Going to War! With Car Toys

[AveoRob]

Gene,

not trying to be a downer, but don't get your hopes up too high. You certainly will not get a new car. I don't think you will get very much from court, except maybe a refund on the harness. The stereo works. They did not break anything on your car per say, as it all works. You are perceiving a problem in the future, but none is there now. That is how the judge will see it if you take them to small claims court. That is where it will end up. Maybe take this as a lesson learned, notify BBB and or other consumer advocates online...and live with it. Getting an ulcer and spending time and blood pressure on this may not be worth it in the end.

[ontarian_frog]

By the way, if you are in the Seattle area, check the Sunday Seattle Times / Post Intelligencer. You may find a pretty full page ad coing out in the next few weeks titled "Quality work at your local Car-Toys" As soon as I find out from my lawyer if it would be okay...

I wouldn't. Anything said against the business could potentially be held against you. If you write about your story then yes you can, but it's still very touchy. Anything contradictory between your story and theirs is grounds for trouble. BBB is the best solution.

I do hope you get compensation for it. If anything was to fail in the vehicle that is remotely connected to the stereo, they should be responsible for the damage and pay up too.

[NYChevoo]

Gene,is it possible to sue for dealer repairs to your harness? Like have Car Toys responsible for the cost of repairs at Chevy?
Fred

[genefitz]

Okay, the Lawyer told me that it is unlikely to get another car, however, a settlement may be in order. The ad in the paper is out of the question..

He says that I do have a case for unauthorized modifications to the car in the stereo installation. The fact that they did the modifications to my car's internal wiring (permanent damage) is cause for suit.
I have since spoken with, and had my car inspected by a Chevrolet dealership, as well as a second installation specialist who told me that though the installer did it wrong (no harness) he did wire it correctly, but did a very sloppy job of it. He also explained that the aftermarket harness which is the same one as Car-Toys uses does have issues. It has a power wire where it should not. He did state that a professional installer would have seen this right off the bat, and adjusted the aftermarket harness, vise cutting the factory harness, or he would have explained the problem to the customer and given the options (adjust the harness or wire direct if needed).
In his own words:
"Of the hundreds of people we ask about special modifications, maybe one will say no. But we don't ask for the hundreds that don't care, we ask for the one who will say no."

The lawyer says the case isn't for improper installation, but for their failure to get approval to do the modification, and possibly them charging me for the part they didn't use.
I got a call from Car-Toys corporate office here in Seattle. They asked me for information regarding the installation, and they offered to speak with the Chevrolet dealership on behalf of Car-Toys to see about getting the warranty situation fixed, offering apologies at least a hundred times. And they have offered to do all they can to make this issue right.

I am still not happy with the situation, and not sure of what my next step will be. But I am sure there will be much more come of it. Needless to say, Car-Toys has lost a customer. The second installer is going to run through my wiring for the radio, clean it up and make it neat again.
I will however tell everyone who asks not to use Car-Toys because of this.

[XJCasper]

Car Toys screwed some stuff up in my brother's truck some time ago. They did eventually fix it.

When it comes down to numbers, the loss of our families business isn't much, but they did lose customers.

[AveoRob]

So whatever happened? Did you win the war?

[NYChevoo]

hey Gene, i'd be interested to know what the outcome was as well. did you get any satisfaction out of it?

[onephastmike]

DUDE THAT PLACE IS FOO-BARED.... HOLY ****!!! Law suit big time. and yeah they voided the factory warranty no doubt. man good luck. better business. ****. everyone will sue them. you for a new car. chevy maybe. and damn. im speachless. i would be pissed. this is why i do my work myself. why pay someone to do the same thing i can do.

All in all goodluck man... 2009 aveo on the way huh???

[AveoRob]

I guess Gene is a casualty of War......

[NYChevoo]

thats just not right!!!