Suing car manufacturers in small claims court costs less and gets attention

Have unresolved repairs or empty promises left you unhappy with the car you bought?

There's a way to get the manufacturer's attention and at a small price.

Heather Peters of Torrance, Calif. did it.

Heather bought a 2006 Honda Civic hybrid and says because of problems, it gets less gas mileage than promised.

Honda has admitted some batteries on some of the cars might fail earlier than expected, leading to more gas usage.

A proposed class action settlement would put about $100 cash and a rebate for a new car in her pocket.
 
Heather didn't like that and didn't want to pay a lot for an attorney, so she's suing in small claims court.

In her area, the court allows up to a $10,000 judgment and it doesn't allow attorneys.

That includes no attorney for Honda.

In Maricopa County small claims court, no attorneys are allowed in most cases, and it allows up to a $2,500 judgment.

That's still much more than most people get from class action suits.

And it costs just $51 to file the suit.

Here's more information about Maricopa Small Claims Court.

And here's information about using small claims court in the Honda cases.

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