Stealership problem

[spawn_x]

What is the name of your state? Los Angeles, CA

Ok, my boss takes his car in to the Ford stealership for an oil change...

They call him telling him they drained the oil but cannot put the screw back on because it was damaged, and it will cost 800 dollars to fix it (the oil pan needs to be replaced).

I told him that they are BSing him and that it is their fault.

The car went there in working condition.

He was never notified that "if they unscrew it, it'll break and will cost 800 dollars to fix it".


I believe the Ford dealership is at fault for malpractice - they did not notify him nor are they accepting liability for the damage.

They claim that whoever did the previous oil change screwed it up, but yet the car was working fine. Now that they can't put it back together they want to charge him.

In detail what broke is the part where the oil drain screw goes in... If they were taking it out they would have seen that if they did take it out, it would break.

Opinions?

 

[I AM ALWAYS LIABLE]

My response:

You said - -

"I told him that they are BSing him and that it is their fault."

Really? And, how do you know this?

Are you a mechanic?

Did you inspect the parts prior to the work?

Please describe "cross-threading."

IAAL

 

[HomeGuru]

Is the writer a certified Ford dealer mechanic?

 

[spawn_x]

"Really? And, how do you know this?"
- because the oil pan is a chunk of metal with no moving parts. the oil drain bolt does not just unscrew normally and then suddenly is not able to go back in.

Are you a mechanic?
- actually yes i am.

Did you inspect the parts prior to the work?
- don't need to. engine was running fine meaning the oil pan was able to hold in the oil. now they are saying they can't close it.

Please describe "cross-threading."
- picture here: http://www.taptite.net/graphics/trustart.gif


my problem with the dealership is that if they saw it had a problem (was screwed in sideways, "cross-threaded") they should have notified him of the problem before proceding because they are aware that once they take it apart it may not go back properly.

no, i'm not a certified ford mechanic (or certified in automotive at all for that matter).

Oh and the 800 dollar charge is rediculous... most 200 dollar parts and 2 hours labor (takes about 30 minutes actually), so 300 tops.

i'm going to go over there with him and speak to a service manager, meanwhile feel free to post opinions.

 

[spawn_x]

update: called the BAR. they said we have a very valid complaint and sent out the forms.

he also spoke to one of our co-worker's lawyers and he said the dealership screwed up.

 

[spawn_x]

update:

well the service person who we spoke to on the phone is a complete jackass and explained the whole thing wrong.

we received some very poor customer service (quoted 6 hours of labor instead of the normal 3 that we were supposed to, 700 dollars for the part that THEY sell for 200)..

after speaking to 4 managers who were on the same level we finally got to a supervisor who apologized on everyone's behalf and lowered the price down to 340 + labor (what it should be), so all is well now.

After looking at the parts (which they described wrong on the phone) its visible that the previous shop screwed it up, so he is going to go after them for the 340 bucks.

spent about 3 hours at the dealership, time to go home.

 

[ladyc4]

Well I sure am glad that you got to the bottom of that!
and a simple explanation for "cross-threading" for the mechanically unaware, is that the screw is inserted crooked and tightened down that way,with the usual result that the next poor cuss needing to remove that screw either strips the thread,on the screw, damages whatever the screw was in, or breaks the screw off in the hole. All of the above lead to extreme aggravation, extra time, and expense spent on the job in question.
I'm guessing here that spawn-x's friend took the vehicle to someone-Mr Badwrench maybe? other than a Ford stealer,for the oil change previous to this one.

 

[spawn_x]

actually jiffy lube, whom we are holding liable and going to have a chat with them monday.

ford supervisors aren't much better, they don't know the term "cross-threading" and simply describe it as "we barely touched it and it fell out".

 

[ladyc4]

Ah,yes-from what I've heard, these quick oil change places-the home of Mr. Badwrench.
My point was more to try and keep your auto maintenance and repairs with one shop if at all possible...if the mechanic knows the end result of carelessly done work this time will haunt the next visit, they might tend to use more care.
Referring again to my first remark, I think a lot of these automotive service counterparts of a fast food restaurant must factor customer reparitions right into the overhead. So it probably isn't going to be that difficult to get this made right- would be interesting to hear.