# Retailer let me drive off with out putting oil back in....



## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

Hi, I am new to this board and this is my first post. I need advice quick so please help me. I have a 90 Maxima with 270,000 miles that has been maintained and in perfect condition. Oil changes have been done faithfully. We went to have the oil changed and when we got home (I wont mention any names) the merchant called us and told us not to drive the car. They did not put the oil back in. We only had 2 miles to go so the car did not burn up. My question is, now what? How can I be assured that they did not damage my car? They want me to bring it in today and they will check it out for me. I am a woman and I will have no way of knowing if they are telling me the truth. I fully believed this car would have run for ever, now I will never know.


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## nismosleeper (Jan 16, 2005)

It will be very hard to determine if any of the internals(pistons etc.) were damaged. Get documentation that the oil was not refilled. They will probably tell you that the car is fine, so just do your thing and if you notice any difference in a couple of weeks then take further action. Good luck


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## Jeff (Oct 17, 2002)

^^ Great advice Nismosleeper. Get _any and all_ documentation possible. Get the manager or owner's to personally sign it so they are fully aware of the situation and also let them know if there are any problems that you will be back.

Scary though...


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## lshadoff (Nov 26, 2002)

There are two tests that you should have done at their expense at a Nissan dealership. The values should be within the specifications in the Nissan Factory Service manual for your car.

Oil pressure test (Checks that the bearings are not damaged)
Compression test (Tests that the cylinder walls are not damaged)

Lew


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Yup, what he said.
at this point, I wouldn't trust the mechanics. they screwed up once, and they owe you a new engine at this point...

have it towed to your closest nissan dealer and have the engine refilled with oil, then run an oil pressure and compression test on it... the lube shop should be responsible for all costs incurred.
If everything checks out, then drive on, BUT leave the door open for engine failure in the next short time. generally if something like this happens and significant damage occurs, the engine will die soon... if the car lasts a month without problems, then you'll be fine..


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

Thanks for the advice so far. Please keep the suggestions coming as I am not taking the car back today until I know for sure what I want to do. I am just sick over this.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Like I said, call up your local dealer and call the grease monkeys.. tell them you want it towed to the dealer and let their mechanics check it out.


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## bc11 (Mar 3, 2005)

I'm with Ishadoff and Matt. Have it towed to the dealer and checked out. I'm an attorney and the most you would get out of those guys is the book value of a 90 Nissan with 270K in miles. Not a great amount. You wouldn't get a new engine from them(at best another used engine). Damages would be capped at the value of the car even if you hired a lawyer or went by yourself to small claims. Document everything. Get them to admit to everything possible in writing and/or on tape. Get pictures. Get names of the manager and shop personnel working on it.

Please give me the name of the shop that did this. If it is Walmart, I have negotiated settlements with them in the past. Good Luck


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## nissannx (Feb 29, 2004)

What you've lost is peace of mind. Realize that you only drove two miles. I have seen other examples where cars were driven further than that without any damage - when there was failure of oil or cooling systems. Of course, the opposite is also true. You've taken good care of your car, it's probably going to be fine. Did they come over and put oil in it for you? Don't start it again until it's got oil.

While I see the value of getting a Nissan dealer to check it out, is this just an oil change place or a garage with licensed mechanics? If they have mechanics, I'd give them the first look at it. It was likely a young kid who did the oil change, not the mechanic on site (at least I hope not!). This was an idiotic mistake, but let's assume they're trying to do right by you. I'd gauge a lot by how they deal with you. If you think they're being fair, that's great. If you feel they're not listening to you, then get ready for a legal battle.

Document everything and take it back to this shop (if they have mechanics) with every hiccup your car has over the next month. I would be there so often that they would know you by name. At the end of a month or two I would switch to another shop, unless they've proven to you that they deserve your trust. You want to stick with them for this time, however, because you need their support if something does happen. Going to another shop gives them the option of saying that someone else did something to the car. If they're the only ones who've looked after it, they'll be open to giving you a deal on rates. As others said, you won't get much free with high mileage like that. But sometimes having a shop that knows they screwed up in your back pocket is your best friend.
Just my rambling 2 cents. Good luck.


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

I want to thank everyone for their help on this. I feel much better now having heard your opinions and advice. Your right, I have lost my peace of mind.

I have talked to the manager, he is being very nice and and has assured me that he will take care of it. He said they would put in their computer that this happened so it would be documented and it was not likely the company was going anywhere since they have been there for 20 years. The place was Firestone Tires, Clear Lake Tx. I will tell you this because I believe it was an honest mistake and it already sounds like you guys do not use places like this for oil changes anyway so I do not have to worry about chasing any of their business off  

We were told it was ok to drive the car and my son has driven it back and forth to work which is probably a 3 mile round trip. The engine sounds fine to us and Firestone assured me it was ok because he did not feel any damage has been done. The mgr wants me to bring the car to him which I will do on Saturday. Thanks to you, I was on my toes and was able to use alot of the info you guys gave me so he knows that I have been informed of what I am talking and asking of him. 

I am going to get documentation and I will use them for my FREE oil changes so they will see that car about every 3,000 miles.

One question though, if this car was going to start that knocking would it have dones so already?


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

bc11 said:


> I'm with Ishadoff and Matt. Have it towed to the dealer and checked out. I'm an attorney and the most you would get out of those guys is the book value of a 90 Nissan with 270K in miles. Not a great amount. You wouldn't get a new engine from them(at best another used engine). Damages would be capped at the value of the car even if you hired a lawyer or went by yourself to small claims. Document everything. Get them to admit to everything possible in writing and/or on tape. Get pictures. Get names of the manager and shop personnel working on it.
> 
> Please give me the name of the shop that did this. If it is Walmart, I have negotiated settlements with them in the past. Good Luck


The place is Firestone Tires. I am glad you replied because I was wondering if I needed to get an attorney or not to try and get a new engine. You know even if they did give me book value it would be more than what I paid for the car. I got the car for $400 from a close friend about 6 months ago. I have just lost my peace of mind because I knew the car was in perfect shape before this happened. The car looks brand new on the inside and under the hood so it is obvious it has been taken care of. I will let you know what happens.


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## Matt93SE (Sep 17, 2003)

Clear Lake, eh?
I'm just down the street from you in Pearland...
If you ever need me to take a look at the car, give me a shout. 281-997-8635. 
I can rebuild these things blindfolded, and I'm cheaper than your mechanics for other maintenance.


It sounds to me like the Firestone is doing what they need to do, so I think you'll be okay. Usually if the car is going to have problems, it will have already happened, BUT you never know what may happen in a week or two due to the extra wear on the engine.. Let's hope nothing happens..

Again, if you have any problems with them, feel free to give me a call and I'll help you out in any way I can.


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

Matt93SE said:


> Clear Lake, eh?
> I'm just down the street from you in Pearland...
> If you ever need me to take a look at the car, give me a shout. 281-997-8635.
> I can rebuild these things blindfolded, and I'm cheaper than your mechanics for other maintenance.
> ...


Thanks. I will definately keep you in mind. I am sure something will need repaired eventually, just hopefully not the engine. Actually, I grew up in Pearland (Brookside). I just moved from there about 8 months ago to the Clear Lake area. How ironic.


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## generation3 (Jan 16, 2005)

I wish I had such a helpful Firestone the one near me sucks and charges way too much to fix a hose and then they used crap parts so another hose got damaged and they didn't pay for it.


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## bc11 (Mar 3, 2005)

Thought I would check to see if the car is still running. I was in Houston last weekend. My brother lives over by River Oaks just off of Westheimer.


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## Acceler8ter (Feb 5, 2005)

You said Firestone screwed up the oil change? I used to work for them, contact the corporate headquarters and they will pay to have the motor replaced. 

Firestone doesn't tolerate screws up on any level. Just let them know and they'll take care of you.


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

Thanks for the continued suggestions. I did take the car back to Firestone, and the manager listened to it and documented the event in their computer. All was good and we were all best friends when I left (dont you know), but after re-reading the documentation I noticed that he did not state that Firestone would be responsible for any future damage to the car. He just stated that there was no apparent damage done. I am not comfortable with that and I will be contacting the headquarters tomorrow when I bring in the documentation to work with me so that I can send it to headquarters. Thanks for the advice ex-Firestone because when I mentioned a new motor the manager told me that it would not stand up in court. At this time the car seems to be running ok.


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## 90nisa (Mar 21, 2005)

Acceler8ter said:


> You said Firestone screwed up the oil change? I used to work for them, contact the corporate headquarters and they will pay to have the motor replaced.
> 
> Firestone doesn't tolerate screws up on any level. Just let them know and they'll take care of you.


Thanks, I really needed to hear this. See my other reply. The manager smoothed talked me, if I had taken a man in there with me things would have been different.


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