We broke it, you now owe us - rant

[Thalermade]

Been going to the local car dealership for 6 years for oil changes and repairs for 2 vehicles I can't or don't want to do.

Wednesday I schedule an 8 am Saturday morning oil change. I am told it will take 45 minutes. Been doing this for years. Business as usual.

there is usually a line of us "8 a.m. appointments" waiting to get in. The 3 people ahead of me, and one behind me are all done before 9. At 9:10 I go back to see if there is a problem and I am told that they are pouring the oil in as we speak.

at 9:30 I wander back to see what is happening and I am met by the service writer who informs me that the radiator cap broke when they took it off to check the coolant level and he is now looking up how much it will cost me to replace it. He hopes they have one in stock.

My response- "You broke the cap, and you expect me to pay for it?" "This dealership did the coolant flush and fill (100,000 mile service) service on this car 9 months ago"

He then checks his computer and finds the record.

20 minutes later they finally had the car done, my paper work was ready. No charge for the radiator cap.. I did pay for the oil change.

I will most likely speak to the service manager Monday.

thanks for listening. I know things could have been worse. Just frustrating.

Russ

[Uncle Cracker]

I had a similar thing happen to me at one of the local Lincoln dealerships. I had a bad ignition coil (there are eight of them), and the service advisor came out to me midway through, and announced that my right rear window would not roll up, and I needed to replace the actuator, to the tune of $200.

My response: First, I don't use that window, and it was up when I brought it in, so it should be up when I leave. Second, they should replace the actuator at their expense, since it broke on their watch, and third, why does the mechanic have to roll the window down in the first place, in order to work on something under the hood?

They hemmed and hawed, so I grabbed my cellphone with intention of calling the Ford regional office for my area (I always have the number with me when I go in there). The service manager at the dealership interrupted me as I sat on "hold" and became argumentative, but eventually agreed to pin the window in the "up' position and give me a free actuator out of his parts inventory. Took me about 10 minutes to fix, but I still have not gone back to this dealership since, and wrote them a letter explaining why, and copied it to the regional office, just for good measure.

[TB Roye]

How do you brake a radiator cap taking it off? Must have been the 14 year old lot boy working on it.

Tom

[LCHIEN]

couple of years ago, i had the car in for oil change at the local oil change service shop. When i got it back, I happened to look and the top of the dispstick was broken off. Took it back, they replaced it w/o question at no harge. They had to drop the oil pan to get the dipstick out as it was broken below the top of the entry hole.

They also replaced an oil pan on the van when they stripped out the drain plug hole.

[BobSch]

Speaking of oil-change oopses... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9B1hjQqfY_8

[Tom Slick]

I'm going to play devil's advocate for the sake of discussion:

how old was the radiator cap? If it was original and it was in fact worn out it may have "broken" easily. Maybe the gasket was cracked but sealing and removing the cap made it break all the way through. Maybe the service writer used the wrong wording and should have told you it was worn out. Sometimes when stuff is functioning but on the edge a little push is all it takes to fail. i.e. you take your car in for a brake job and the mechanic notices the wheel bearings are shot but you didn't, is it his fault?

you have every right to question any repair, but it might not be as cut and dry as an idiot broke something through negligence then asked you to pay for it.

[Ed62]

I was actually thinking along the same lines as Tom. If there was a problem just because it was removed, it seems to me there was a problem before. But I am wondering why it was removed in the first place. Isn't there a recovery tank?

Ed

[Russianwolf]

Took our Saturn to Sears for an oil change a couple years ago and they broke the cap taking it off. They told me that they had to use so much force to remove it that it snapped in two. This is the 1/2 inch thick plastic type. My question was, "when you saw there was a problem, why wasn't I called" They should have stopped when reasonable force wouldn't remove the cap and called the owner. They wanted me to pay for it and I explained that if I paid for it, I wouldn't be back ever, and I would tell everyone I knew about it. They paid for the cap.

More recently, we had Walmart change the oil. LOML got home with the car and when I went to leave shortly after I notice an oil spill in the garage. Stopped and checked the oil. Bone dry. The original v6 Saturn used for these has a special oil filter. You replace only the filter paper, not the metal exterior. When putting the exterior back on, they damaged the seal causing all the oil to leak out on the way home. They replaced the seal and gave us a coupon for a free change. Then promptly stopped doing oil changes on this engine type (so my coupon is worthless).

[LinuxRandal]

I was actually thinking along the same lines as Tom. If there was a problem just because it was removed, it seems to me there was a problem before. But I am wondering why it was removed in the first place. Isn't there a recovery tank?

Ed

Some cars, the recovery tank, IS the radiator cap.

[Daryl]

Some cars, the recovery tank, IS the radiator cap.

Like my Taurus. The first cap, I dropped on the drive. Didn't physically break, but became "dissasembled". I had no idea of how those peices went back together. The second cap did break, it is plastic and it parts broke off. The third one is handled very gently so far.

[MilDoc]

Took my car in years ago to get 4 new tires. After it was ready and I paid, I went to the car. Driver's side door dented bad right at the hinge area. Wouldn't even open.

Went in to talk to the owner. his response: "Maybe it was that way when you brought it in?"

Needless to say I blew my top. After threatening him with a lawsuit he relented, wrote it up and told me to get an estimate. Then refused to cover the cost of a rental!

Luckily I had a lawyer friend. One call from him and the rental was covered too.

Right, like the manager didn't know what happened!

[SARGE..g-47]

If the radiator cap was over 5 years old and broke when they took it off to check the coolant (which is common with an oil change) I would have probably paid for it myself. Cap seals don't last forever and you were probably fortunate that it broke when it did than eventually leaked off under pressure.

Better in the shop with a relatively cool engine than sitting on the side of the road with steam pouring from under the hood and possible engine damage as head gasket blown or worse. Just my thoughts as caps need to be checked every so often as belts.. etc. to detect wear that lead to major problems as the one I described.

[Wood_workur]

These horror stories are why I change the oil, check the fluid and rotate the tires myself.

[Jim1]

Happened to my son. Took his car in for some basic maintenance. When he picked it up, the windshield was cracked, top to bottom. When he complained, he was told that they didn't break it, that it probably had a small crack that spread.......Needless to say, my son no longer goes to that dealership. It's just a shame that so many people, or businesses, don't take responsibility for their actions, or lack of. As I've gotten older, I have become much more discriminating where I spend my time and money.

Jim

[radhak]

I must say I have been lucky - the two incidents I remember are on the positive side

(a) 7 years ago in Minneapolis, I had my Corolla's A/C fixed by a non-dealer. 6 months later, water leaked into the car and I took it to the same guy. Waiting, I mentioned that I was missing an important meeting at work. Soon, he comes back, and apologizes - looks like his mechanic had fitted something wrong during the earlier repair which had slowly clogged the AC vent with debris. He admitted it was their fault (though he knew I was an easily suckered car-agnostic), fixed it free, and then gave me a box of dozen crispy-creme to share at my work place!!! I miss him more today than I miss that last work-place of mine !

(b) Two years ago, in South FL, different mechanic. I had to get a new alternator for my van, came a 1 year warranty. 16 months later, the battery died. He checked his records, then had the alternator double-checked, called it's vendor and complained forcefully. Ultimately, I got a newer alternator, and a new battery, all for no charge, not even labor! Again, a mom-and-pop repair shop. Go figure.