Thanks, I may be over-estimated BAR's influence. So to cover myself I'll be checking into a lawyer tomorrow to update them of the situation. I appreciate the input.

 

I do not mean to flame anyone here - and my comment is being made as some friendly advise to My05. But after 25 years of running my own business [with plenty of legal scraps along the way], these comments reflect the biggest mistake anyone can make. And that is assuming you already know the answer or the outcome to the situation.

To think it is a slam dunk that this shop has insurance is ill founded. Who would have guessed that a professional shop in the first place would grind and beat the wrong sized driveshaft into the vehicle to begin with ???

Do yourself a favor. Grab some cash [for the retainer that will be required] - get a lawyer [as in today] - and turn him loose.

You are in trouble here, and you need to start thinking "end game" - a way for all of this to end completely for you. In my opinion [speculation], you will never get enough out of this to justify your economic loss and all of the time that you have spent, and will spend on this. The best answer [again in my view] is to get some cash out of whomever as soon as you can; and move on with your life.

Have you checked with your insurance company to see if somehow any of this is covered under any of your policies ???

 

AMEN TO THAT!!!!!

 

Thanks for the recommendations. I contacted one lawyer late last night by email and I'm waiting to hear back from them. I also contacted the pre-paid legal service and asked them if I should have a lawyer looking at my situation at this point, they responded and said "you already have 3 overseeing it".

What they told me was that so far what I have been doing has been the correct path and that it will only help once B.A.R. finishes their report and we get confirmation that the shop owner will not pay. I was also told by them that once B.A.R. presents their findings to the shop owner they typically have 30 days to pay, (that they have to be given time to pay) and after that we begin the civil suit.

I'm going to confirm this process when I hear back fro mthe outside attorney and begin to get a feel for their suggestions as well. I've been following the advice from them so far because my main concern is protecting myself as well, but I will double check this with an outside attorney.

Thank you again for helping me make sure I'm covering myself the best way possible.

Also, from my theoretical questions to my insurance, "if" an aftermarket part was the cause of the damage it would not be covered. As it is, I don't want to file claim against my insurance if it's the fault of someone else, and I certainly don't want any suspicions of insurance fraud on my part.

Thanks everyone.

 

You should go to your insurance company - and tell them the truth; and ask a simple question: do any of your policies provide you with any coverage that can help? If they do and somehow your insurance kicks in for anything - your insurance company will go after theirs [assuming they have one] and it should only expedite the entire process.

If your policies do not provide any coverage, it's no harm no foul. Insurance companies get asked questions like this everyday.

 

Appreciate the info, I'll check again. Ikno my main agent is out for several days so I may need to wait until she returns, rather than ask an assistant...

 

Your agent probably won't know the answer to that question. Contact the claims department of your insurance company and get an adjuster or supervisor to answer your question.

My05, we just want to help! Hang in there and good luck.

 

Does this really need to be in GT performance and Tech? This thread is more about a developing lawsuit than a driveshaft...

IMO, seemed like it was fine in the general 2005-2009 Mustang area.

 

The fact that some jagoff put an inferior driveshaft on the man's car which ended up causing endless ''tech related'' problems is good enough for me in this section. I'll be following this thread no matter where it ends up.

Just don't click on it and it shouldn't bother you anymore.

 

and some times they put little notes in your file saying you have a modded car, which they don't like to insure. I would keep them out of it if I could. JMO.

 

So the shop owner
1) Commits fraud
2) Doesn't understand the risk of forcing a fit on a drive shaft.

This guy can/will write a check for $18000? Can he write one for $1800? People who do crap like this are broke. He wouldn't risk his business if he had something worth risking. He probably wouldn't commit fraud unless he needed money.
I suppose there's a chance he's just greedy and has money. I would run a credit report on this guy.

 

I would have absolutely gone to my insurance company It's too much money. It's not an engine mod.

I'll add that I don't think insurance will pay for a mechanical failure, but for me this would be too much money not to ask.

 

Not true... insurance companies (I work for a major one) don't care if you have a modded car - what DOES happen is that the policy won't cover the mods if you get in to a crash.

For example, I have Saleen HID headlights. If I get in to a crash that destroyed them my insurance company would pay only to put stock headlights back on, not HIDs. With that in mind I purchased a rider to insure the headlights "just in case." It's a win-win situation, they get more premium from me, and I'm not out the cost of replacing my HIDs should something happen.

In this case here if the insurance company covered the damage to the car under the "comprehensive" part of the policy they would pay only for stock parts (which in this case appears to be a good idea to return to a stock driveshaft) and not the modded ones.

I'm still standing by my statement that My05 needs to get an attorney NOW and not waste any more time. But then again, it's just my opinion and not advice.

 

This is good thinking.

 

Hello everyone, I see I missed a few posts over the weekend... From what I know, the shop owner does have insurance, he told me I'd have to bring the vehicle to him to inspect if I was expecting him to open a claim. So he has the ability to cover this. Also, his shop is supposed to be a specialty shop that is know for their work, so it's possible he is known throughout the community as well, therfore he should have a need to protect his reputation and do what's right.

Next, B.A.R. has concluded their investigation and their report will be available when a subpoena issued. I've spoken with attorneys and they've told me that he needs to be given 30 days to pay sinc ehis recent communications with BAR, regardless of his recent claim that he does not plan to.

Not surprisingly, the shop owner is now lying about certain facts which may make sense in a verbal arguement, but which he has no way of backing his statements. All of which could have been documented on his invoices and paperwork.

Aside from my legal advisors, I have had a difficult time finding other attorneys that handle anything other than inujury cases. Suggestions would be helpful to give me additional options to balance out me current info.

I'm going to ask for info again from my insurance and see what other info I get. Is there anything I need to be concerned about in notifying them that my car is practically totalled?

So the transmission is perfectly fine inside, surprisingly. And the only thing that can d othis is torsional vibration caused by the install problems. According to BAR and Ford the vibrations caused the tail housing of the transmission to crack, then put the driveshaft out of line, causing the resulting damage.

 

That's great. You sound cool and consistent. I'm a bit confused about the pre-paid legal and several people advising you to get an attorney. If you have pre-paid legal, it's up to them to advance the case. Or am I missing something?

I see no reason to wait for the BAR report. That just wastes time and you have a good claim/case without it. By insisting the shop owner file a claim, you force him to show what insurance he really has. He committed fraud, so his word is crap. He's not going to do anything before he feels he has to.

I suspect that not only was a steel driveshaft a fraudulant sale, but it did more damage to the car than an aluminum part would cause. You're doing well, at this point I would have returned the broken drive shaft to the shop owner and installed it in my own special way.

 

The preipaid legal people are the attorneys that handle anything I bring to them, and they are indeed the ones who will advance the case. They've informed me that we need to give the 30 day time-frame prior to moving forward, so once that time has been allowed we'll move forward. We aren't actually waiting on a report from BAR, they only provide it for a case if we were to subpoena it.

And I agree, a lighter driveshaft very likely would not have done this kind of damage... One step closer though... I have plenty of time to see this through...

 

Just read the whole thread. Good luck to you.

 

Keep your cool and don't say anything to the shop owner that's not straight from your attorney's mouth.

 

If the driveshaft was scaping on anything, there will be obvious scratches that go in circles right around it. The problem is, when that happens, the shaft is a lot weaker at that point. Generally if that happens you should be planning to replace it.

I've been running the Ford aluminum driveshaft on our '94 since '99 or so, with no problems. So, it was the install or the construction of the shaft that was the problem - not the fact that it was aluminum.

Good luck!

SoCal94