Oil change mishap

[Oceano74]

Jurisdiction

Alabama

My wife took our car to get a oil change, and after the oil change they told her they had to put a temporary drain plug in because the tread on the drain plug was stipped, now my wife knows nothing about cars but when she told me I said that couldn't be if that was the case the oil plug that was in would have been leaking oil, I just bought the car from her father and he has been changing the oil since he bought it, and continued to tell me that the mechanics messed it up because it was fine a month prior. The mechanics said it was like that when they got it and I know there lying, then they quote me a price almost $2000 and said they can fix it. Do I have a case? What should I do?

 

[zddoodah]

I know there lying,

No. You believe they're lying.

Do I have a case?

A case of what?

What should I do?

Well...you told us that the mechanic who did the oil change told your wife that "the tread [sic] on the drain plug was stipped [sic]." You also indicated that you don't believe it was stripped before your wife took the car in, but you didn't say whether you've inspected it and whether it is, in fact, now stripped. Obviously, if it is stripped, you should repair it. I have a hard time imagining that it would cost $2,000. Maybe a couple hundred for a new oil pan. Of course, I don't know what kind of car this is or how it's put together.

As far as a claim against the mechanic, you're free to sue in small claims court. You'll have to prove that the damage did not exist at the time the car was brought in for the oil change. How will you do that? You can get your father-in-law to testify that, as of the time he last looked at it (however long ago that was), it was not stripped. You can argue that it wasn't stripped before being brought to the mechanic because it wasn't leaking, but I don't buy that argument and obviously cannot predict whether a judge handling your case would buy it -- especially since the mechanic will presumably testify that it was stripped at the time he started the oil change and that it would not necessarily be leaking as a result.

 

[ElleMD]

Who changes oil every month? I assume your wife approved the repair be done and didn't check out the situation first? If so, that is on her. I can't imagine authorizing a repair of that magnitude without at least talking it over with a spouse or asking to see the damaged part.

 

[mightymoose]

$2000 to replace a striped plug? You are getting scammed big time.

A temporary oil plug? What exactly is that?

It sounds like the mechanic may have overtightened the plug and stripped the threads on the pan, not the plug.

You need to review your service agreement to find out what your options are. You might seek a repair estimate from another mechanic you trust to compare with what you are being told.