Transmission Destroyed By Python 871xp

I agree 100%.  Though I did not work in the install bay at BB I knew the head installer and I know he did a good job.  I can't vouch for some of the others we've had, but after I left BB I heard he left too and I wouldn't trust some of the clowns that are back there now.

Funny thing is, one day I was talking to him behind the install bay during a smoke break.  He told me he was leaving in the summer and had I not been leaving too (for personal reasons) he would have requested that I take his place.  I told him that would probably not work as I not only didn't have any professional experience but I didn't have any certfication either.  He said despite that he'd rather have me than some of the people that he had back there.  Clearly, that says a lot about the other installers working there.

Today, the person that was the warehouse manager when I worked there is now the head installer.  He was an OK manager, but he wouldn't TOUCH my car.

Bump.

What happened?

Inquiring minds want to know.

I relplied a couple of days pages about this. It was solved and the guy got nothing but circuit had to pay something like $39 to fix one wire. Not sure which one but it was nothing big. Heard this from someone working on the store.

Also just an fyi for everyone, this is now the 5th most replied to post on the12volt.com

I’m very sorry about the long delay in posting the outcome of the litigation. My intention was to reserve the first round of comments for myself, posting both the outcome and my initial comments at the same time. As mentioned earlier, this is a very busy time of year for me and fortunately I entered an intensely productive period immediately following the judge’s decision. And I also wanted to flush out a mole.

I was awarded $34.00 total compensation: $19.00 to cover the cost of another installation shop to “reconnect wires” and the $15.00 court cost. Not surprisingly, Circuit City hasn’t paid anything, so now I have to file additional paperwork to seize property they own in Erie County, New York. I guess I can shop around for $34 in merchandise at any of their local stores and have the Sheriff’s Department enforce my judgment (When they ask at the checkout, “will that be cash or credit card?” I get to reply neither; it will be the sheriff!). I can also file for a revocation of their business license based on their failure to comply with the court’s ruling.

Of course I’m not happy with the judge’s ruling, and of course I have a lot of comments to make about this case and the proceedings.   I learned a lot about aftermarket automotive electronics installation, about “big box” stores, about DEI products and the company, about the Better Business Bureau, and about small claims court in Amherst, New York. I will defer commenting on these topics until later and finish this posting with only two brief comments.

First, this was never about “the angry customer vs. the installer.” I thought the installer made an honest mistake, or perhaps I was unfortunate enough to receive one of those rare defective products from DEI (I know, several people have already commented in essence that DEI’s quality control is better than NASA’s quality control—to this I have no comment; you’ve left me speechless.). Circuit City and DEI both refused to even consider these possibilities and no one from these companies would examine the installation or the alarm itself. And yes, the transmission didn’t fail until I drove several minutes down the road, but it did fail within a HALF SECOND of deactivating the anticarjacking feature of the alarm while driving. Second, my feelings about the court proceedings can be summarized very succinctly—I was awarded the $19.00 charge from another installation shop for connecting to the proper ‘tach wire.’ In actuality, it was a single wire not “wires” as stated in the award and the cost was $19.00 PLUS 8.75% sales tax (totaling $20.66 charged by the other installation shop for reconnecting the wire not $19.00). I know this is going way over the heads of some readers, but hopefully at least a few will appreciate how carefully the judge presided over this case.   More details to follow . . .

Now, those of you who don’t understand why you should have wanted the customer to ‘win’ can start your round of hurrahs! I’ll try to explain later how Circuit City’s apparent victory may cost YOU business in the final analysis and to elaborate on the other subtopics spawned by this thread.

Thank you for taking the time to respond.  A lot of us were very curious as to how this would turn out, not because we had an interest in the case but because it's something that could happen at any time (coincidental failure or failure from installation mistake).

I still sympothize with your entire experiance with Circuit City.  Things should have been different.  I hope that the crew at that roadshop doesn't stick around long, as they truely don't know about customer service, the single most important aspect of working with the general public.

After reading this in its entirety, I was concerned how you came about rationalizing that the alarm could cause this failure without hard proof.  

If the tach wire connected to the incorrect wire could cause the engine to idle incorrectly (which I could easily forsee), I cannot understand how it could destroy a transmission.   You would have needed to give hard facts that the wire controlled the tranny etc...