And did you give her -- quote
her that fee of $900?
>> I told her $800.
>> Judge Judy: Well, then you
did an oil change.
What does that cost?
>> I did not do the oil change
that day.
She came --
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
So, he says he quoted you $800.
Did you pay him either $800 or
$900?
>> Okay, so, maybe it was $800,
but I have a bank statement here
that I took out $900 that day.
>> Judge Judy: I don't -- Listen
to me.
I don't care what you took out.
This is your lawsuit.
>> It was $800.
>> Judge Judy: This is your
lawsuit.
So, you gave him -- Did she pay
you the $800?
>> Yes, ma'am, she did.
>> Judge Judy: Did you replace
the struts?
>> Yes, I did.
>> Judge Judy: Did you leave her
the old parts?
>> Yes, I showed her the old
parts, also.
>> Judge Judy: And on what date
did you return the car to her?
>> Same day.
>> Judge Judy: The same day?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: Okay, so, now you
got the car back the same day?
>> Mm-hmm.
>> Judge Judy: "Uh-huh" is
a yes.
Okay, that's November 16th.
And then what is the next thing
that's germane to this case?
What happened next?
>> Okay, next thing, a few
months go by.
>> Judge Judy: How many months?
>> It was February, so...
>> Judge Judy: February what?
>> Three, four months -- 2017.
>> Judge Judy: So, about three
months later, what happened?
>> I hear a weird sound.
>> Whenever I speed up or turn,
there's a knocking sound
underneath my car.
>> Judge Judy: Okay, but, in
November, December, January,
whenever, up until February, you
drove the car without incident?
>> Correct.
>> Judge Judy: And in February,
this 14-year-old car with
200,000 miles started to have a
weird sound.
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: And what did you
do with it?
>> And then I called my dad, and
I made a recording of the sound.
I said, "Dad, like, what is this
sound?"
He said --
>> Judge Judy: What does your
father do for a living?
>> He's an architect, but he
used to work on cars as a hobby,
like, when he was growing up.
>> Judge Judy: Keep going.
>> So, I asked him, "Is this
bad?"
And he said, "Yeah.
You need to take that to a Honda
service center."
>> Judge Judy: And that's what
you did?
>> And that's what I did.
>> Judge Judy: Right.
>> And then they looked at the
car, and they told me --
>> Judge Judy: You can't tell me
what they told you.
>> Okay, so, I can't tell you
what the mechanic told me?
>> Judge Judy: No.
That's hearsay.
>> Well, I have a witness who's
a mechanic, and he can speak
about this shock.
>> Judge Judy: Absolutely, I'll
hear a witness who's going to
tell me as much as he can about
that shock.
So, Honda replaced all the
shocks.
Did they do anything else
on the car?
>> Yeah, they --
>> Judge Judy: May I please see
the bill from Honda?
>> Here's the receipt and --
>> Judge Judy: I just want to
see what they did on the car.
>> And here's what they did.
>> Judge Judy: Mr. Cardini,
what's a rear stabilizer bar?
>> It's a sway bar -- what
actually stabilizes the car from
going from side to side while
you're driving.
It's part of the suspension.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
You did not replace that?
>> No, but there's a reason why
I didn't replace it.
>> Judge Judy: Why?
>> I called her and texted her,
and then I said, "By the way,
I just noticed also, there's a
sway bar, there's a link that
was broken."
And then she said, "How much
would it be to get that thing
fixed?"
I said, "If you do it now, it'll
be cheaper because everything is
taken apart."
>> Judge Judy: How much would
it be?
>> It would have been like
$100 -- some $70 now or $100 at
a later date, because then you
would have to take everything
apart again.
She goes, "Can I do that on my
way to" wherever she was going?
I said yes, and then I said
also, at the beginning, when she
brought the car.
I said, "Mind you, whenever you
change struts on a car, you have
to get an alignment done.
She asked me if I'd do that.
I said, "No, I don't have
alignment, but there's a lot of
local places.
You should get it done."
And I did the work.
I replaced them.
I showed her the old shocks.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
>> And she left happy.
>> Judge Judy: Well, she left
happy, and the car was fine for
three months.
You're the mechanic?
>> I am a mechanic, yeah.
>> Judge Judy: A mechanic?
>> Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Fine.
Step up, sir.
Who do you work for?
>> I work for a shop in
Los Angeles.
>> Judge Judy: And you work in
this place full time as a car
mechanic?
>> I'm a mostly motorcycle
mechanic.
>> Judge Judy: Do motorcycles
have shock absorbers?
>> They do.
>> Judge Judy: Different kinds
than cars?
>> Yeah. I mean, suspension is
relatively the same, but it's
somewhat different.
>> Judge Judy: Okay.
Mr. Cardini, is that the shock
absorber you put in the car?
>> They taped it over for...
>> No, it isn't.
Oh, probably.
It looks like it. Yes.
>> Judge Judy: Good.
Okay, what's wrong with it?
>> There's some broken internal
components.
It's a nitrogen gas-charged
shock.
It should --
>> Can I demonstrate?
>> Judge Judy: No, no, no.
You're not the expert.
He's the expert.
>> But --
>> Judge Judy: He's what you
brought.
>> Yeah, it should compress with
some significant force, and it
doesn't take very much force to
compress it.
And then it should rebound, but
it doesn't.
It just stays compressed.
>> Judge Judy: Mm-hmm.
>> So it's broken inside.
>> Judge Judy: Okay, now --
>> Specifically, it's hard to
say without taking it apart.
>> Judge Judy: