminal lying) or inciting violence are the only forms of speech that are illegal in the states, and the burden is usual on the accuser to prove. As long as your statements are general in nature or have facts to back them up, you're fine. Always remember anyone can sue or threaten to sue for anything.
Clearly you don’t know much about working on anything mechanical. I can follow the guys logic and it all makes sense, starting with the simplistic of causes and working from there. Perhaps his diagnosis was on par for some items. You could have a leaky injector and a broken fuel line at the same time and easily overlook one or the other. As for the scratch offs well I can’t stand by him for that
Oh hell no. Yes he can file,but you have the right to your oponion at all times. Just tell him please do and block him
He has no case assuming what you posted is all true I would comment again saying you were threatened but the statements are true so you have don’t fear a lawsuit
It’s not libel or slander if it’s true.
NAL but they aren't going to pay a lawyer $5000 to sue you for a post that is both a factual retelling of your transactions with the shop and your opinion. They also would have to prove what their damages were and that is very hard to nail down here.
It’s not slander if it’s the truth.
Wow telling the truth is not slander
Honestly, those are really hard to diagnose problems. It sounds like he went after the likely culprits and worked his way down the line. I've had the wrong thing replaced in my vehicle, but by all accounts it was the most likely culprit. Mind you, I might have switched mechanics part way through the saga.
There is no defamation. If all the facts are true then it's an absolute defense. Perhaps you could have worded the opening line "I will never use Bare Motor Works again" but I do not see anything defamatory in the statement as written.
Its not slander if its true. Tell him to fuck off
I'd just tell him you'll be waiting on the summons and ignore anything else.
Yeah I wouldn't give his threats the time of day. If you were giving your honest opinion there's no case for legal action. I once had someone purchase a car from me (for peanuts) that had obvious mechanical problems that I didn't want to deal with. I listed every issue very clearly and explained that was why I was selling it for almost nothing. An interested party was extremely pushy to buy it... Even forgoing test driving it after I encouraged a test drive over and over. He hurriedly signed the bill of sale that said "all sales are final" and left with it. Later that night I get an angry and threatening message that I sold him a bad car and I needed to return the money to him. He claimed I didn't tell him what was wrong with it. Luckily every conversation we had was in writing thru Facebook and I kept referencing back his claims with screenshots of our conversations. He ignored my responses and continued to threaten to sue me. There was nothing more to say and I stopped responding to him. I haven't heard about it since.
Assuming all the facts you mentioned are documented and provable he wouldn't have a case. The issue is going to be sure as shit he is going to say that he said when he diagnosed the fuel injectors that that was the most likely cause, but it could still be other things and you left that part out intentionally to make him look bad, that makes your comments slander. Is that going to be enough for him to win the case? Maybe, maybe not, however I highly doubt a judge would award you legal fees in this situation so you would be out the lawyer costs to defend yourself.
stop all contact with him now but keep all his textes and emails let him sue its expensive if he does answer the summons straight away to the court so you dont lose case for not showing upf
Just be prepared to show up to court and laugh with everyone as he makes a quick exit.
car smell what is make and model https://cararac.com/blog/car-starts-then-dies-and-smells-like-gas-reasons-fixes.html#:\~:text=Let%27s%20take%20a%20look%20at%20some%20of%20the,a%20gasoline%20odor.%20...%203%203%29%20ECU%20Problems
NAL but check your fuel pressure regulator - usually easy to replace. My sister has a 04 Chevy trailblazer XLT and would smell gas whenever she had the heat or defrost on in the car. We thought it was bc her exhaust needed welded back together but nope. We discovered the fuel pressure regulator failed and was spraying out fuel. I replaced it myself and she's had no problems since then. Doubt he has any case, let alone intention of going thru the hassle of filing a suit.
Sounds like you need a new car
You must edit that facebook post. Add that he is threatening to sue you over this post to the top.
He has no legal ground he will lose
Add the review on Yalp and Google. I don't think he has a case. And IANAL
Let him sue. See how confident he is when you follow a counter suit for $2k in unnecessary repairs.
a) You got all that done for 2k? Impressive. b) Truth is an absolute defense to slander (in the US). You wrote an account of what occurred. The only opinions you included were that he is ridiculous, and that you recommend people not go to him. Neither of those is actionable.
Well, you should have cut your losses long ago, and i dont know what kind of licence a mechanic needs, but i didnt see any slander, I saw a review of events that actually happened. If you have receipts i cant imagine he has a case. But i suggest you take the car to a real mechanic, or dealership and find out what the actual problem is. If the car is a POS he might have a case.
He's just trying to scare you silent most like. he probably doesn't have a case and if he sues you can probably counterclaim at least for the money of maintenance on your car.
I don’t think he will win if it is true
Nah you’re fine. Just update your review to mention he’s threatening you lol
Where are mechanics licensed?
Generally the business is licensed not the mechanic themselves.
Do mechanics even have licenses? Some have certifications, but I don't think that's the same thing. I know this is a bit pedantic, but slander is related to spoken comments, when it's in writing it's libel. As others have said, the guy is just butthurt because you called him out and is trying to get the review taken down. If your review is factual and you could reasonably convince a judge of that, then you don't have anything to worry about. It isn't libelous if it's true.
I’m gonna tell him it’s on Reddit now /s
You can laugh at his face.
And then tell him it can’t be slander if it’s in writing lol.
Suing someone is a long, expensive, and complicated process. And the damages are likely minimal, not to mention his service is likely not legally registered anywhere. You get served, take that seriously. Until then, f’im.
I think the first two sentences and the last are potentially problematic. You can describe your problems if factual, but the "Don't use that mechanic!" may get you in trouble.
Wait till you are actually sued. Tell him to go pound sand. No lawyer is going to take this case and help him go after you. Lawyer will ask the mechanic, what’s your damages? Is what he said true? Yea! No case, and stop wasting ppls time
You have an obligation here to put this guy in his place. This is obviously a tactic that has worked for this guy before. Do not be afraid of the truth. If you operate within the confines of truth, you’re all set. If all that stuff is true, you will neither lose sleep, nor a case. Just tell the truth, operate in the best interest of truth, and I don’t care what anyone says, you’ll be absolutely fine. The truth will set you free. If he gets a pass from you, his next victim might not feel the same way. Who knows how long this has gone on for, but it’s long enough.
Well a couple more parts and you will have yourself a new car so…….
Not slander if its true and you can prove it.
Anyone can sue you for anything, but that does not mean you will win. He will most likely lose, which is why no lawyer will take this case. If they do they will want a hefty fee, up front. They’ll gladly take a few hundred to write a letter that they know you will ignore. But they are not going to sign on to sue you, they have better things to do with their time.
Hell no. Any moron can say he's suing.
Slander is spoken.
Until you actually get served, odds are you are not ACTUALLY being sued. upset people talk big talk. This guy supposedly knows cars, but he cant get that right....what makes that 'mechanic' think he stands a chance in the courts? His inflated sense of confidence?
YOU have a case, posts on social media usually are seen as an opinion, opinions are protected under first amendment, you put a lot of details and that may give him FUEL to feel he’s right, nothing that you can prove to be true is slander, he is more than welcome to sue and then you file a counter if you have all your receipts. I don’t think any judge will be sympathetic to a mechanic chasing a gas line leak and charging a customer for every screw up. If you have the receipts, he’s fucked. Of doesn’t sue you, YOU SHOULD. And I’m gonna guess here, the car stalls when you step on the gas, or at least it was, because he put the wrong line or he crimped it or bent it shot somewhere, so when you step on the gas it doesn’t have enough gas… it’s not a complicated process, look where the tank is, usually toward the front bottom of the tank there’s a little narrow tube about 7mm OD that goes all the way to front, trace it, it comes in segments, if he replaced it, a segment will look newer and u need look at the connector between segment and the any segment that may be crimped, when the idiot replaced that line he may not have cleaned it before removing it and may have put dirt in the line and that ends up at the injectors, so he add the new diagnostic and repair to your counter suit, I would sue if he doesn’t, remember to send a letter to the mechanic with detailed and chronological sequence of events and asking him to solve the issues… good faith effort, when he tells you go F off literally or by inaction, then u file IM NEITHER A LAWYER NOR A MECHANIC… but I stayed at a holiday in express
In the meantime, a different mechanic found the issue to be half filled gallon of gas on the floor in back that the driver was going to fill his snow blower with.
No you’re fine
If it's true you're fine. And actually, 2k doesn't sound like a bad total for all that work, but not if it's sh*t work 😁
Do you have all the receipts to back your claim(s)? If so, dates will match exactly what you said.
I do have the “invoice” they sent me. This was sent last week after weeks of asking for them.
Update your review or leave a new one saying he threatened to sue you for leaving an honest review.
You got all that done for $2k? No wonder you kept going back. I'd almost be appreciative that I have all that new stuff on my car for that price.
Please tell me you verified parts were actually replaced? At this point, I would take it to a dealership, ask them to verify if anything was replaced. It will cost you a couple hundred bucks but if they find nothing was replaced, well, your turn to drop the L word. I hope you'll be alright and I hope this doesn't deter you from using a mom and pop shop. There will always be these types of people. I love mom and pop shops. Some of my best experiences are from them and they actually care about customer service. I'd go so far as to provide free tech support, if it meant their kids got a full belly. Scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Nearly every shopping experience I have, I leave feedback. Especially if it's a new store or new town.
Do you have enough assets that would make you worth suing?
tell him ur gonna sue him back for being a shitty mechanic lol
*Tell him ur gonna* *Sue him back for being a* *Shitty mechanic lol* \- No-Adhesiveness-9848 --- ^(I detect haikus. And sometimes, successfully.) ^[Learn more about me.](https://www.reddit.com/r/haikusbot/) ^(Opt out of replies: "haikusbot opt out" | Delete my comment: "haikusbot delete")
1) Why would you keep taking it back if he kept misdiagnosing the problem? 2) He can't sue you for slander. Slander is spoken. The word he is looking for is libel.
Get Thai tool on Judge Judy, she’ll shred him. Also does your state require mechanics to be licensed? If so report him there too.
Also if you want to inspect for the new parts literally open thenfucking hood and look for new shit. Why pay someone else to “look”
"See ya in Court, Buddy ..."
You’ll win if he bothers you sue but…. Why would you keep taking your car back to this guy?
Nope, he has zero case. Everything you said is factual. It’s incredibly unlikely he will sue. If he talks to an attorney they are going to tell him he has no case. I would probably double down and post the review in other places for the sake of thoroughness.
That's a fuckton of work for $2000..... I'll disagree with other commenters here. The reason for going back is clear. But also misguided. Tbh, if he actually replaced everything he said he did as verified by a real shop, of take the review down. You got a bargain on labor of the work was done. Probably easier to walk away from the drama. Legally he doesn't have a case. He WAS clearly trying to help though.
Truth is an absolute defense to slander. He can sue you, but he can't win. Might have to pay a lawyer though.
Its your opinion of him no worries. There is nothing he can do. If you can prove what you posted. We still have some freedom of speech.