[GA] How Do I Establish Diminished Value?

[u/tdpdcpa]

Location: Georgia

I own a 2015 Subaru Crosstrek XV and was planning on taking it for a 13-hour drive from my home in GA to my in-laws in NJ. To be certain the car was ready for the drive, I took the car to a local shop to get a quick spot check and see if it was ready for such a long drive. While we were there, they started performing some of the 60,000 mile maintenance activities. I didn't necessarily want them to, but I figured that it would have been a "nice to have".

The next day, we set out on our journey. About 40 minutes/36 miles in, we seemed to have an issue where power wasn't going to the wheels; as in, I had to apply more gas to get the same amount of speed out of the car. The car made noises as if it was struggling. The "AT OIL TEMP" warning light came on and a burnt rubber smell began emanating from the vehicle. I promptly pulled off the highway. The car struggled around turns until we made it to a parking lot, after which the car would not move. We hailed a tow truck and had the car towed back to our house.

The shop that inspected it brought the car in to evaluate what happened. They indicated that it was the fluid that they used in the transmission that caused the issue. They indicated that they didn't have the Subaru-recommended CVT fluid in the shop the first time we visited and, instead, used an alternative fluid, as per their system "AllData". They indicated to us that they replaced the fluid with the correct fluid. The car seemed to function properly, but after driving, there was a "burnt rubber" type smell. This smell persisted until I took the car to the Subaru dealership for further inspection.

I took the car into Subaru to have them take a look and told them specifically about the issues I was having. They performed a fluid exchange on the transmission. On the receipt, Subaru noted that the fluid used appeared to be gear fluid and not CVT fluid.

I'm taking the original shop to small claims court for actual damages (the cost of the original services rendered on the car, the cost of the tow truck, and the cost incurred by Subaru in replacing the old fluid). My questions for r/legaladvice are:

1. Am I allowed to sue for diminished value? and
2. How do I establish diminished value?

My thoughts on diminished value are as follows:

1. It is very likely that my transmission is irreparably damaged, but it's unknown or unknowable the extent to which it is damaged and if it will need to be replaced within the life of the car. The informal quote that I received from the Subaru dealership is that the cost of a replacement transmission would be $8-9K, but I don't have this in writing.
2. It is unknown whether this event had an effect on the trade-in value at an unrelated third-party dealership, if we were to ever trade this car in. I'm not sure that differences in Kelly Blue Book values are admissible as evidence either.

Any help is appreciated.

[u/aaronw22]

Since it wasn’t an “accident” I’m not sure there will be any diminished value. I wouldn’t try that angle but just go for the whole new transmission.

In fact with a new (rebuilt?) transmission you might come out ahead compared to cars of similar vintage / miles. Like if the A/C compressor was replaced recently - that’s an item that can give out and having a new one is “better” than the old one.

I don’t know enough about the situation to say if the shop is liable for the entire transmission cost though. That’s probably an issue for their insurer to figure out. GA small claims limit is 15K and get as much documentation from the dealer as you can to show the necessity of the new transmission.

[u/tdpdcpa → u/aaronw22]

I think that’s ultimately the problem I’ll run into on #1.

Technically, the car is still operable. I drove it to work about 10 times since taking it to the dealership and the dealership technicians said that they don’t advise a transmission replacement (although they say they can’t guarantee that it won’t need one). My fear is that it will be a difficult argument to make to say that’s the full value of my damages if a replacement isn’t required per a qualified technician.

My thought on #2 is that it’s probably a better approximation of the true damages that I’ve incurred, but it’s more difficult to prove since fair value is such a situationally-dependent concept.

[u/Zanctmao → u/[deleted]]

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