Legal Advice

[MusicMan]

Hey Guys,

No sure if Dan will allow this, but I know we have some lawyers in the forum so i thought i could solicit some free advice

I need to talk to someone about Quebec Law and service loaner cars (dealership cars that get lent out to people when their car is in the shop)

I had an issue of an airbag going off for no reason and the company is trying to nail me $2400.

they have no proof of an accident, the car was in bad shape to begin with (cracked fender, spray painted bumper etc..)

they have no diagnostic report to prove an accident ever occured and they are trying to nail me for not only the airbag replacement but to fix the bumper that was cracked from before.

the incident happened April 3rd. and the car was sent to auction the same week.

it was not my service loaner, it was my bosses, and i was driving it in a transport trucking yard on a weekend with no one else there.

do they have legal recourse to sue me?
could they win in this case without any proof of claimed accident or damages?

this was obviously a faulty airbag that they are passing off as an accident.

I can provide email correspondance with the dealership saying that "We are ready to accept $2000 now" its a very sketchy situation.

I believe I have done all I can, but they continue to pester me for money.

I would prefer to talk in PM and not put any details out in the forum.

thanks
-J

[jeffc]

sounds like a dealership I would want no part of dealing with in the future.....

was any contract signed by your boss when the loaner was given? It would seem the beef would be with him and not you since they lent the car to him.

[habsfan]

from my dealership experience, u should of signed off on a pre inspection report identifying the damage and you acknowledge and sign off on the visual damage, if you didnt sign one case close, if you signed one and werent careful about what they reported damaged and there's "additional" damage you could be liable regardless if you did or didn't. What troubles me is the aibag going off without impact, never heard of that happening im my 10yrs. I would call the manufacture and see about recalls or give them an hypothetical scenario based on the damage on the car were the sensors susceptible to deploy the airbag, where was the damage and which airbag went off could help you build a case against them, could of been a dangerous situation for you.

[MusicMan]

it was the side curtain airbag. not the wheel airbag, there was no side impact. if i "had" a front end accident would the wheel airbag gone off and not the side airbag...

as far as I know there was no agrement signed but i will need to check.

i took a service loaner for my car 2 days ago and they didnt make me sign anything, they gave me the keys and said being it back when your car is ready.

[LobWedge]

What year and model Jared?

[rancherJ]

if an agreement was signed was a charge card required? If yes many cards have rental or loaner car coverage.

[mpare]

Jarred make sure that whoever is advising you is familiar with the Quebec Civil Code as it's provisions may be different from those of the common law jurisdictions.

[Sakuraba]

& consumer protection laws are much more robust in Quebec than they are in Ontario.