Poor Mr.Williams. He brought his 2005 Corvette into San Rafael Chevrolet to have a bad antenna and a jammed trunk fixed, and instead he got a wrecked ‘vette. It seems that “Gene B.”, an employee of San Rafael Chevy, took the car of the lot (against the owner’s specific instructions) and smashed into a big box truck. The ticket issued for the accident says that Gene was driving too fast for conditions, and as if that wasn’t damning enough, Mr. Williams found a bottle of codeine/acetaminophen under the seat. Now Mr. Williams wants the dealership to replace his car or compensate him for the loss of resale value. They’ve said no.
Mr.Williams has filed complaints with the Better Business Bureau, Chevrolet, and now he’s taking it to the internet. We think he probably needs to hire a lawyer, but he’s reluctant to do so. In a case like this, a lawyer can be very helpful, and the cost of the lawyer can be paid by the party at fault. You’ll get a better settlement with a lawyer than without one. God knows their lawyer won’t want this to go to trial. What do you guys think? Lawyer? Or should Mr. Williams try to go it alone? Any lawyers out there want to help him?—MEGHANN MARCO
San Rafael Chevrolet wrecked my new vette and won’t replace it or pay for lost value. [Corvette Forum]
UPDATE: Guy Gets Replacement Vette
CORRECTION: Legal fees can not be recovered in California. (Thanks, bluegus32!)
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Mr Williams posted an update this evening stating that the dealer has promised a “new” replacement car comparable to his damaged car. Wouldn’t it be ironic if the replacement car was in a worse accident than his damaged car? Once you piss someone off, these things tend to happen
The dealer took care of it and is giving him a new car, as of noon on 28 December (today):
http://forums.corvetteforum.com/showpost.php?p=1558237585&…
Everyone paying for comprehensive insurance is paying premium for diminution of value. Insurance companies will not offer to pay it except in the states that now require them to, so the policy holder or claimant has to DEMAND that they pay. I have got paid twice for such damages. Once was easy and the other required me to get a third party appraisal. The insurance company also can not make you accept aftermarket or used parts to repair your car UNLESS it is your own company paying for the damages at which point all bet are off.
@xanax25mg:
“First I think it was potentially libelous to post that there was some illicit drug use when it very well could have been a bottle of aspirin bought over the counter at Target.”
If your local Target sells Schedule III drugs over the counter, the pharmacy staff should be expecting a less-than-friendly visit from the DEA. Tylenol with codeine is a prescription narcotic painkiller and should not be confused with plain old acetaminophen.
@dwayne_dibbly:
“The drug issue really shouldn’t come into play here. “Gene B.” could have had a medical condition, or he could have been on perfectly legal prescription drugs.”
Hiding a pill bottle beneath the seat of the car is not the behavior you’d expect from an innocent man. Furthermore, it is illegal to drive while under the influence of a controlled substance. It doesn’t matter if it’s black tar heroin or legitimately prescribed pain medication – it’s still illegal and irresponsible to use before driving.
@ velocinpenguin— The poster initially stated it was acetamenophin OR codeine. So my argument was he was not even sure what the pills were that he was inferring were responsible for the car wreck. In addition, and you have to dig through 12 pages after his initial post, he claims he has no proof it was the repairman’s bottle of pills. My gripe is he initially got everyone lathered up that there was some coked-up mechanic (and that very well could be true) taking his car for a joyride, but he then later redacted that to a degree and states he can’t prove any of that and it could have been a “tow truck driver”.
I’m bewildered why all of us are willing to immediately believe the initial suggestion it was a codeine-fueled renegade mechanic, when no evidence supports that. I still say it was reckless to imply that in the first place when A– he wasn’t even sure what the pills were and B– he wasn’t even sure where they came from