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krystyne20 krystyne2...
 
M$2 January 05, 2009 09:38 PM

Is this auto repair shop still responsible under new ownership (details below)?

My mom has always taken her car to the same Meineke shop for oil changes and has all of her receipts to prove it. She took it in today for an oil change, and they told her that someone "stripped" something the last time an oil change was done and now she needs a new oil pan. The oil pan is $200, and they will charge her 3 hours of labor at $90 p/hr. So she's looking at approximately $500 for this repair. She told them that she's always brought it here, so if someone stripped something, then that mistake would have been made at this shop.

The manager refuses to take responsibility because it was under a different owner at the time. In the meantime she's unable to drive her car home because they've already drained the oil out and can't put it back in without a new oil pan. So my brother came down to pick up my mom, and to further explain to the manager that they are responsible for the repairs. Well, the manager refused to listen and threw them out. So now my mom has to tow her car home because she doesn't have the money to fix it.

My question is this: Is it true that since the shop is under new ownership that they are not responsible to repair any mistakes that the shop made under the previoius ownership?
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usedcargen... usedcargen...
 
 January 06, 2009 02:40 AM
I'm not a lawyer, but here is another angle that you might be able to explore. If you took your car to a private garage that is now under new ownership, you would typically be out of luck. However, since Meineke is a franchise, I would recommend contacting the corporate headquarters with your complaint.

You can contact them at this phone number or address:

Corporate Office
Meineke Car Care Centers, Inc.
128 South Tryon St
Suite 900
Charlotte, NC 28202

Toll Free: 800-275-5200
Fax: 704-377-1490

Before contacting them, I would recommend gathering any evidence (including your invoice and the names of anyone you dealt with before the shop changed hands--and especially the names of anyone who admitted that they caused the problem).

The corporate office has a large stake in customer satisfaction with the brand itself, so they are sometimes more motivated to make things right for the customer than a small shop owner would be.

Best of luck,

Jeff
http://blog.usedcargenius.com
Source(s):
http://www.meineke.com/ContactUs.aspx

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cmealerjr cmealerjr
 
January 05, 2009 10:39 PM
Short answer is no it is not true. Check with a lawyer if you're going to do anything about it. But usually the business is responsible regardless of who is the owner.

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pumkin pumkin
 
January 06, 2009 04:13 AM
Whether or not it's under new ownership, it seems it would be up to your mom to prove that she has never taken her car anywhere else where the damage could have occurred. Her word might not be enough. And having all the receipts from Meineke won't show that she never took the car somewhere else in between visits to Meineke. She should also read the small print on the receipts. The company might have included a "not liable" clause in their fine print.

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