Thanks

That makes sense

And yes...you can sue them. You can sue in small claims court (so you can do this yourself...no need to hire a lawyer, and good thing, since the cost to hire a lawyer would exceed what you can recover in the case)

But can you win?

That is a more difficult question.

To win you have to show that Big O caused this problem.

You do not have to show by much...unlike a criminal trial which requires proof "beyond a reasonable doubt" in a civil trial you only need prove by a "preponderance" of the evidence. More likely than not. 51% if you will.

But you do need to prove it.

What would be excellent proof would be if you owned this car from new, and had all maintenance records. In such a case, the one incident a Big O followed by the evidence of oil in the break lines? That would be a great case to hold them liable.

The potential problem I see in this case is that there could have been a problem with the break lines PRIOR to your purchase of the car.

Now...I understand you drove the car prior to purchase...it worked fine...and then you take to Big O and it breaks. That is good circumstantial evidence. What I would recommend is that if you can, get the seller of the car (the prior owner) as one of your witnesses in your case. Allow him to tell the judge that he was not responsible for this and that he has no idea how it happened. That would help your claim quite a bit.

Easy

Head to the county court (same county where the Big O was located)

Talk to the clerk of the court. They will provide you the forms.

There is a nominal fee to file.

Also consider this

http://www.amazon.com/Everybodys-Guide-Small-Claims-Court/dp/1413307620

to prepare for your day in court.