Took my car in for service this morning, had a bad grinding noise after I had the Summer tires put on. They say it has a bad wheel bearing, and would NOT be covered under warranty. They said the wheel had some scrapes on it so they deduced that I curbed the wheel. $370 out of my pocket. I do not recall ever curbing the wheel, especially not so bad as to take out the wheel bearing.

Do you think I have any recourse here, or am I screwed?

 

I would have thought they were playing an april fools joke on me if they said that. Are you sure they werent joking?

Someone (maybe the police) would have had to drag me out...theres no way I would have left on my own accord.
Tell them you didnt curb the wheel. Tell them it was a pothole. They cant void your warranty. They cant just make up possibilites without any proof. Its equally likely the dammage was done with the wheel off the car. Go to another dealer if they wont do it.

Im mad just thinking about it and it didnt even happen to me. I feel for ya

 

You can also try to write letters to the dealership owner....tell him you wouldnt mind standing outside the dealership during business hours telling potential customers what asses they are (you prolly have a life, but you can say that). Maybe call mitsu corporate and see what they say about it. Call other dealerships.

 

If the scrapes are minor I would first tell the service writer that this is bogus and you want to speak with the service manager. Be nice and if he/she won't fix it I would tell the service manager that you want to speak with the Mitsu zone rep. If this does not work put the wheel with scrapes on it on a different corner and take the car to another dealer. Be nice and professional.

 

UPDATE:

To be sure, I did take my car to another dealership. They came back and said the wheel bearings are COMPLETELY FINE. I told them to check the wheel bearings after what the first dealership told me. They said the noise is a combination of my new Ferado 2500 pads and the tires being worn and cupped. I can see about the tires in that they have sat in my garage for 6 months and are pretty worn. This makes me really not trust Mitsubishi mechanics. It seems the second dealership treated me a lot better though, and seemed more knowledagable.

 

Some dealers are definitely better than others. A good lesson to find a dealer you can trust, even if you have to go a ways to get there. I bet thats a relief eh?