I don't think a lawyer would work on a contingency fee in this case. They only do that in injury claims from what I can tell but it doesn't hurt to ask. Most will give a free consultation and to get a letter sent is probably in the 3-$500 range. Don't try to guess at what the dealer will use as their defence. They are the authorized Cat dealer and it's not like your machine is a brand new model and they've never had one apart. No, it's just one of the most popular engines Cat ever made with thousands of them out there. There is no excuse for them not checking everything out especially after the machine came to them because of a problem with the 1st rebuild. They should have gone through the entire engine, cooling system, oil system and everything else that relates to any kind of engine issues. If they would have fixed your machine properly and charged an extra $1000 or so to re-core the rad you would have been a happy camper. They are playing you as a fool. I don't think they'd want to go to court. A good lawyer finds an experienced independent mechanic or even gets a Cat mechanic or foreman from another dealer to explain what steps should be taken in determining what caused an (unusual) engine problem and these guys are SUNK! After a meeting in a lawyers office, they wouldn't want to go to court.
Let me give you my own personal experience with something similar I went through. Sorry it's a little long. I purchased an older (75) GMC 6500 single axle dump truck several years ago. I paid a premium because it looked in fantastic shape and the seller said it had all new brakes. The seller even had a DOT inspection on it although it isn't required on a single axle truck under 33,000 GVW. Truck ran great and the box was like new. A couple month's later I got a job hauling sand to the local MX track. Everything was going great. I had hauled 39 loads no problem. On the 40th load heading back to the track, I turned on to the gravel road heading to the highway. I was speeding up going about 15 MPH when all of a sudden I heard a loud bang. I looked in the passenger mirror and thought I saw something fly in the ditch but I think it was just dust or something. I stopped and noticed the brake pedal was fluctuating and the truck wasn't stopping like it used to. The truck was loaded and I had about 15 miles to go mostly on back roads. I limped the truck to the track and dumped the load.
Then I limped it in to a brake shop I did snow removal for. They were certified to do commercial vehicle inspections as well. They pulled it apart and the problem was obvious! The passenger side drum (hyd brakes) was almost split in 2 ! The hub was the only thing keeping it together. The brake pads were like brand new but the drums were 120% worn when measured with a drum micrometer. Further inspection showed the wheel bearings were also shot. $2000 later I had proper brakes. The brake pads were so new (99%) they were reused! I contacted a lawyer who assigned an articling student to my claim to save me some $$$. The seller and the company that did the inspection were sent letters. They said it was sold as is and they weren't liable, so a pre trial meeting was set up at the court house with a judge (to see if it could be settled) because they weren't prepared to offer me anything. My lawyer explained the problem and they (the seller had a lawyer) were trying to say it happened a couple month's after the inspection. (the inspection was a big mistake for the seller). I did one better... I put the broken drum in a box and took a small dolly to carry it. After some discussion and deniability I opened the box everyone was wondering about and pulled the drum out. The owner of the inspection shops jaw dropped to the ground. He said he'd never seen a drum split before. The seller knew him because the company the seller used to work at had their trucks serviced there. The owner then said he took the sellers word for it that the brakes were done. He thought the seller had a brother in law that was a HD mechanic and did the brakes. The shop I knew that did brakes said you never take someone's word for it and always pull at least one wheel off when doing an inspection. The manager of that shop was a good friend and offered to come to court if need be. We set up a meeting at my lawyers office and the sellers lawyer was again saying it happened a couple month's after the inspection and it was sold as is. The problem with that is that an inspection is good for a year and should note any potential issues that may need to be addressed in less than a year. It does not explain how you can have 99% pads and drums worn 120%. The shop that fixed my brakes also said a groove on the drum can usually be seen or felt from looking under the truck and is a good indication the drums are worn and the wheel should come off to inspect further.
A couple days later the inspection company asked my lawyer if they could pay for the repairs in 2 payments. They could lose their inspection license. My student lawyer suggested I should get it all at once. I should have taken this offer. I did get $1800 though split between the seller and the inspection shop. I think I paid about $550 for the student lawyer so I did get $1300 of my money back which is certainly better than just walking away. I claimed the legal fee's on my taxes so a got a little bit more back.
STEVE TALK TO A LAWYER!!!
