Dealership Remote Starts Customer's Mustang Into Pond ....

[npuk]

Dealership Remote Starts Customer's Mustang Into Pond, Car Totalled

Mustangforums member "luckydawg003" wasn't so lucky when he took his remote starter-equipped, manual transmission Mustang GT to Brandon Ford in Florida for some service. They remote-started the car in gear and it ended up submerged in a holding pond.

According to lucky, he was at the dealer to pick up his car after some warranty work when the service agent came out with some bad news. When he was going to get the car the agent remote-started the 'Stang while it was in gear with the parking brake off. The car fired up and took off through an empty parking spot, went under a chain link fence and powered itself into a holding pond off the dealer lot where it sank beneath the water.

The dealer has refused to admit responsibility for the incident claiming the lack of a neutral safety switch on the system absolves them of responsibility. The soggy Mustang is totaled and the matter is now in the hands of the insurance companies.

What do you think? Does the dealership owe this guy a new car or is the Mustang owner culpable for installing a remote start system on his car without a neutral safety switch (or for installing a remote starter on a manually equipped car in the first place)?

More pictures at: Dealership Remote Starts Customer's Mustang Into Pond, Car Totalled - mustang gt - Jalopnik

 

[Charles Morgan]

Hilarious!

One thing is for certain - many lawyers will get richer over that case.

 

[grober]

This is actually a cover up. Unattributable sources have revealed that the car is actually the television star " KITT" from the Knight Rider Series. His agent admitted today that the star is experiencing "substance dependency issues" and let slip the incident occurred after a " knight on the p*ss" . The Betty Ford clinic was unavailable for comment but several gallons of Wynns injector cleaner arrived at the hospital this morning.

 

[MercFanUk]

I say the dealer is responsible. Imagine another scenario with an automatic convertible roof operated by a keyfob - if the engineer parked it under a low roof, and the dealer operated it, and it ruined the roof - they'd be responsible.

At the end of the day, the engineer should have had the car in park, and/or with a handbrake on at the very least... Anything less is just careless (On such a new car where the parking brake would surely hold it on anything but a sever incline, negating the need to leave it in any gear really).

 

[Gridlock]

You can get manual American cars now?

Typically, they still fit remote start though...

 

[jaymanek]

smells like bull to me..

all decent remote start kits have a neutral safety switch.

 

[A210AMG]

^ as above it wouldn't just launch forward and have a saftey switch if left in gear.