Going After Honda.

I have a Honda that I’ve driven for 8 years. I bought it new and maintained it properly. I was lukewarm about the car when I bought it, but I’ve come to love it for its reliability and fuel economy. I mention this because about two weeks ago, the air conditioner blew up. I took it to the dealership near my house, and they told me that the price tag to fix the things was $1975. Given that the car is only worth about $5,000, I decided to take a pass.

In the absence of the air conditioner however, the car does not defrost so well, which is a pain in the neck. So I started looking around the Internet for parts, and I discovered that a plaintiff’s litigation firm in New Jersey is investigating a class action lawsuit against Honda for (you guessed it) crappy air conditioners.

Now I am of two minds about this. Part of me thinks that a lot of plaintiff’s litigation is specious. Sometimes, stuff doesn’t work and that’s nobody’s fault. I think that a lot of plaintiff’s litigation uses a class of people who really do need some help as a cudgel to beat cash out of companies, very little of which trickles down to those affected.

I also think however that sometimes, the only recourse people have against big corporations and their Congressional friends is litigation. If a company knowingly puts out a sub-standard product that is prone to break, why should I be on the hook for two large?

So tell me loyal readers, what’s a boy to do?