Quote:
Originally Posted by extrashaky
You don't have to litigate a case for an attorney to be helpful. An attorney is like a gun. You don't have to shoot someone to change their behavior. All you have to do is point it at them. A certain kind of power comes out the end of it that will make them stand still and raise their hands without the gun even having to be loaded.
The best use of a lawyer is to head off problems so that you don't have to go to court. A letter on an attorney's letterhead often gets better results than a customer's dissatisfaction, and many attorneys will do that for a nominal amount. They're also helpful in negotiations, in the same way brokers, agents or professional negotiators are in other deals. Just as a TV news anchor will usually get a better deal if he sends his agent in to deal with station management, having a lawyer negotiate on your behalf can have similar benefits.
So maybe he spends a few hundred bucks on a lawyer, who negotiates a favorable solution that also includes having his own fees paid without too much effort. There are lawyers around who will take that case.
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To use your analogy, is it your supposition that the car dealer has no gun of his own, because I assure you he does. And unlike you, he actually has bullets in his, because he has insurance that pays his defense costs, while you're looking between the couch cushions for change to pay yours.
Now, if you have a buddy who's a lawyer and they'll shoot off a letter or two for free, go for it. Otherwise, forget the lawyer. It'll cost you money and just annoy the dealer.
At the end of the day, unless the OP has tangible, credible evidence that operating the vehicle with the wrong lubricant for a brief period caused damage to the engine he's entitled to nothing beyond another oil change. Not an extended warranty, not a new car at dealer cost, not a new engine...zero.
The fact that the shop quickly caught its own error, contacted the customer, brought the car back in to fix it and made any goodwill effort at all beyond that really speaks well of the shop.
As I said, don't throw money down the toilet on a lawyer. Take the written extended warranty and enjoy the car.