Dear Tom and Ray:
My repair shop wants me to pay almost $900 for a new brake line on my Volvo S80. The brake line failed because the transmission cut it. A month prior, the shop had forgotten to put back four large bolts that hold the engine, transmission and front suspension to the unit body. I think that while the transmission was clunking around because they left the bolts out, the line was damaged. I have pictures of the loose sub-frame. Who should pay for the brake line?
– Steve
Tom: The shop.
Ray: I don’t think Volvo even made the S80 until 1999, so the car can’t be more than 7 years old. I can’t recall seeing a Volvo with a bad brake line after only seven years.
Tom: When the brake lines do fail, it’s due to corrosion.
Ray: It’s clear their negligence in forgetting to tighten the sub-frame is what led to the rupture. If they deny they left the sub-frame loose, that’s another matter. But if you have photo proof that the bolts were missing and a repair order that shows they had reason to remove those bolts a month earlier, you have good circumstantial evidence.
Tom: You can go to small claims court. But before you do that, go to a Volvo dealer and ask him or her to examine the car and tell you if the damage appears to be from normal wear and tear or repair error. Get the opinion in writing. Offer to pay for the regular labor rate for his or her time.
Ray: Take this written “evidence,” along with your photos of the loose sub-frame with circles and arrows on the back, to your shop. See if you can persuade the owner to do the right thing.
Tom: He won’t like the idea of eating the cost, but tough. He messed it up.
…
Dear Tom and Ray: I have a ’92 Nissan 240 SX coupe. It’s bruised and battered yet soldiers on, with 177,600 miles on it. It burns a quart of oil every 1,000 miles. If I continually replace the lost oil and occasionally the filter, do I ever have to do an oil change? Aren’t I already doing a running oil change by letting the oil drain out a little at a time and then refilling it? The oil looks clean enough, and the filter is swapped every 4,000 miles.
– David
Tom: No, David. When you replace only the oil you burn, some of the oldest oil never gets removed from the engine.
It’s not like you can decide to burn only the oldest, dirtiest oil every 1,000 miles.
Ray: If you had used this “method” from Day One, some amount of oil from the day you bought the car would still be in the crankcase today.
Tom: You’ll always leave some of the old crud behind. It’s just not as good as draining all the oil 5,000-7,500 miles.
Ray: Buy some new drain-plug gaskets. Unless you think the 25 cents apiece is more than you want to put into the car at this point.
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