Dealer sues customer over repair YouTube video

[ed.brooks]

If folks are interested, here's the original video...

 

[ddavis]

The dealership says they will "settle" with the customer, if the guy takes down the video and pays 8K towards the dealership's attorney fees - Man Posts Secret Video of Car Repair - Then Gets Sued via ABCnews.com

Did you read the comments? A dealership is never going to win in the court of public opinion. We're nothing but a bunch of crooks. Again, I hope the dealership continues the suit and wins. Maybe people will think twice what they say on the internet.

 

[ed.brooks]

Did you read the comments? A dealership is never going to win in the court of public opinion. We're nothing but a bunch of crooks. Again, I hope the dealership continues the suit and wins. Maybe people will think twice what they say on the internet.

Unfortunately, if the dealer "wins", they will lose. It is a fight they could have chosen to avoid, and one that is almost impossible to win.

 

[Jeff Kershner]

Unfortunately, if the dealer "wins", they will lose. It is a fight they could have chosen to avoid, and one that is almost impossible to win.

Ed, if given the opportunity - knowing what we know so far and seeing what we've seen so far - how would you have disfused this little bomb from the start?

 

[ddavis]

Unfortunately, if the dealer "wins", they will lose. It is a fight they could have chosen to avoid, and one that is almost impossible to win.

This guy used a fake name. Initially, they didn't know who was responsible for the video. The dealer said that he made numerous attempts at trying to contact the customer to see if they could resolve the situation. The customer threatened the dealer's family after he was served papers and only then was interested in a meeting.

 

[ed.brooks]

Ed, if given the opportunity - knowing what we know so far and seeing what we've seen so far - how would you have disfused this little bomb from the start?

I would say that the best course for this dealer would have been to be factual, but not confrontational. And certainly not escalating the confrontation by suing the customer - that only gives the customer MORE publicity.

Dealers are, by nature, a scrappy bunch. They like to win. But, in the big picture, the true victory would have been to allow this issue to quietly fade away.

 

[dvMail]

The easy solution would have been to refund the guy his money in return for the video being taken off the web.

Lose $600 on the bill but potentially keep a customer or now be 8k in legal debt and lose the customer and any of his friends based on the idea that the dealership is lawsuit happy.

just my opinion..

 

[ddavis]

The easy solution would have been to refund the guy his money in return for the video being taken off the web.

Lose $600 on the bill but potentially keep a customer or now be 8k in legal debt and lose the customer and any of his friends based on the idea that the dealership is lawsuit happy.

just my opinion..

At first, they didn't know who the guy was because he used a fake name. When they figured it out the customer wouldn't respond to numerous phone calls. I don't believe there is such a thing as a "lawsuit happy" dealer. As far as losing the customer and any of his friends, I wouldn't want those people. The old saying, "birds of a feather flock together" has some truth in it.

Again, I hope the dealer wins the suit. Maybe people will be more concerned when they slander people on the internet.

 

[yagoparamo]

I understand the "let it go" mentality but where and when does the abuse to the dealers end?

 

[joe.pistell]

I understand the "let it go" mentality but where and when does the abuse to the dealers end?

Sounds like an update is needed to Evil Dealers and the Slaughter of the Innocents

"...It didn’t take me long to realize the public perception of the evil dealer and the slaughter of the innocent buyer was totally an Urban Legend. The Internet has blown that into million pixels and has arguably tipped the scales in the buyers favor."