tranny work/ shop liabilities/ parting out tranny?
bmw555 said:
It was no oil in transmission? I wonder how the car was moving in such condition at all. Did you notice any leaks? Transmission oil can't just vaporize.
Yup,
There must have been a slow leak in the transmission somewhere. It must have been there the whole time, even before I bought the car, but it's a mystery to me and REALLY frustrating because of the following reasons:
1) I KNOW I would have immediately seen any type of fluid leak on my garage floor, and would have found out immediately what was leaking so I could FIX IT. I saw NO INDICATION that I had fluid leaking out of the casing.
2) Every time I brought the car into the shop (oil changes, inspections, repairs) I asked them to check the transmission fluid levels...Because -- even with the limited mechanical knowledge I have -- I KNEW that a low transmission fluid level resulting from a slow leak would lead to serious transmission damage if not regularly checked, or preferably fixed. This leads me to believe that they weren't in fact checking my transmission fluid level AT ALL, and that pisses me off. I have shelled out thousands of dollars to this shop (which I will leave nameless, out of respect), and they should be responsive to all customers' requests. Also I've done a decent amount of e36 transmission research in the last week, and I've learned that e36 transmissions must be filled to a *precise* level in order to be up to specification. In other words, just topping off the tranny fluid until it 'overflows' (what the shop did, the one time I personally watched) supposedly is NOT GOOD for your e36 transmission.
Is there a possibility that this shop (which is a part of a large National Auto Service/Repair Franchise) could be found negligent and legally liable, in part of in whole, for the damage that progressively became worse as I drove under the impression that my tranny was fine and that it's fluid levels were checked AND correct as reported by this shop? Any lawyers on board here?
In addition to the Transmission Replacement...Maybe I'll buy some 17's and tires all around so that I can "pretend" I simply did an expensive rim upgrage. Maybe that would make me feel a bit better...Make her look a bit nicer, as well as shelling out for mechanical BS like I always have to do.
I have to go to the shop on Monday to pay up front for the job. I plan to check out all the damage with my own eyes so that I know exactly what's shot and what isn't. Also, I may keep the old transmission and part-out the un-damaged components to help me partially pay for the new Transmission. Are any of you looking for random tranny parts? If so, just let me know.
Sincerely,
-Mike
