What do I do about a repair shop that broke my coolant tank for a simple oil change?
2007 BMW 328i
miles: 170K
manual transmission w/ n51 engine
I went to a kwik kar oil & lube shop to get a simple oil change and they broke my coolant tank. I have a pretty bad coolant leak so I occasionally refill it, I hadn't refilled it for a long time and to my surprise the tank was completely full instead of being completely empty after the oil change. The cap was also damaged with plastic bits coming off and the little plastic bobber that tells you how much coolant is in the tank had snapped in half by being pressed up against the cap, probably from too much pressure.
I called them and asked if they top up fluids like coolant even for an oil change and they say that they do. But when I told them my tank was overfilled and damaged they changed their mind and said that they didn't fill it... What can I do about this and more importantly what further damage will happen if I keep driving the car. They have a warranty against "failure" for 3 months or 3K miles but I don't think they'll do anything as there's no way for me to prove that the tank was empty before hand.
What do I do
replace the tank
I went to a kwik kar oil & lube shop to get a simple oil change
That was a mistake. Most of us here advise people to stay away from those quick lube joints.
they broke my coolant tank.
Not surprising. Those kind of places barely train their people. There have been many horror stories coming from them.
What can I do about this and more importantly what further damage will happen if I keep driving the car.
Well if it's not a simple overflow tank but instead is a pressurized part of the cooling system you don't want to be driving around that way. Your cooling system won't hold pressure and will tend to overheat.
Of course the kwikie lube should be responsible for it but proving they did this could be a problem. It's not as obvious as if they drained the transmission and dumped 5 quarts more engine oil into the engine, as happened to a friend of mine years ago. (As I said most of us here recommend staying away from those kind of shops.)
Chain shops are bad, stealers are bad, many mechanics are bad....
And all want to rip you off..
As Scotty is too far away from me, I feel forced to go biking and mend my own tires!
(good for my BMI though 😀 )
