Been using a locally owned quickee oil change shop a couple towns north of here for a while, can't say they do much other than change the oil. But now I have a problem.
Friday I went in for an oil change with the VW Touareg. Its a pretty fancy SUV but despite its rather luxury bias, its actually quite a capable off-road vehicle. As such, it has a big "skid plate" under the engine. The oil change place fights with that skid plate every time I take this vehicle into their shop. They change the oil, fight with the skid plate, finish the job and send me on my way.
So yesterday I pack up the family to head out to dinner and see a play at the local community playhouse. Get about a mile from home and all of a sudden we hear scraping/dragging, as if the muffler was dragging on the ground.
Get out to inspect and see the skid plate has come loose. Go over 30mph and the wind turbulence forces it to bend downward and scrape the ground. Call the folks we are meeting, inform them we will be late for dinner, and head home in a low speed crawl.
Swap cars and head back out. Get about a block past where the skid plate broke apart and we see one of the neighbors cows is loose. Great, already late for dinner. Now we have to find the neighbor and chase down a runaway cow. Eventually made it to dinner, and the community play.
So today I lift up the Touareg and take a look. 4 screws are missing, 2 little brackets are missing. The skid plate itself is not damaged badly enough to worry about, so that is good. Its just small parts. BUT I DON'T HAVE the correct small parts.
What to do? What to do? Duct tape? Nope, its greasy down there, no way to get tape to stick. Look around and find some washers and cotter pins. I fashioned a temporary fix by sort-of securing the skid plate. It will hold for a few days, maybe a few weeks. I'll be back at the oil change shop in the morning for them to make it right.
Anyone else have problems with shops like this?
Friday I went in for an oil change with the VW Touareg. Its a pretty fancy SUV but despite its rather luxury bias, its actually quite a capable off-road vehicle. As such, it has a big "skid plate" under the engine. The oil change place fights with that skid plate every time I take this vehicle into their shop. They change the oil, fight with the skid plate, finish the job and send me on my way.
So yesterday I pack up the family to head out to dinner and see a play at the local community playhouse. Get about a mile from home and all of a sudden we hear scraping/dragging, as if the muffler was dragging on the ground.
Get out to inspect and see the skid plate has come loose. Go over 30mph and the wind turbulence forces it to bend downward and scrape the ground. Call the folks we are meeting, inform them we will be late for dinner, and head home in a low speed crawl.
Swap cars and head back out. Get about a block past where the skid plate broke apart and we see one of the neighbors cows is loose. Great, already late for dinner. Now we have to find the neighbor and chase down a runaway cow. Eventually made it to dinner, and the community play.
So today I lift up the Touareg and take a look. 4 screws are missing, 2 little brackets are missing. The skid plate itself is not damaged badly enough to worry about, so that is good. Its just small parts. BUT I DON'T HAVE the correct small parts.
What to do? What to do? Duct tape? Nope, its greasy down there, no way to get tape to stick. Look around and find some washers and cotter pins. I fashioned a temporary fix by sort-of securing the skid plate. It will hold for a few days, maybe a few weeks. I'll be back at the oil change shop in the morning for them to make it right.
Anyone else have problems with shops like this?