This past week I went down to Atlanta for the 4th of July to meet up with some friends, and I had a few things happen to me on my way down that makes quite an interesting story.

First let me begin by saying that on Sunday (July 1) I spent the entire day detailing my car--washing, clay barring, polishing, waxing, etc etc.

The next day, I called my local mechanic and scheduled an oil change for later that afternoon since I was due for one. And for some background, my family has been going to this particular Honda certified mechanic for years and we've always trusted them and have always felt that they do spectacular work and really go out of their way to let you know if something needs fixing or doesn't. After getting my oil changed, I drove straight home and did not go anywhere else.

The next morning (Tuesday), I woke up and finished packing my things and off I went leaving Raleigh for the next few days. I got almost to Chapel Hill, NC on 40E and was in the innermost lane. There was a large commercial truck in the lane next to me. All of a sudden I hear a loud bang. My initial reaction was that the truck next to me blew a tire. Well the truck moves over and I notice smoke coming from my car! I'm really worried now because I have absolutely no idea what happened. I pulled over as soon as possible and turned my car off and popped my hood. Meanwhile, I notice my car is smoking like crazy and that there is oil pouring out onto the pavement where I am standing. Immediately I figure out what is wrong and realized the bang sound I had heard earlier was my oil plug shooting out from my car.

Needless to say I am extremely pissed at the moment! I immediately called the shop and told them what happened and they sent (and paid for) a flatbed tow truck to come pick me up and take me to their shop. This entire process took over 2 hours just to get my car back to the shop in Raleigh.

As it turns out the owner of the shop was on vacation and his brother was the one who had worked on my car and he apologized a few times and I bet he was relieved that I had shut my engine off when I did, otherwise it would have seized and he would end up having to buy me a new engine.

So, I tried to conceal my anger since an oil change is a routine job and something like an oil plug should be checked any time the oil is changed. But knowing that the owner was out of town and I was already 3 hours late on my trip to Atlanta, I didn't see the need to create a huge scene.

The thing that pissed me off most was that all I got was a 'we're sorry.' And originally they were going to pay for the tow, but the owner's brother ended up paying the tow guy out of his pocket--which I am assuming was done so that his brother would never find out about this happening. At no point did they say 'for the trouble we caused, we will refund the $40 for the oil change.' Also, keep in mind that I had just detailed my car and now I have oil caked on the rear of my car and underneath as well. So, I had to smell oil fumes the entire ride down to atlanta--they did do their best to clean it off the underside, but they said it would burn off eventually. Luckily I had my detailer and several microfiber towels in my trunk and was able to clean the oil off my backend.

So, around 2pm I finally had my car fixed and luckily with no engine damage--I continued to Atlanta.

I know most of you might say 'well now you should do your own oil,' which I used to do on my old legend--however the S is so darn low that its next to impossible for me to get under the car and do what I need to do to change the oil. Nevertheless, its not like I took my car to jiffylube where I have heard horror stories of them not even putting the oil plug back in at all.

The rest of my trip was ok--I did have some issues with my Garmin iQue 3600 where it had me merging onto a street when it was not physically possible--meaning that there was a concrete barrier in between the road I was on and my exit.

Anyways, I think tomorrow I am going to call the shop and try to talk to the owner to see about if he will refund my money and pay for my car to get cleaned. Anyone have other suggestions for me?

 

Sorry to hear dude!

Whats the name of the shop so I know not to take my car there.

 

D&E Quality Service Raleigh, NC

 

This is why I do as much work as I can on my cars/bikes..

 

Call the dude and tell him what happened. If he doesn't comply with your demands, bitch slap him and say, "I'm Rick James, bitch!" End of story.

 

shep, can you post a pic of your setup? It would be very convenience to create a ramp than to use the jack for these routine maintenance.

Though jacking the car takes less than a minute, I'm a lazy bastard in all standards. I need shortcuts and efficiency! =)

 

sorry to hear that man. hopefully he gives you his money back and takes care of you.