I am a bit baffled about how a certain auto shop refused to change my car’s oil last Monday, and instead caused me unnecessary anxiety. Here’s how it went. Last Monday I went to have my car’s oil change. I will refer to this auto shop as “Shop A.” It would be the second time around for them to service my car, with a simple oil change. The first time I visited Shop A, I was a bit hesitant, but I decided to give them a chance for convenience, distance, and economic reasons. The reason for my hesitancy with Shop A is due to a situation that occurred nine years ago, which I will delve into later.
During my visit last Monday, Shop A denied me service. No, not because of some discriminatory practice or bigotry reasons (at least not with this shop); rather, they claimed that my car had major issues and that they were not equipped to fix it. That is a first, considering auto repair shops usually offer to fix things that aren’t broken. Here’s their technician’s comment: “massive oil leaks. Rear mainseal [sic] leak. Leaking from oil pan. Poss. Transmition [sic] Leak. Poss. Valve cover leak.” Sounds pretty serious right? They advised me that I needed to get it taken care of right away. So, I called the other auto shop. I will refer to them as “Shop B” (specialized in my car’s make), and the one that I usually go to. I described the situation to Shop B. In so many words, here’s what they said, there’s really nothing to worry about. Unless I see a puddle of oil on the ground, there’s no urgency to my car’s condition. However, I still scheduled to take my car in the following day. Due to the weather condition this past week, I was unable to make it over there until yesterday.
Here’s Shop B’s diagnosis: there’s no “massive” oil leak. There is a little bit of leakage that’s occurring, but that is “normal.” There was no urgency that I needed to worry about and that I can wait until my next timing belt change, which is about a year away, to fix up the leaking points. I thought, you have got to be kidding me! I kept asking for reassurance and the Shop B technician assured me there was nothing to worry about. As a matter of fact, he said he couldn’t believe that Shop A refused to change my oil. What a relief!! I sort of trust these guys more since my car type is the only make that they service.
So how could Shop A get it wrong? I can only say that it’s probably due to lack of experience and their unfamiliarity with my car type. That’s a nice way of not saying they were incompetent. If it was an independent auto shop and one that offered to fix my car’s problems, then I may have been suspicious of them. But the shop is attached to a conglomerate retailer, which is the reason I went there in the first place. For one reason, their personnels are paid hourly and it doesn’t benefit them to give me false information or attempt to defraud me. The other reasons as stated previously are due to economic, distance, and convenience.
Now here’s that story from nine years ago. I went in for a routine oil change at a Lube and Tube place, that I will refer to as “Shop C.” I had been visiting Shop C for a couple of years, and was satisfied with their service. To make a long story short, it would be several thousands of dollars later that I would get my car back. However, my car was not in the same condition when I took it in. Shop C claimed there were issues that needed to be fixed right away, and like a typical dummy I said, ok, fix it. Well they didn’t fix it because there was nothing to be fixed in the first place. Instead they created a problem, which they could not repair. A second major auto repair shop was involved but they only added aggravation.
This experience caused me so much agony that I contacted the Attorney General, Better Business Bureau, and even attempted to find an attorney. At that time, I had already spent roughly $3,500-$4,000. Because the cost was under $5,000, I was advised by an attorney that it would be more cost efficient if I would just take it to Small Claims Court. This was during a very busy time for me, and I needed a reliable car. Needless to say, I did not have the time to take them to small claims court, as I had other pressing issues that required my attention. So bottom line is, the case was never resolved in my favor. After corresponding with the Attorney General’s office, Shop B offered an alternative plan, but one I did not agree to. The other major auto repair shop denied any fault.
From that experience, I made the vow that never again will I take my car to one of those places. Later that year, I was contacted by a national television show whom wanted to hear my story. They were doing a special segment on auto shops across the country and how they purposely defraud and take advantage of women. Apparently my story is not unique to me, but rather, common among women. It’s a story of deceit, sexism, and misuse of power.
Anyway, I ended up giving away my car to my brother, and buying a “luxury” car, with the intent of always taking it back to the dealer for all work. I demanded service and was willing to pay for it. I religiously followed this practice for seven years. But as I made other life choices, my lesser income could no longer support the dealer cost. So instead, I started taking my car to a specialized shop, Shop B, as described above.
I am of course relieved that I didn’t have to fork up “massive” amount of money to pay for a “massive” oil leak. Still, I walked away paying $440.33 for other things, like rear brake pads, oil change, air filter, and other routine checkup. Now, did all those things really needed to be repaired? Oil change, yes. Others, maybe. Maybe not. I have no clue. The point of this story is that as a woman, I know very little about cars. And the auto “repair” shops know that. Women are always at the mercy of auto “repair” shops. It makes me want to become an auto mechanic.
On a more positive note, my car’s condition is very good considering it’s 11 years old (I’ve had it for 9) and at a 182,000+ miles. The rumor is, my car can easily hit 300,000+ mileage. I am so excited!
So next time you see me and my car, know there’s a story to it!
