It's said "..in the last days, perilous times shall come. Men will be lovers of their own selves..."
After getting our Honda Pilot repaired and back to "before the accident status," which in and of itself was a battle with the insurance company, we sold it. Not because of the accident, but because my DH is now commuting 80 miles a day, and 15-18 miles a gallon isn't cutting it. Believe me, it hurt. I love that Honda Pilot. The last battle with the insurance company was repairing the transmission: they only wanted to fix the cosmetic stuff, we required that the transmission be repaired, to which after 8 weeks, they finally acquiesced. In the process, we decided to take it to a name-brand transmission company: AAMCO, so that we would not have any problems in the future.
This is what AAMCO's written policy states: 12 months or 12,000 miles limited warranty; WHO IS COVERED: (in caps and bold on their documents): The person on this original repair bill and any subsequent owner.
That's a pretty cool policy. It gave us confidence that a person buying the vehicle could buy with relative confidence.
Two days ago I received a phone call from the guy who bought the Honda. It was kind of a shock (and I admit, a little worrisome.) He got my phone number off the transmission paperwork. I left it intentionally in the car, but didn't actually realize it had my address and phone number on it...or I probably would have blackened that out or something. Anyway...
He called and said the transmission was acting up, that he had called AAMCO of Huntington Beach where we had the work done, and they refused to honor the warranty stating "it was not transferable" is there something I could do to help him out? I'm like, what do you want me to do? (Cuz I'm thinking, I'm not PAYING you money if that's what you're asking for.) He said, could you maybe call them and get them to honor the warranty?
I thought, yeah, I can do that. So I called the General Manager who had been so helpful before. I guess it's only when they are TAKING your money that they are helpful. His position was, "AAMCO policy is it's not transferable" and he was adamant about it. He further queried, "why are you even involving yourself in this? It's not your problem anymore, just stop taking his phone calls."
And therein lies the crux of the matter. I relied on a warranty ("your word") to sell the vehicle in good conscience. I gave "my word" that the vehicle had certain known defects (accident, repair) and the buyer accepted "my word" that the defects were under warranty.
You don't get to make me a liar because you are.
So I had the buyer scan me a copy of the front and back, checked AAMCO's website. All said the same thing: Original purchaser and any subsequent owner are covered.
So I typed up a letter which I served in person this morning, in the event I could not get them to see reason this morning. It went like this:
"If you are reading this letter, delivered to you or your General Manager in person, it is because all attempts to get you to honor the warranty for my 2005 Honda Pilot performed 26 July 2014, have failed. Litigation will follow.
Contrary to what was stated by your General Manager by telephone yesterday, my receipt and authorization for work performed clearly states: “AAMCO used transmission and transfer case, with AAMCO 12 month/12,000 mile Limited Warranty” and then goes on to describe the Used Transmission and Used Transfer Case.
(GM) stated on the phone to me yesterday, and you stated on the phone to (buyer) yesterday, that “the warranty was not transferable.” Not only is this not what was stated to me in July when I had the work performed upon which I relied in selling the vehicle, it is NOT AAMCO policy, which is clearly stated on the back of the receipt in terms and conditions of a 12 month/12,000 mile limited warranty which states “WHO IS COVERED: The customer listed on this repair order, and any subsequent owner of the vehicle.”
(Buyer) phone number is XXX. I hope to hear from him or you within 30 minutes of the delivery of this letter that you have decided to honor the warranty. That is how long it
will take for me to reach (xxx) Court and file litigation."
My meeting with the AAMCO GM was unfruitful. He attempted to tell me that I had purchased AAMCO's total car care, a service which covers consumables: brakes, oil changes, routine maintenance etc, which IS NOT transferable, and that the line which states Aamco TTC is not transferable means anything performed at Aamco is not transferable.
I've put on a bit of weight since I retired from suing people for a living, and I don't Dress for Success anymore, so I must just look stupid. At that point I just closed the meeting, delivered the letter and left for court.
I went to court, found out they moved civil litigation to a different courthouse in the center of the county which didn't fit with my timetable this morning, so lucky for AAMCO, I missed my self imposed 30 minute deadline. Ironically, I was at the intersection of the next courthouse this afternoon when the AAMCO owner called me. He told me he needed more time to "read my repair documents, and could I give him until Monday?"
I said, "I'm at the courthouse intersection. As soon as I find a parking place, I'm filing litigation. So you've got maybe 20 or 30 minutes," reiterated the letter, added the part about the GM trying to use Aamco TTC as a way to get out of the warranty and hung up.
25 minutes later I got a phone call back from AAMCO telling me the buyer had an appointment on Monday, they'll take care of him from here on out, 27 minutes I got a text and thanks from the buyer for my help.
So what's the point of this blogpost?
It's really simple: WE NEED TO BE PERSONS OF INTEGRITY.
Sure, technically speaking, this issue wasn't my problem. Technically speaking, the buyer way overstepped his boundaries in contacting me and asking for help. If the warranty had actually said "not transferable" he and I would have had a different conversation. But when I give my word, I keep it. And I expect that when you give me your word, you're going to keep it to the best of your ability. And I believe in karma: that what you cast out on the waters eventually makes its way back to you.
In the end, it will all work out. Hopefully AAMCO will keep their word. It cost me a little time, and would have cost me a little money to file paperwork (I always go BIG and have the Marshalls serve litigation: nothing gets attention like a man with a badge telling you to go to court !), and I get to feel like I made a good difference in someone's life today.
And how often do we get to say that?
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