Last Friday, we told you about Ashlee from Paonia, Colorado who took her Saturn to a Walmart Auto Service Center in the city of Delta for an oil change. Because they botched the job, the oil leaked out which resulted in extensive engine damage to the tune of $5,875. Since then, she spoke to a representative from Walmart’s insurance company who said that they won’t pay for the repairs, because when Ashlee discovered the damage, she took her car to a non-Walmart mechanic, and in doing so has “tampered with evidence.” Not to be trifled with, Ashlee is gathering evidence and witnesses and hiring a lawyer. Ashlee’s, letter inside…
Hey, it’s Ashlee again. You can add to that story that the insurance company for Wal-mart has just called me to say they are not doing anything about it because I took it to a mechanic first, instead of going to Wal-mart… because this process “tampered with evidence.” Don’t you think any normal person would take a sick vehicle to the closest mechanic to try and get help?
Also, Wal-mart sent an older gentleman with a ponytail, and an unprofessional demeanor to the GMC dealership (where the car is supposed to be getting fixed) to assess the damage. He said he found no oil anywhere, no problems, and the engine ran great when he turned the car on. So I called the manager at the GMC dealership who immediately went out to look at the car himself…. He found “oil everywhere” and he heard severe “rod-knocking” when the engine was running, which he says is a sign of a serious engine problem. He seemed appalled at this, too—just as much as I was! Wal-mart killed my car, then denied it, and now I am hiring a lawyer. I have plenty of picture evidence, and plenty of witness accounts. And as for the condescending insurance rep that snickered at me over the phone when we asked for my date of birth, this is not the last time you will hear from this little 22 year old.
They won’t pay because you decided to take your damaged Saturn to a non-Walmart mechanic? That is typical insurance company bullshit. What do you think would have happened if you had taken it to a Walmart mechanic? They would have denied everything and blamed it on something else–it’s simply a catch-22. It sounds like you are handling the situation correctly so far. Make sure you gather and record every bit of information you can, doing so will provide your lawyer with the proper ammunition to fight your case. Hang in there, Ashlee and keep us updated.
PREVIOUSLY: Walmart’s Botched Oil Change Destroys Your Engine
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I noticed a lot of commenters claiming it’s the customers fault for being cheap and taking it to Walmart in the first place.
If Walmart offer an oil change for $14.95. Then they bloody well have an obligation to do it properly for $14.95!
@LandofMinos, a p’ p’ piece from here and a p’ p’ piece from…: A-F*cking-Men! If she pursues this in civil (not small-claims) court, she should get her repair bill and attorney fees back as well as punitive damages.
A few years ago, I bought tires from Sam’s Club. Within 3 months, my car started shaking so I took it to a mechanic who said that my tires were defective. Sam’s Club refused to refund my money or replace the tires. They said “Too bad.” I hope you win your lawsuit against the evil Wal-Mart and please add an extra $200 for my loss and then go spend it at Target! Wal-Mart/Sam’s Club is pure, unadulterated evil.
The only way to truly win customers is not great prices, or flashy signes, or a sales event, but true to the core customer service. Remember, there is no store without customers. So when this situation happens, you must remember that the customer is actually above you, and do your best to keep the customer with you. By denying, not only do you lose one customer, but those who know her and the many (15,111 views at time of writing) who have read this article.
@kolorfast: You were linked to this site from Jalopnik. Check the URL at the top of your screen.
For consumer information on auto shop mechanics, request information directly from the dealership only. Most dealerships are required to only have a supervisor who is a trained or certified mechanic for oil changes and other “light” mechanical work. I know this for a fact since my husband is a certified master mechanic and worked for several dealerships and shops over the previous ten years. His last job at the Big Valley Ford dealership in Portales, New Mexico about two years ago employed people at minimum wage to deal with their oil changes and tire service. He worked only about a year there before he said one of these “idiots” ruined two engines in a one month span doing routine oil changes. We also have had problems with people too stupid to know the differences between the oil and the oil grades, one guy at an mechanics shop tried to get my aunt to pay for a new oil pump,transmission, etc… because he didn’t know that some oil grades look red he told her that a car less than a year old had rust in the engine. LOL what an idiot, he refused to release her car,FLA saftey law, till my husband threatened to sue the company.
My husband was so fed up with the way most mechanic shops and dealerships were run that he is now in another line of work, and you can bet no other person works on our cars.
@mindshadow: I doubt a nationalized insurance would work well here. Just look at the care our vets receive. It’s disgraceful (read: Walter Reed). If national heros can’t get decent health care, then I doubt the unwashed masses would do any better.
Walmart needs to be aware of what the insurance company is doing to you. They legitimately may not be aware of how the company does business. (I’m giving them the benefit of the dobut here) As any group of people grows, it becomes exponentially more difficult to be aware of all actions done in your name.
I say fight them, get a lawyer. Often times even a a nasty gram with the right letterhead can solve these types of problems.
About 2 years ago I had my oil changed at Wal-Mart. As I was driving away I noticed smoke coming off the back of the car and a burning oil smell. I called Wal-Mart and they told me to bring the car back. I got back and they tried to tell me something just happened to break on the car causing oil to pour out of the engine as it ran… yeah right! Oil covered the undercarriage and back of my car. I had it towed to the dealership I bought the car from and they determined that it was a faulty oil filter that caused the problem. We really did not have much problem with Wal-Mart or the oil filter manufacturer. After it was determined that it was the filter, Wal-Mart switched the claim over to the manufacturer. The engine did need to be replaced! They paid for the repair, tow and a comparable rental car.
While I really think WalMart should pay for the damage, since after all one of their employees did cause the damage. I don’t understand why it would cost $6000 to get a new/rebuilt motor put in.
Now if this is a 2002 or older Saturn I can get a rebuilt motor for roughly $1200. Toss on probably $500-600 for labor to get the motor pulled/reinstalled and that is far less than $6000. I would get a second opinion on the cost…
Then again if it’s a newer Saturn I can’t say much since I don’t know how much that would cost.
Ashlee, What was the outcome with your lawyer. I went Sat. Sep. 19th for an oil change. Cashed out at 11:53am and started out of the drive way and onto the main road and my car died 2 mins after pulling away. I called a tow truck at 11:55am. They are saying that they did the oil change correctly, however my car just shut off and my engine is messed up severely. Spent all day with their claims dept. which told me that they are not going to be helping me with this claim since the oil change was done correctly that their is oil in the car and an oil filter. What they did I have no idea. But I am now without a car and over a $2000 engine problem. I was wondering how you made out with your lawyer. Guess this is the route i’m going to have to take. Let me know.