I hate walmart

[DHolmes]

we took my gfs car to walmart for a oil change while we were shopping ,long story short they stripped my oil pan,im very upset,they told me they would pay for it,but now i have to get rides to shops bring them price qoutes,oh and i was stuck at walmart for 3 hours

[Christopherrr]

The jetta?

2.0?

Yeah...the oil pans on these things are very soft. Every single 2.0 vw has a leaky oil drain plug. Either get an oversided or replace the pan.

Or, get a easy drain (twist type) oversized and put it in so you'll never have to use a wrench. It's not pressurized so it doesn't hurt.

At least you're not like this Sorento on my lot that Walmart did an oil change for and forgot the oil...just for the ok to put an engine in.

[FroSSty]

lol...When my wife worked at Walmart, there was a yahoo that put 16 quarts of oil in an explorer because he thought it was a diesel...I kid you not...Needless to say the thing hydrolocked as fast as you can say "you're fired". Oh and he was the f.n.g. and wasn't fired...

[Joe 1320]

Buy a pair of ramps and do the work yourself. Failure to do that will likely result in what you just experienced.

[bru333]

Buy a pair of ramps and do the work yourself. Failure to do that will likely result in what you just experienced.

+1

I've always done my own oil changes. My Father warned me about the quick lube places years ago.

Now days the only things I don't do myself are new tires (install and balance), and alignments. I just don't have the equipment. Although, the last time I had to have my alignment done (new struts) the tech said I had it almost perfect, I think it was the right front that was a hair out.

I also go to a shop where I know one of the managers. I've got 3 to choose from.

[Performin Norman]

It's a shame that we can't trust others to do good quality work on our cars. I try not to let anyone touch my cars.

[MN6WS6]

I'm with everybody else, do it yourself. I work for a dealership, and I've only let one oil changer work on my van one time. He put the oil filter on so tight that even he couldn't get it back off. He had to get a wrench out. And I made him loosen it too as there is no sense in putting a filter on so tight you need a freakin' ratchet to undo it. The only exception is a diesel truck, as they will (and have) vibrate the filter off the engine.

[99Firebird3800]

I do my own oil changes, and pretty much everything else. The ONLY time I've let people work on my vehicles was for tires/alignments or if I simply don't have time to collect the parts, get into the garage, do the work, and go get an alignment or whatever. Oh, and one time when all 4 balljoints were bad on my old Jimmy - I didn't know what I was doing, so I had a shop do it (same guy who does my alignments, so I trust him - but I watched him and know what I'm doing now).

I agree that there's no excuse for stripping a pan out, nor is there an excuse for putting an oil filter on so tight you couldn't immediately take it out. I generally tighten it until I can't turn it any further by hand. Unfortunately, even when oiling the o-ring, I can never get it back off after 3k miles without a wrench - or, in the case of my truck, the stupid engineers put it in there in such a way I have to have a wrench because I can't get my hand on it.

[Steel2686]

I do the changes myself unless I get free changes in the mail from Acura. Then I'll take it to the stealership and ask for a specific guy. Two of them are my brother's friends and they take care of it while I'm there as they know my car. Places like Wal-Mart, Jiffy Lube, etc... Avoid them at all costs. Even if they hold themselves responsible for their (common) mistakes, those are only the problems that surface right away.

Quick example - My friend had an '02 Durango V8. He never understood why I changed my own oil or brought it to a trusted person to do it. He always told me "It's just a simple oil change". He went to the Jiffy Lube down the road and "never" had a problem... Until about three weeks after one of his changes, his engine started knocking very loudly. Long story short, his engine went south due to lack of oil. Turns out they never put the full amount in his pan, but he couldn't prove it.

He changes his own oil now.

[ConElite]

It's a shame that we can't trust others to do good quality work on our cars. I try not to let anyone touch my cars.

I second this one. If I cant fix it then I have to but thats very rare. sually its for say Exhuast or Alignment but nothing more. I do ALL the rest. Those people that do those oil changes dont know what they are doing.

[DHolmes]

$595 dollors to fix,Walmart said they need to contact there insurance company,could take a couple days

[Jeff_in_Atl]

$595 dollors to fix,Walmart said they need to contact there insurance company,could take a couple days

That sounds like their problem.

My mother took her Grand Marquis to a dealership (which was a SVT authorized dealership) and they used an impact gun on her oil pan plug. She got home and saw the oil leaking out of it and took it back. They had to put a new pan on it.

[Christopherrr]

they used an impact gun on her oil pan plug.

You've got to be kidding me!

[Steel2686]

That sounds like their problem.

My mother took her Grand Marquis to a dealership (which was a SVT authorized dealership) and they used an impact gun on her oil pan plug. She got home and saw the oil leaking out of it and took it back. They had to put a new pan on it.

I don't know how Ford operates, but I know with Chrysler, that whole "5 Star" dealership means zero. It's supposed to be based off of service excellence and knowledgeable sales staff.

My brother has been the parts manager for a Chrysler/Jeep dealership for 12 years. He said they base it off of sales in the area and that's it. When his stealership was awarded the 5 Star title, they had the longest list of complaints for service and satisfaction. However, they sell the most of any Chrysler stealership in the area.

Maybe the SVT authorization is more involved, but judging by your mother's experience, maybe not.

[Performin Norman]

I don't know how Ford operates, but I know with Chrysler, that whole "5 Star" dealership means zero. It's supposed to be based off of service excellence and knowledgeable sales staff.

My brother has been the parts manager for a Chrysler/Jeep dealership for 12 years. He said they base it off of sales in the area and that's it. When his stealership was awarded the 5 Star title, they had the longest list of complaints for service and satisfaction. However, they sell the most of any Chrysler stealership in the area.

Maybe the SVT authorization is more involved, but judging by your mother's experience, maybe not.

I can attest to this. When I first got my Viper, I took it to a local Dodge dealer. It was the one sponsoring the local Viper club. We had our meetings there and such. I took the car in for some warranty work. It appears that they pushed a tool cart around the front of the car and put about a 7 or 8 inch scrape around the front fascia. They were a 5 star dealership.