Usually an advance payment is required to cover initial expenses and several hours of lawyer time. If a warranty matter can be resolved quickly with a letter and a few hours of follow-up work, no doubt the lowest legal fee will be incurred. The client was of average means, and the trial judge refused to award legal fees. After the loan was repaid to the lender to secure the title, there were only a few hundred dollars left to pay for expert charges, court costs, and transcripts. This is the philosophy of the insurance defense bar also, as I have learned.
Many manufacturers work extremely hard to correct warranty problems, and to make the customer happy.
Moreover, these same manufacturers often recognize their accountability under state and Federal laws, and try to resolve complaints at the outset. In my experience, Chrysler and Volvo are good examples. At the other end of the spectrum are Toyota, VW, Honda, and General Motors. Ford, Subaru, Mitsubishi, Hyundai, Saturn, Land Rover, etc., are somewhere in the middle. It is up to consumers and their attorneys to insure that they do work effectively.