Friend borrowed car, severly damaged engine

[Milton Goldin]

I live in Houston County, Georgia. A friend borrowed my very expensive, highly modified car. About 5 hours later, he called me and said "I'm at Kroger on highway 96, the car just quit running. And there is smoke under the hood. It might smell like anti--freeze."
When I arrived at the car 5 minutes later, the temperature gauge was pegged high and the car had the classic "burned engine" smell. I have a text message from him stating how he remembered my instructions during a "test drive" during which I instructed him on how to operate the car, including constantly monitoring the engine oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges.
I wasn't there, so I don't know if he was operating the car correctly or raced it or over boosted the turbo-chargers or simply didn't pay attention to the gauges. But as a veteran of nearly 50 years of building/operating/repairing these kinds of motors, I know (and will soon have professional substantiation) that the engine was destroyed by prolonged operation while overheating. Inspection so far shows:
1, No coolant in either the radiator or the block.
2. Zero oil pressure while cranking (should be at least 20 psi, normally).
3. Zero compression.
4. Engine will not attempt to start
5. Oil on dipstick smells "burnt".
6. Evidence of oil blown out of breathers by excessive heat.
7. Evidence of coolant being blown on engine parts.

My friend is saying he only drove it for 45 minutes, so it couldn't be his fault. My position is he failed to exercise due diligence in that he failed to notice the car was overheating and in fact, seemed surprised the temperature gauge was pegged high when I got there. After sitting for two hours, the temperature gauge reading dropped to half gauge, then to "cold" overnight, indicating the gauge was and is functioning properly. He says there must have been a leak before he got the car. I've not had to add the first drop of coolant in a year of operation and the car was warmed up for 10-15 before he took it, no leaks, no overheating. There are no coolant or oil stains in my driveway. There were no coolant or oil stains at the site where the car quit running. This indicates the coolant leaked out somewhere else during the period he had the car. For all I know, he got into a street race, over boosted the turbo chargers and blew coolant out, causing the car to overheat. But even that would not cause the engine damage I see. The car had to have been operated for a prolonged period while it was overheating to cause what has happened. And for that to happen, either he didn't pay attention to the temperature gauge, or it failed. Since the gauge has shown proper operation from the time I arrived until now, I conclude he failed to notice the overheating. At best he failed to protect the engine by continuing to operate it while it was overheating because he wasn't paying attention. At worst, he blew the engine up while racing the car and then tried to pawn it off as an "it just happened, not my fault" deal.
Repairs will be many thousands of dollars (in the $6-8000.00 range) even if I do all the work myself at no charge.
The Georgia "Small Claims" system is called "Magistrate's Court" and has a damages limit of $15,000.00. While the "Kelly Blue Book" value of a stock vehicle is likely to only be in the range of $5-6000, he knew this car, especially the engine, was far more valuable and agreed that if he broke it, he would be responsible to repair it.
Opinions? Sue in "Small Claims"? Take some other action (If so, what)?

[sandyclaus]

Originally Posted by Milton Goldin I live in Houston County, Georgia. A friend borrowed my very expensive, highly modified car. About 5 hours later, he called me and said "I'm at Kroger on highway 96, the car just quit running. And there is smoke under the hood. It might smell like anti--freeze." When I arrived at the car 5 minutes later, the temperature gauge was pegged high and the car had the classic "burned engine" smell. I have a text message from him stating how he remembered my instructions during a "test drive" during which I instructed him on how to operate the car, including constantly monitoring the engine oil pressure and coolant temperature gauges. I wasn't there, so I don't know if he was operating the car correctly or raced it or over boosted the turbo-chargers or simply didn't pay attention to the gauges. But as a veteran of nearly 50 years of building/operating/repairing these kinds of motors, I know (and will soon have professional substantiation) that the engine was destroyed by prolonged operation while overheating. Inspection so far shows: 1, No coolant in either the radiator or the block. 2. Zero oil pressure while cranking (should be at least 20 psi, normally). 3. Zero compression. 4. Engine will not attempt to start 5. Oil on dipstick smells "burnt". 6. Evidence of oil blown out of breathers by excessive heat. 7. Evidence of coolant being blown on engine parts. My friend is saying he only drove it for 45 minutes, so it couldn't be his fault. My position is he failed to exercise due diligence in that he failed to notice the car was overheating and in fact, seemed surprised the temperature gauge was pegged high when I got there. After sitting for two hours, the temperature gauge reading dropped to half gauge, then to "cold" overnight, indicating the gauge was and is functioning properly. He says there must have been a leak before he got the car. I've not had to add the first drop of coolant in a year of operation and the car was warmed up for 10-15 before he took it, no leaks, no overheating. There are no coolant or oil stains in my driveway. There were no coolant or oil stains at the site where the car quit running. This indicates the coolant leaked out somewhere else during the period he had the car. For all I know, he got into a street race, over boosted the turbo chargers and blew coolant out, causing the car to overheat. But even that would not cause the engine damage I see. The car had to have been operated for a prolonged period while it was overheating to cause what has happened. And for that to happen, either he didn't pay attention to the temperature gauge, or it failed. Since the gauge has shown proper operation from the time I arrived until now, I conclude he failed to notice the overheating. At best he failed to protect the engine by continuing to operate it while it was overheating because he wasn't paying attention. At worst, he blew the engine up while racing the car and then tried to pawn it off as an "it just happened, not my fault" deal. Repairs will be many thousands of dollars (in the $6-8000.00 range) even if I do all the work myself at no charge. The Georgia "Small Claims" system is called "Magistrate's Court" and has a damages limit of $15,000.00. While the "Kelly Blue Book" value of a stock vehicle is likely to only be in the range of $5-6000, he knew this car, especially the engine, was far more valuable and agreed that if he broke it, he would be responsible to repair it. Opinions? Sue in "Small Claims"? Take some other action (If so, what)?

You would be entitled to the value of the vehicle - no more and no less. If the vehicle was modified, then it's up to YOU to prove the additional value over and above the Blue Book value (which would factor in age, depreciation, condition, etc). It doesn't matter what he knew or didn't know. The fact that the modifications on the engine were done by you might make it difficult to estimate its value at the time that the damage occurred. On top of that, your own time and work put into it really don't count towards the actual value, either.

If you choose to take the case to regular civil court over Small Claims, consider that the procedures are far more complicated and the process is likely to take a year or more as opposed to the expedited process of Small Claims. The other party will probably hire an attorney (as would you), and the cost of your attorney's fees may or may not be able to be recovered as part of your case.

Thank you for your prompt response. Proving value won't be hard. I have/can get receipts for all the parts and the machine work. The vast majority of the value of the engine is documented. My personal labor is restricted to installation of the engine into the vehicle. Since "Small Claims" limit in Georgia is $15,000.00, I feel comfortable filing there. The big question for me is how likely am I to win? I know I will have at least two independent professionals, one a qualified Mitsubishi Master Technician, the other the owner of the machine shop who originally built the engine, who has over 25 years experience and is a certified Master Machinist who will testify that the damage was due to prolonged overheating. He will have nothing but his testimony and that of his girlfriend who was with him.Opinion on likelihood of success?

[Friend In Court]

The first job you will have in trying to collect from your friend is having a third party expert identify the cause of your car's total meltdown and breakdown.

You admit your car was highly modified, not factory stock, so there are many things that could have possibly been done improperly during the modification. Work you did yourself may not have been up to standard.

Properly built race cars run for hours without breaking down [Daytona 500, e.g.) and stock factory cars do not break down when run for 45 minutes.

My best guess is that if you file suit at this point, your suit will fail for lack of proof that the person who borrowed the car was negligent.

[Milton Goldin]

Except that the vehicle in question has been operating without issue for over a year in exactly the state of modification as when it was borrowed. I understand I was not present and so can not know what he may or may not have done improperly. I already have two third party expert affidavits stating the damage was due to prolonged (greater than 10 minutes) operation with the engine in an overheated condition. In other words, he failed to stop driving for at least 10 minutes after the temperature gauge indicated the engine was overheating.

Originally Posted by Friend In Court The first job you will have in trying to collect from your friend is having a third party expert identify the cause of your car's total meltdown and breakdown. You admit your car was highly modified, not factory stock, so there are many things that could have possibly been done improperly during the modification. Work you did yourself may not have been up to standard. Properly built race cars run for hours without breaking down [Daytona 500, e.g.) and stock factory cars do not break down when run for 45 minutes. My best guess is that if you file suit at this point, your suit will fail for lack of proof that the person who borrowed the car was negligent.