another mechanic deal with it,
and you elect him.
You were charging her how much
to fix the car?
>> Ch--
>> Judge Judy: Listen to me very
carefully.
Don't waffle around.
>> Total charge, including the
motor, was $1,800.
>> Judge Judy: $1,800?
>> Including the engine, which
the engine itself was $1,000.
>> I have documentation that
shows that he told me the engine
cost $800.
>> Judge Judy: How much do you
say he was going to charge you
to get the car running?
>> $1,800 total.
And that was the engine and the
new exhaust.
>> Judge Judy: $1,800...
>> There was no --
>> Judge Judy: ...total.
Why did it need a new exhaust
system?
>> In the past, we had had leaks
in the exhaust.
My son and I both --
I grew up doing mild mechanic
work, so my son and I had both
got underneath and done some
patchwork on the exhaust.
It hadn't lasted.
We were willing to make this
investment.
It's a vehicle we wanted to
last, so we were doing the
engine.
We wanted to do the exhaust.
>> Judge Judy: I mean, it's not
as if the car belonged to your
favorite uncle.
You bought the car from somebody
whose name you had to look up.
>> I don't disagree with that,
yet I had done extensive
mechanic work -- I invested
additional money in mechanic
work -- on this vehicle before
it had got to him.
It was in supreme running
condition at that time.
>> Judge Judy: It wasn't in
supreme running condition.
It wasn't running at all for
three months.
It sat in your driveway for
three months.
>> Right.
>> Judge Judy: And you had to
tow it.
You had to tow it to --
>> While making the decision of,
"Do we take on --
We only have this much money.
Do we take on --"
>> Judge Judy: Don't try to talk
louder than me.you don't
look like unintelligent people,
and if I paid $1,100 for a car
that I drove for a year and the
car broke down, I would say,
"Boy, I got my money's worth out
of this car."
You know?
For 100 bucks a month, my son
had a car, he drove it around,
it stopped running.
I'm gonna get 50 bucks from the
trash yard and go and buy
another fair, running car for
$1,000 the same month and year
instead of paying twice as
[Laughing] much for a new engine
and exhaust system.
It just sounds ridiculous to me!
>> The exhaust sys--
>> Judge Judy: Does it sound
ridiculous to you?
>> Byrd: Yeah. I guess so.
>> And the exhaust system,
Your Honor --
>> Judge Judy: Just a second.
So, my question to you is, you
brought him a non-running car.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And you paid
for it.
You paid him...
>> The $1,800.
>> Judge Judy: You paid him the
$1,800, and then you went with
your husband, I assume, because
you had to be driven to the
mechanic's shop, so now you're
in two cars.
>> Correct, and we'd already --
>> Judge Judy: Shh, shh!
You were in two cars.
We're gonna do this easy and
fast because this is not a
fascinating case for me.
>> [ Chuckles ]
[ Light laughter ]
>> Judge Judy: And you drove --
You didn't tow the car home,
right?
So, you brought him a
non-running car, and you drove
it off his lot.
>> No, we did not.
>> Judge Judy: How did you get
it off his lot?
>> We got less than a block down
the road --
>> Judge Judy: No, just a sec!
>> But I have video showing you
of exactly what the truck was
doing.
>> Judge Judy: Listen to me.
>> And then I had to have it
towed home.
>> Judge Judy: Are you trying to
talk over me?
It's not gonna --
I can talk over you 'cause it's
my show.
You can't talk over me.
The answer is, yes, you drove it
out of his shop.
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: You didn't get
far...
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: But you drove --
You brought him in a non-running
car that hadn't been started in
three months, and you drove the
car out of his shop...
>> Yes, ma'am.
>> Judge Judy: ...which means it
had a new motor or a rebuilt
motor.
They don't make new motors for a
1998 car.
I assume it was a refurbished
motor.
>> It was a used motor.
>> It was also not installed
correctly.
>> Judge Judy: What?
>> It was also not installed
correctly.
>> Which we have
documentation of.
>> Judge Judy: You don't have
documentation 'cause you don't
have a mechanic.
I see no chairs there.ow, I thik
you're nice people.
[ Chuckles ]
I think your judgment was poor
in investing, in a 20-year-old
car, twice as much as what you
paid for it, and if you took it
to a different mechanic and a
different mechanic
now tells you --
You know, every mechanic is
gonna say to you, "The last
mechanic who worked on this car
was awful, and now, because you
need a new kafuzzle and you need
an addendum to the kafuzzle and
you need a new transmission --"
And I'm not saying he's a great
mechanic, but you're not gonna
get any money from him because
you brought a car in that was
not running and you drove the
car off his lot.
>> And I don't --
>> Judge Judy: And if you got a
block or a mile or whatever and
if something else went wrong
with the car and now it needed a
new transmission and then the
exhaust wasn't --
>> Uh, we never said it needed a
new transmission.
>> Judge Judy: What?
>> We just said it wouldn't
shift gears correctly.
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Well, if it
doesn't shift gears --
I don't know. I'm stupid.
I'm a television personality.
I always knew that if you
couldn't shift gears,
that it was...
>> Byrd: Transmission.
>> Judge Judy: ...transmission.
>> And a lot of that came down
to transmission fluid.
>> Judge Judy: Your case is
dismissed.
Go buy your son a new car.