I don't believe the dealership is responsible since a customer caused the damage. If it was an employee of the dealership that caused the accident then the dealership would be responsible.

 

I'm not taking sides here in any way, but I want to throw out another scenario: say the exact same thing had happened an hour earlier, before the owner arrived to pick up his car. Instead of seeing the lady drive off and being pretty certain that the damage was caused by a customer, he simply returns to find his car damaged to a pretty reasonable extent.

Would you hesitate to demand that the dealer return your car to the condition in which you dropped it off?

I understand that most dealers have some sort of sign/paper that says they aren't responsible for damage to your vehicle. However, I also recall reading other threads here on the forum in which people have demanded that a dealer fix their mistakes (scratches, dings, etc).

As I said, just throwing out another scenario for curiousity's sake.

 

 

Did I blame the dealer? Read the post again.

It is simply a statement that who you give your keys to most likely WILL NOT treat your car in the same manner as you do. Especially dealerships. Not blame... just a fact of life.

The dealership may have parked Icemans car in a normal spot and in a typical manner. Doesn't mean that it was a location or manner that Iceman would use.

 

hate to disagree with you but if i lent my car to you and you had an accident (you're at fault) MY insurance company will pay - they insure the car not the driver. at least in MA the driver will receive surcharges BUT the car would be repaired by the CAR'S insurance

 

I would be after the lady that hit the car more than the dealership...



still unfortunate, hopefully it all comes out well.

 

Once again, I appreciate all of the comments. . .

I've taken the time to draft letters to the Owner of the Dealership, American Honda Motor Co., Inc., and Honda's Northeastern Zone (Zone 5) regarding the incident.

Also, to clarify, no one at the dealership saw the driver of the Pilot (the women) hit my car. They are basing their story on a timeline of a few minutes (e.g., they parked her car, then they parked my car, she drove off, my car is damaged).

But the reality is, for all I know someone at the dealership damaged my car (while servicing it) and are using the driver of the Pilot as a scapegoat. . . Hence my decision to seek compensation from the dealership.

All that said, the treatment I received at the dealership (D&C Honda of Tenafly, NJ) following the incident was absolutely disgraceful. I was basically treated as if I was a nuisance, an inconvenience, and an after thought. Which is almost worse than the damage to my vehicle.

My actions for tomorrow include: Mailing the aforementioned letters; Contacting the driver of the Pilot's insurance company; Contacting HMC Customer Relations; and Filing a complaint with the better business bureau.

On Tuesday, I will file several complaints against the driver of the Pilot (for Careless Driving and Leaving the Scene of an Accident); filie a civil complaint against the dealership seeking compensation for the damages to my vehicle; and a similar civil complaint against the driver of the Pilot.

I know many people on this board may not agree with my course of action. But, given the complete set of circumstances, and the possibility that both the driver of the Pilot and the Dealership will in all likelyhood attempt to deflect resposibility elsewhere, my best interest would be to allow the courts to decide who is ultimately culpable. (which is ultimately my only remedy other that covering the damage myself/or through my insurance company)

I'll keep everyone posted.

 

There was a huge flack in Madison WI about 10-12 years ago. I wish I remember how it turned out . Anyway, a customer brought a car to a Sears service center for repair. One of the Sears employees stole the car and ed it up bad. Sears said, it is not our problem and said they should seek damages from the now former employee.

I was like , I could not see any legal way that Sears was not responsible, nor why they wouldn't spend $10,000 (it wasn't a BMW or something) to fix a customer relation nightmare. This story was published nationwide and even on CNN.

 

There's no disagreement. Just a overlap of coverage. True, your car insurance would pay for the repairs. But my car insurance would also cover the repairs.