Milodon - Faulty Part causes Mega Damage!

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I had a Milodon oil pump pick fail due to a missed welding step at their factory. The result of this failure is over $2,000 of engine damge due to ZERO oil pressure.

Milodon admitted that the part was faulty, but continues to avoid, dodge, and side step any responsibility to make me whole again.

My advice is to avoid Milodon unless you want to deal with a company that takes no responsibility for its' actions.
 
so I take it this was an aftermarket part then...

Ive seen warranties that claim that their liability is only up to the pruchase price of the item that was faulty.

This would stink big time - especially given the critical nature of the part that you experienced initial causative failure using.

If it was a critical weld of the component, I dont see how someone not reasonably skilled and trained in the trade could know, if pulling the item out of the box and installing it (I assume that you are not a professional mechanic, and that you installed it yourself, right?). That said, you installed it in good faith that the price you paid guaranteed a quality product, and they didnt return that favor.

IMO, you ought to be compensated for the engine, due to the critical nature of the part... of course there is probably some 'language' in there that makes their liability less severe... chalk one up to the lawyer's monopoly screwing the small guy yet again.

I hope that it does turn out suitably for you.. keep us posted!

JMH
 
Ummm...Folks, aftermarket companies do not warranty anything other than the part they provide. I will not debate whether this is fair or unfair. If you want to modify your cars with aftermarket parts, then you are playing a potentially expensive game for your own amusement. I modify everything I own and I have paid, and paid, and paid. And learned and learned and learned.
 
By application, I mean:
how was the engine being used at the time of failure?
How many miles between instalation and the point of failure?
How long (seconds) after detection of the failure did you run the engine before stopping the engine?
How many miles were on the oil at the time of failure?
What was the oil level at the time of failure?
 
The engine had about 1500 miles on it.

The zero oil pressure happened on a cold start up.

The oil level was full (Shell Rotella 15w-40 and a Mobil 1 filter). Oil had about 100 miles on it.

The engine ran about 25-30 seconds with no oil pressure.

Bearings had signs of copper.

Lifters had signs of going flat.

The labor is the expensive part, as the engine has to be totally disassembled and cleaned. Then, honed, new bearings, new rings, new gaskets, etc.
 
I bought the part from Summit Racing. They were involved in the discussions with Milodon.

Today, the president of Summit, Ray Tatko, contacts me and tells me that he will give me a 20% discount on all the parts I need to get my car back on the road.

This is what a first class customer service company does: they step up tp the plate and support their customers!

Summit has proven to me that they are the best of the best, and I will buy all my parts from them forever.

Milodon is still dragging their feet on this.
 
quote:

Originally posted by My442:
I bought the part from Summit Racing. They were involved in the discussions with Milodon.

Today, the president of Summit, Ray Tatko, contacts me and tells me that he will give me a 20% discount on all the parts I need to get my car back on the road.

This is what a first class customer service company does: they step up tp the plate and support their customers!

Summit has proven to me that they are the best of the best, and I will buy all my parts from them forever.

Milodon is still dragging their feet on this.


Wow! That's impressive on the part of Summit.
 
quote:

Originally posted by carock:
Ummm...Folks, aftermarket companies do not warranty anything other than the part they provide. I will not debate whether this is fair or unfair. (...snip...)

Good, 'cause there isn't anything to debate. Hint: warranty isn't necessarily the only legal mechanism that might apply here (which do depends upon the law of the jurisdictions involved). This guy needs to consult with a lawyer in his jurisdiction to make sure he's not overlooking an effective device to enforce responsibility against those who refuse to accept it. Since this looks like a four-figure case, one of the first things I'd be looking for would be an attorney fee shifting provision. This would be important as legal fees and costs could "eat up" a straight damages assessment. On the other hand, if Milodon was confronted with the spectre of paying not only for the damage, but also for 442's atty fees, I think they'd be looking to settle ASAP.

Again, even if he doesn't hire one, he needs to talk to a lawyer -- now.
 
Another thought: this situation reminds me of the silly sign I saw on the back of a dumptruck recently. It read something like, "NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR DAMAGE CAUSED BY FALLING CARGO" (or something to that effect). This is about as effective as me taping a sign to my chest that says, "NOT RESPONSIBLE IF I DECIDE TO PUT A BULLET IN YOUR HEAD". At any rate, my semi-official lawyer's response to both would be "BULLSHIP"! Seriously though, whether or not a warranty disclaimer will be effective in any given case depends upon the particular facts of the case, and other legal remedies may well be available too -- which leads to the same conclusion -- see a local lawyer.
cheers.gif
 
The lawyer's monopoly strikes again... ths only solution for the small guy to get anything when he is hurt... and its most always prohibitively expensive
rolleyes.gif


JMH
 
I wonder if you could take them to small claims court. Judges have been known to favor the small guy against a big company. You don't need and can't use an attorney and that will save you money. The legal fees could easly exceed the judgment value.
 
Down here, there's a limit of liability to not pay for consequential damage caused by a failure. In my industry, say a bled steam valve broke and failed to close, even while under warranty, and caused water to enter the turbine, causing $20M damage, the supplier and installer of the valve would be liable for their failure, not the turbine damage.

If we thought that they had been negligent in some manner which caused the failure, then we would try to access their insurance, through our legal people.

Not nice, but it's how it works.
 
Shannow:

An interesting point, and I've heard of such provisions in various other jurisdictions. In the sort of scenario you describe, the execs and their legal staff could be expected to draft their agreements carefully to protect themselves and to maintain balance in the transaction. A utility needs parts for a big turbine, and the parts mfr wants a big lucrative sale. They'll probably agree to some provisions that allow the sale to go through, and offer some protection to the utility with the big expensive machine. If I was the legal advisor to the turbine owner, I'd get vendors "A" and "B" competing to see who'd provide the most generous protection under the contract, drafting my way around any general limits found in the statutes.
 
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