To Court or Not To Court...

[X20A]

Hi RFDers,

I have a small dilemma. A month ago, I bought a used 2002 Acura with a 6-speed manual transmission from a used car dealership. It has about 267000 km on it.

A week into buying the car, I let two of my friends drive it, there were no problems, they drove well, and there was no weird smells, the car accelerated well, and drove like a dream pretty much. One of my friends even complimented the car saying that the transmission was very smooth, and he had already been driving manual for about 7-8 years.

About 2 weeks ago, I let a friend drive the car after they asked several times throughout the evening. We started the drive from Kennedy and Highway 7, went up to Major MacKenzie, east to McCowan, and back down to McCowan and Highway 7.

Halfway through the ride, the car just reeked of burnt clutch smell. It would seem that perhaps the clutch was being ridden while the car was being taken to high revs.

So now the car has a very slippery clutch, and opening the throttle causes a seemingly neutral gear revving situation where the car accelerates super slow.

My friend then offered at first to fix the car. But after I had visited an independent mechanic and stated the prices, the friend started making excuses to back out.

Since it seemed like the friend burned the clutch, I suggested they only pay for the friction disk and the labour which would have come out to about 800 dollars. But usually as with clutches, it is recommended to replace the pressure plate and release bearing as part of the clutch assembly kit, which I had said I would pay for.

The friend then says they asked an Acura mechanic about the situation and that the mechanic replied that car is too old, and that the car already had problems, and hence the fault did not lie with the friend. (Which is ludicrous because, how can you say that, without actually seeing car.)

I then went to an Acura dealership and spoke to both a service advisor and a technician, and both informed me that it was possible to ruin a clutch in 20 minutes if they were shifting improperly and was riding the clutch along with hard revving, which was the case.

Right now, I'm still open for negotiation if the friend does so wish to resolve this. However, I am thinking I need to take this to small claims court. When I brought this point up to the friend, the friend welcomed me to take them to court. Would I be able to make a case out of this?

Thanks RFD!

[Tharyn]

Some things I would take into consideration:

1. You have no idea of knowing the condition of the clutch prior to purchase. The car is 7 years old and seen a lot of km in those years, ~40k per year.

Consequently, you have no idea of the driving habits / styles of the previous owner(s). For all intents and purposes the clutch could have been extremely worn and that it was only a matter of time till it started to slip.

2. As a new owner of the car your own habits (are you learning, or experienced with std cars?) would also impact clutch wear.

3. Is the friendship worth it? Things definitely won't be the same post-small claims court / or worst case you may lose a friend.

Personally, given the age and km on the car I would say its hard to definitively prove your friend caused the clutch to wear out.

I would just chalk it up to the costs of car ownership, especially with a standard car that old.

[yao416]

You're an assh0le if you take him to court, straight up.

[najibs]

Fact: You cannot prove your friend burned the clutch in that short drive. If the car was brand new, sure, but a car that has almost 300k on it, and just because another friend before commented that the gearbox was smooth, that means absolutely nothing...

The only thing you have going in your favour is that your friend at first offered to fix it, which might indicate guilt, but again it proves nothing.

I don't think you have a case here...

[Lava]

Is there any record of when the clutch was replaced last? Depending on when it was last replaced will make all the difference in court if that's where you end up. Have you checked the clutch fluid?

Also how experienced are you driving manual? And how experienced is your friend? Does he own a manual?

[nano]

It's a used car just take it to be fixed...

[carmaster]

Why did you let a friend drive your car? The car has crazy km's on it.

[samm]

Holy crap, I thought my 2003 Honda has a lot of kms! The car must of been dirt cheap considering the mileage. So just use your own money to fix it and never let a friend drive it.

[originalnutta]

You let your friend drive.

You lose.

[Bazooka Joe]

It takes a LOT more than a single drive to burn out a clutch. The thing was on its last legs and just happened to go while he was driving. I punish my clutch every time I take my subie into sand/mud and I'm at 140k on the original. I don't think I could ruin one in 20 minutes if I tried my hardest. MAYBE if you floored it and let it out REAL slow... but if you were in the car you would have stopped it, plus it'd take forever at every stoplight/stop sign.

When one lets go, it makes a stink.

[eightyeight]

There was a similar thread a while back with pretty much the same responses.

There's no way you can prove your friend broke a good condition clutch in 20 minutes. Next time when you have a friend who's ruining your clutch as you sit in the passenger seat, make him pullover immediately and switch seats.

[phomp]

How could you let your friend continue driving for 20 minutes if he was driving so bad. It is quite obvious when someone does not know how to drive manual. Why did you not stop him from driving.

You are pretty much on the hook for your repairs of your car and not much you can do. You are wasting your time/money going to small claims. And probably a lost friendship now.

Tough lesson learned, but do not let friends drive your car... especially if they do not know how to drive.

[fakishan]

When I share something of mine with a friend, I only do so if I can afford to lose it. In the same way I don't ask to drive my friends' or even my brother's new car.

[phomp]

It takes a LOT more than a single drive to burn out a clutch. The thing was on its last legs and just happened to go while he was driving. I punish my clutch every time I take my subie into sand/mud and I'm at 140k on the original. I don't think I could ruin one in 20 minutes if I tried my hardest. MAYBE if you floored it and let it out REAL slow... but if you were in the car you would have stopped it, plus it'd take forever at every stoplight/stop sign.

When one lets go, it makes a stink.

I saw a CTS with 40k on it and fresh out the caddy dealer (it was a trade-in and was just serviced) get a clutch destroyed in the first few drives by the new owner.. lol Though this is an exception, not an regular occurance. It was in the winter, and he got stuck in snow and did not know what to do and destroyed a perfectly good clutch in less than 10 minutes.. haha.

[stealth]

267k kms....that car is skating on july ice. I'm surprised a dealer would keep something with that much mileage in stock.