I don't think they actually write the oil appears to be past it's used by date.....I'm fairly confident in saying, they just put the car on the hoist and dump the oil....
Yeah, wouldn’t surprise me that they don’t document things very well. But my opinion is they should document all the issues they found when servicing the car, since one pays top rates at a dealer.
Where the biggest issue is, the private mechanic not stamping the booklet that comes with the car..
Yes, life would have been so much easier if Elwoods service book was stamped or if he had a receipt for the service itself.
As for verbal correspondance.....I seriously doubt that'd hold much weight.....If someone is shonky and has done something silly to void their warranty and are trying to claim against the manufacturer, of course they will stand up to a higher authority and make claims they were told this, that and the other to get away with it....I'm not insinuating anyone on here would do those things either.....But unfortunately higher authorities require written/photographic proof, as it holds the most weight, when it comes to disputes, rather than a he said, she said scenario.
Being “shonky” in court is never good...
Indisputable proof, like service receipt, obviously goes a long way to counter a dealer or manufacturers claim of owner abuse under ACL. However, the believability of the whiteness in verbal testimony can and does carry weight... After all the dealer or manufacturer can’t state with certainty that the owner didn’t have the oil changed by a 3rd part at the 30k interval, only that they have no record of it and the owner can’t provide it. So it comes down to who is more believable to the judge and who the judge catches telling lies or misrepresenting something, if anyone. If both parties are believable, it’s hard for the judge as proving a negative is difficult.
After all civil courts ain’t at a level of “beyond reasonable doubt“ but rather at the lower bar of “balance of probabilities“ which allows a judge to place more weight on verbal testimony..
It an uphill battle, always, but it’s not a forgone conclusion that one would loose. I think such a case could hinge on expert testimony but even that isn’t certainty... I think much depends on the judges bias (and the are biased)... but at $100 for a small claims case (ignoring expert testimony costs) and a day off work, I’d definitely present something to a tribunal since $3k or more seems at play.
And if
@Elwood can get a reprint of a 30k 3rd party service receipt (or a stat dec or better still have the mechanic at court), then the argument that the lack of oil change being the cause would fly out the window.
Still, I’m curious if any member has even has some dealer write a comment about poor oil quality when they did a service (though I expect the answer to be no one has)...