Valve body headache!!! Need advice 11/18/04

[baby28]

Hello everyone, first time poster and very excited to find this site!!!

My '00 Explorer is in the shop, still under a 3rd party warranty. Here is what has taken place:

1. Dealership called warranty company and said valve body needs repalced.
2. Warranty company asked what exactly wrong
3. Dealership said not sure but needs replaced
4. Warranty company said find out what is wrong and call back.

5. Dealership finds 2 problems, warranty company authorizes dealership to overhaul valve body and fix proble.
6. Dealership does so and problem still exists so now says needs to replace entire valve body because found a scored valve.
7. Warranty company authorizes replacement of valve body but will not pay for 1st overhaul because according to them the dealership should not have missed the scored valve during the overhaul.

So...the dealership is saying we have to pay for the overhaul because the warranty company will not. But the warranty company is telling me that no one should have to pay for this overhaul because the dealership missed something crucial that they should have not missed. WHAT TO DO??? Did the dealership really mess up big time? I am a car parts dumb-dumb.

 

[baby28]

I guess this was determined not an emergency, although it is to me. I have to pick my car up in an hour and am seeking advice on whether or not to fight paying for this. I don't know what to do. Can someone please help me!!!!!!!!!!!

Again, the main question is: should the dealership have seen this scored valve???

 

[Deldawit]

for my nickle's worth I would say the dealer screwed up . I would resist paying the bill.
and ask to talk to owner of the dealership and remind him that the insurance company is on your side in this ... your may have to pay the bill to get your car back but dont let it stop there .. you may need an attorney.. be nice but very firm in your statements to them

 

[expo5.0]

you shouldn't have to pay anything

 

[Robb]

The dealer should have provided a secondary warranty on the first tranny build. And since it obviously didn't last long, the second build should be under that first one's warranty.

 

[Glacier991]

Does Tenessee have a "Bureau of Automotive Repair" ? A valve body is not, as a usual rule "rebuilt" like a carburetor might be... often if you have a reason to suspect a particular component you clean that bore which houses the problem area valve (spool). In a full rebuilt, a valve dody should, as a matter of course be completely disassembled and cleaned and reassembled. Serious scoring in a valve bore is 99% of the time caused by human intervention - usually in disassembly. I'd resist paying for an error.

 

[baby28]

The dealership side is saying that they warranty company told them to overhaul the valve body instead of replacing it because there were only a couple of parts wrong.

The warranty company is saying that the dealership misdiagnosed the probem so that is why they told them to overhaul it instead of replace it.

I may be screwing up the jargon, but I'm doing my best to get it correct. Thanks for all your responses. We should not have to pay for their misdiagnosis, I agree to that. But it sounds as if they are planning to hold my car hostage until payment is received, from someone. The warranty company is on our side saying no one should pay for the mistake but the dealership.

 

[baby28]

I'll look into finding a "Bureau of Automotive Repair" for TN.

 

[Brain]

What I would do is pay (preferably on a credit card) and get a detailed invoice so that they aren't holding your truck, as they are usually not liable for whatever happens to it on their lot (prbably signed a waiver to that effect), and after a certain amount of time they can charge for storage....

then get the statements from the insurance company stating why they won't pay, and take the shop to small claims court...usually small claims maxes out at $5K, and you don't have to hire a lawyer.

 

[baby28]

Well the issue is finally resolved. The warranty company is paying the tax for the extra work since they are tax exempt anyway and the dealership is eating the other $200 charges. What a miserable situation.

Thank you all for your responses!!! One good thing came of all this: I found this site.