A surprise oil change

a reply to: theboarman

We've got Trading Standards in the U.K. run by the local Councils.
You can report it to them and they will investigate, sometimes using a sting operation to catch these people out.
I'm sure you'll have an equivalent Stateside.
If the damage was indeed malicious I'm sure they'd be very interested.

a reply to: Cymru

Thank you Cymru. The problem is I do not have proof. I have a receipt. I am not sure here in the US if they would even look into this. I know if he was a rancher they would be after him.

a reply to: Quantum12

I would call the police and alert your insurance company, as the repair might be covered if you can prove to them that it was vandalism.

But seriously, I would call the police and file a report--sometimes you can't get anywhere without filing a report, and this will cause the LEO to talk to the shop that did the change to see if he can determine if they're at fault.

But like at least one other said, with this being the following day, it's going to be hard to prove that it was them.

As for your brakes, if they had cut the lines or did anything drastic with your fluid level, you would have noticed on the way home, as a leak in one line with cause the pressure to that wheel (or pair of wheels, if you have a dual-reservoir master cylinder) to be pretty much non-existent. If you didn't notice anything on your way home, I'm guessing they didn't mess with the brakes (unless they just drained enough of the fluid to make it really low, but still function okay).

You also should have notice some groaning when you turned the wheel and the steering being more difficult if they really sliced your line at the shop, because that line is pressurized and would have drained the fluid really quickly.

See...tough to prove it was the shop, but filing a police report might reveal a pattern of this happening in your neighborhood and someone could be randomly vandalizing vehicles. I know it seems like it would be too much of a coincidence, but sometimes coincidences to exist.

Good luck with it, and glad you made it home safely, regardless.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Thank you SlapMonkey. I did notice my brake pedal was kind of soft and going to the floor almost. I did not notice a noise from the power steering pump. I had the suv picked up by a flatbed and is now at a good mechanic. I had to pay for a rental car until it is fixed. I called my insurance company. They are sending out a adjuster to the new shop. All this because a greedy shop owner wanted to make more money. Thank you for you good advice.

a reply to: Quantum12

Any time, although it already sounds like you did the right things. I'd call the shop at which your SUV is at currently and have them keep the parts that you need to replace so that you have the evidence. I'd still report it to the police, because like I say, it could also be some jackasses running around the area in which you live, vandalizing people's vehicles.

We had our front time come off of our hub a few weeks ago, and the only explanation is that probably all but one of the lugnuts had been removed from the lugs, leaving only one to eventually loosen and come off. It happened only a few miles after we had gotten off of the interstate--I had noticed a sudden vibration happen, but got out and checked the wrong side of the car. Luckily, when the wheel came off (breaking two of the wheel studs with it), it got trapped under the wheel well and didn't go rolling into oncoming traffic, causing an accident. Everything ended up okay, but vandalism is the only thing that I can think of that would cause all lug nuts to come off of a wheel--and we had not had anything done to the wheels or tires within the past six months.

We notified the police about it, because we were concerned others in the neighborhood might have vandalized vehicles as well.

Funny part of that story is that we were driving that Jeep to a car dealer to trade it in when all of this happened. He still took the trade in (damage was only about $350 bucks) and all ended well, but it could have been terrible if the wheel came off when I was going 75mph.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Wow, you are so lucky the wheel did not come off. You could have flipped. It is sad people have to go around and wreck people's cars. I will file a report today. Thank you I will have the new shop save the old parts. Thank you again for your help.

There was a guy in my home town who never changed his oil from the day he bought the vehicle until the day he sold it. If it was low on oil, he filled it, but never changed a filter or anything. You never know what you are buying sometimes and I always fear I will end up buying something like this when I buy a used vehicle. The vehicle manual for my vehicle says the sensor will tell me when it needs changed, but might only go off once a year for most drivers. I change it after 5,000 miles anyway.

Sadly, you probably do not have much recourse for the issues you had with this shop. Even as obvious as it is this guy messed with your car, you would spend more going after him than if you just fixed it and moved on. It is a punch in the gut and wrong, but that is the world we now live in. I always do my own work on my vehicles. Every time I take it to a shop, within days something else goes wrong totally unrelated to what I had fixed. I wish you better fortune in the future and hope things get better for you soon.

You might report the place to the BBB, there may be others who have or will come forward with similar complaints.

a reply to: Quantum12

Keep in mind at this point, though, that the car has been to your house, parked overnight, hooked up and towed on a flat-bed, and also messed with at another shop. Any chance of proving it was them, at this point, is gone.

a reply to: warpig69

Thank you warpig69. I am now going to move on. I do not have proof the shop did anything wrong ever though I know the owner did a butcher job on my car.

Your right, I would never want to buy a used car that the oil was never changed.

It gets me thinking about your post. So people who lease cars why would they change the oil? It is not their car, it will be traded in and sold. The new owner could have a car that had one oil change in its life.

Thank you again.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Your so right SlapMonkey. Now it just has to get fixed and I will move on. I called a lawyer. He told me sure he will help me. He told me to hire him he would need a $500.00 retainer fee just to start. I will just chalk it up as a loss.

a reply to: Quantum12

With leasing, most (if not all) dealers require you to have proof that you have properly maintained the vehicle over the duration of the lease, or you could be out quite a bit of money at the end of it all.

a reply to: SlapMonkey

Makes 100% sense. So when you lease a car you must maintain the vehicle. Makes me feel better LOL. I wonder if some dealers will give free oil changes during the life of the lease? Thank you for your info. I am learning a lot!

I just wanted to update what I found out from the new shop. The mechanic called me, he wanted my permission to call the bad shop owner. I said sure and gave him their name and number. He proceeded to explain what he found. A small drill hole in the metal brake line and a slit on the rubber power steering line.

I asked him if someone where I live could have done this. He laughted and said no way.

He told me the damage would cost $465.00. Told me Volvo uses Pension CHF 202 for the power steering fluid and it is really not power steering fluid and cannot be mixed with anything else. He was kind and told me he charges 45.00 for a quart. Kindly the man told me to buy it myself for 17.00 at a auto store and dot 4 brake fluid and he would only charge me $400.00. I said done no problem.

The shop has to order parts from Volvo. My suv will be finished next week.

The nice owner called the bad shop owner and told him I have a 2012 Volvo XC 90 at my shop. You changed the oil yesterday. He asked him if he noticed any power steering leaks or brake fluid leaks. The bad shop owner said he did not know. The nice shop owner told him well I think you drilled a hole in the brake line and slit the rubber power steering line so the customer would return and you would repair his suv to make money. The bad shop owner said I don't know what your talking about and hung up. So end of story.

My insurance deductible is $500.00 I called them and told them to not send an adjusted out.

So my $400.00 lesson learned is to use a trustworthy mechanic!

a reply to: Quantum12 Thanks for the update. Sorry about your ordeal.

What a jerk that lunatic mechanic swindler was!

Good thing you found a good guy mechanic.

a reply to: peppycat

Thank you peppycat for your nice reply. It's sad humans can treat other humans this way over money, it seems the whole world needs a new system where money is not involved. No one can have money. LOL. We all help each other for free. You repair my car free and I will put you in my next tv show. On second thought that might make things worse! Thank you again for your kind words.

a reply to: Quantum12 People can be pretty evil. If wasn't money we had to deal with, it would be jewels and precious metals.
Take care!

a reply to: peppycat

Your right peppycat. Greedy evil people. We should send them to Mars. So they can all scam each other.

originally posted by: Quantum12
a reply to: peppycat

Your right peppycat. Greedy evil people. We should send them to Mars. So they can all scam each other.

lol! The scammers can terraform Mars for when the rich and powerful leave Earth and need a new home.

a reply to: peppycat

Your funny! I hope Mars can support human life.

originally posted by: Quantum12
a reply to: peppycat

Your funny! I hope Mars can support human life.

Here is a thread stating 2025,
www.abovetopsecret.com...
Ten years to go!