Valvoline Oil Change broke the car, and now won't have it fixed properly

[ReneeA]

On 12/26, we had our minivan packed to the tippy top and were on our way north to spend the holidays with my family. We needed an oil changed, so swung into the Valvoline by our house for a 15 minute oil change. 2 1/2 hours later, we were still sitting there (with my kids being amazingly patient, I might add!). They had pulled the entire drain plug out of the oil pan (the "inside" portion of the plug as well). They ended up having to put a new oil pan on.

In the meantime, I was supposed to sponser my sister's kids at their baptism the next day. Our trip was delayed for 2 days due to the stupid oil change place, and my sister very graciously requested that the baptism be moved to the following weekend. I was thankful that they could arrange it. Anyway, we missed out on over 2 days of our vacation and family time. Not to mention, they didn't tell us that they don't employ a licensed mechanic before they did the work. Not that they did a bad job replacing the pan...but it would have been nice to know.

The really bad news? While "repairing" their mistake, they pushed my van out of the bay with the driver's side door open, hit a barrier wall and bent it off the hinges. Then tried to bend it back using a screwdriver. Oh, they scraped a whole bunch of paint off the door and painted over it with touch up paint. Without cleaning it off. Do you know how much dirt, salt, and road debris is on a car in Michigan in the winter? Lots. So, their crappy touch up job bubbled right up and off the door.

They didn't bother to tell us of their accident. It was dark when we picked up the van, and dark when we left for our vacation the next morning, so we didn't see the bad paint job until getting on the road. The road noise was horrible once we got on the expressway. We pulled over, and noticed the bubbling paint at a rest stop. DH called Valvoline as soon as they were open, the manager told us what had happened, and we took it in when we returned.

Today we got it back from the body shop. Valvoline allowed them enough money to fix the alignment of the door, but wouldn't fund any painting. So now I have bubbling paint.

I am furious. The car is 9 years old, but we take good car of our vehicles. It was in really good shape before this, and we planned to keep it for years to come.

Obviously, it's not worth it to sue. We don't have the time or finances to even consider suing. It did teach us that we will not be using a quick oil change place anymore. We'll be taking our vehicles to our mechanic for oil changes - they are cheaper and much more dependable anyway.

 

[MrsToad]

In Connecticut, if a disputed amount is less $5000, you can take the other party to small claims court yourself, without an attorney or high fees. The rules for presenting evidence are more relaxed than in "standard" court, too. Maybe you can check this out for your state and then send a letter to the shop letting them know this is what you will do if they don't cover the paint job. Another thought...is there a corporate or franchise office you can contact for assistance? How about reporting them to your Department of Motor Vehicles? I think we can report poor service from CT garages to our DMV.

Good luck - you should not have to pay for the painting!

 

[ReneeA]

In Connecticut, if a disputed amount is less $5000, you can take the other party to small claims court yourself, without an attorney or high fees. The rules for presenting evidence are more relaxed than in "standard" court, too. Maybe you can check this out for your state and then send a letter to the shop letting them know this is what you will do if they don't cover the paint job. Another thought...is there a corporate or franchise office you can contact for assistance? How about reporting them to your Department of Motor Vehicles? I think we can report poor service from CT garages to our DMV.

Good luck - you should not have to pay for the painting!

Thanks - good advice. DH is all fired up, so researching how to go about this sounds like a good job for him.

 

[bumbershoot]

Report them online with the Better Business Bureau. It's amazing how fast some companies respond when you do that!


JiffyLube destroyed the rear axle of a car of my dad's once...they were so happy to give my dad the value of a junkyard rear axle...because they had just bought a woman a brand new Cadillac to replace the one they'd done the same thing to.

So I'd keep at it with Valvoline; they have to fix all that they did!

 

[TiggerStac]

Keep pursuing w/valvoline! Some stores are corporately owned and some franchised. My hubby worked for a company that owns a ton of them in the NE a few year ago for a different division of the company. They would have taken care of this!

He now works for another major retailer...and they would have taken care of this!! You are not responsible for any damage they did and should continue to pursue up the corporate ladder!