Subject: Monro Muffler and Brake did an oil change, boy did they do an oil change
To the best of my ability, everything that I will relate to you, is a matter of public record. It can be verified in the New York State Attorney General's file #58292 and in New York State Dept of Motor Vehicle case #3RS625394.
On August 12, I brought my 1998 VW Golf to Monro Muffler and Brake (shop 107) in East Greenbush, NY, for an oil change. The next day, August 13th, while driving on the NYS Thruway, the oil drain plug fell out of my car, emptying the oil from my car. The oil hit the rear wheels of my car, causing the car to slide, narrowly missing a Price Chopper tractor trailer. My wife and three children were in the car at the time. We sat on the side of the Thruway waiting to be picked up by a family member and for a NYS Thruway authorized towtruck to tow the VW off of the Thruway. The vehicle was towed to Hackel's, a VW specialist and the mechanic who had specific knowledge of this particular car.
8/14/06 I went to Monro, shop 107 in East Greenbush, NY and explain the situation to Greg, the shop manager. He instructed me to call Randy Howerton at his corporate office. They set up an appointment to look at the car for the next day. (jpg 56)
8/15/06 Randy and Greg of Monro examine my vehicle and confirm there is engine noise. They say they hear the noise in the top end. Randy says he wants to send the car to Cooley VW to have them diagnose it and repair it. I agree to this. Greg says he will degrease and clean the car of the oil. Randy says Monro's insurance company will contact me within 24 hours.
From 8/15/06 to 8/23/06 - I go back and forth with Greg as to status of my car and him obtaining a rental for me while my car is being repaired.
8/24/06 I received a letter from Teresa Beckhorn, Risk Management Dept at Monro Service Corp. The letter includes a check for $164.10, reimbursements for damage done to my vehicle.in the letter she states, Additional work found by repairer shop while repairing and rental costs while your vehicle is being repaired are covered in addition to this check. She also apologizes for the incident.
8/25/06 I call Cooley's service desk to see status of my car and they say the car is done and they are waiting for Monro to pick it up. They had replaced the hydraulic lifters, but noted that they found that there was additional abnormal noise in the engine that was evident.
8/29/06 Greg from Monro calls me and says the car is done and I can pick it up, but he is off today. I ask him if the car is degreased and cleaned. He says it has been cleaned. (jpg 68 and 70)
8/30/06 I go to Monro and see that my car is still covered in oil. I take my finger and write, oil, clean on the vehicle and my finger is covered in oil. Under the hood, 10W30 is written in white letters on my plenum (jpg 69). I ask Greg about this. He says Cooley told him to change the oil and put in 10W30. He hadn't yet, but will. He said he felt that Cooley should have changed the oil.
I asked him if he listened to the car. He said he drove it from Cooley to Monro. I started the car for him and heard loud knocking from the engine and shut it off. I asked him if he felt the car was fixed. He said, That car isn't fixed. I ask him about the abnormal noise in the engine from Cooley's report. I asked him why he would try to give the car back to me knowing that there is still knocking in the engine and Cooley had reported it him. He says he is sending the car back to Cooley to make them fix it right. I ask him about keeping the rental. He says keep it until your car is fixed. Greg goes back inside. I took a black marker and drew some lines on the original oil filter. (jpg 71) I called Randy Howerton to discuss these ongoing problems. He doesn't return my call.
9/1/06 I called my insurer, Electric Insurance to discuss this matter. They informed me that Monro, by attempting to fix my vehicle and providing me with a rental, was doing what they should be, even though it wasn't at a reasonable pace.
I stopped by Monro with my digital camera and asked Greg if I could take a picture of the engine. He said, they had done an oil change and didn't see any metal shavings inside the oil filter. So there wasn't a reason to take a picture of the engine. He said that his boss had seen the car and was mad about this situation and they were putting in a claim against Cooley for the work they performed. They were wasting time with an open ended account from a $600 million dollar company. He will call me at the end of the day when he has a better idea when the car is going back to Cooley.
I called Randy Howerton and left a message for him. He calls back. Randy says Greg is putting in a new oil pump. I tell him how unhappy I am that they tried to give me the car back in this condition. This car is not safe. I ask him if he would pay $500 for this car. He says, No. He states that he is angry with Cooley and will put in a claim against their bill. He says he should have let the insurance company handle this, but they are taking care of it. He hasn't listened to the engine, but Greg will have the oil pump in it later and we'll have a better idea. I tell him that Hackel's VW said the car had good oil pressure and that the oil pump was fine. I tell him I need copies of all work performed on my vehicle. Randy says he will have Greg call me back. No call.
9/4/06 While driving by Monro, I see my car up on a lift. I go into the garage and ask the mechanic, Harry what he is doing. He says he just installed a new oil pump and he still hears the knock. He doesn't know what's wrong with the car. I went inside to talk to Greg and ask him when the car is going back to Cooley. He says since today is a holiday, they aren't open, but the car is going back. I ask him for documentation for all of the work done to this car. He says he'll get it to me as soon as he can.
9/6/06 I went to Monro, after they had closed, opened the hood of my car and took pictures of the engine. The oil filter had black marker lines on it.
9/7/06 Eric from Enterprise rental calls me to ask what's going on with the rental. I call Greg at Monro to verify that I still have use of the vehicle. Greg says you have it until your car is fixed and that he will call Enterprise and let them know I have the car until my car is repaired.
9/08/06 Enterprise calls me again and says that hadn't heard from anyone about the car.in passing, the rental agent mentions that a woman that had brought her car to Monro had a similar oil change problem as I did. I call Greg and remind him to call Enterprise to confirm my rental.
9/15/06 My vehicle is moved to Cooley VW.
9/16/06 I call Greg at Monro and ask for updates on my car. I also ask him for all documentation for work performed on my car. He says that Cooley is putting a new engine in the car, so you won't need any paperwork for the old engine. Greg says that they, Monro, want Cooley to deduct the money they paid Cooley for the first repair, from the price of the new engine. I tell Greg that I am tired of being on the low end of the stick and Monro isn't the victim in this whole mess, it is me. Greg says, well you are getting a new engine. I tell him, a new engine is the only acceptable repair. Greg says, At least you have a rental until the new engine goes in.
9/25/06 I stop by Cooley to check on the status of my car. I ask at the service desk. Service rep. Tells me they are waiting on Monro. Monro has the estimate they requested for a new longblock engine and throttlebody, but Monro wants to deduct the price of the first repair from the price of the new engine. Cooley says they fixed exactly what Monro told them to and Cooley recommended a new engine after the first visit. Greg from Monro wanted to give the car back to the customer to see if he was satisfied, even though Cooley had recommended a new engine to him.
9/26/06 I call Greg at Monro. He isn't there. Steve will have him call me back.
9/28/06 I call Randy, leave message. He calls back. He says that the engine noise is just a wrist pin noise that will go away. He isn't happy that he paid $1200 for this car and it isn't fixed. I reply, I was told that a new engine was going in. Randy says their insurance company is handling this now so it's out of his hands. I ask him for all the documentation for work performed on my car. He says its in the hands of the insurance company. He also mentions that Greg no longer works at the shop. He says that the insurance company will be contacting me within the next few days to set up an appraisal. I tell him that I want to be at the appraisal.
9/29/06 Travelers Melinda Whitkowski calls, asks for a summary of what happened and to give the name of the person doing the appraisal. I ask her about the paperwork for my vehicle. She says I have to get it from Monro. Lisa Rosenberg is the appraiser. I get a message from Randy at 11:59am that they are doing the appraisal at 12:00pm. The car has just been brought over from Cooley.
I get over there. I go to desk and ask for the manager. Eric is there. I ask him for the paperwork for my car. He says Randy has it and he is around here. Lisa Rosenberg arrives. She goes to do the appraisal. Randy comes out of his car. I ask him for the paperwork for the car. He ignores me. He tells Ms. Rosenberg that the car was sent to Cooley to be repaired and they didn't do it. Travelers wants to find a salvaged engine and have Hackels install it. I tell her Bob Hackel wants nothing to do with this car after someone else damaged it. Eric says anyone can throw an engine in. Lisa asks if they will do it here. He says he can't. I tell her that I can't accept anything until I have seen all the estimates. She says she will e-mail them to me in 30 minutes. I go to talk to Randy about the paperwork and about the new engine that was supposed to go into the car. He rolls the window up on me. I tell Ms. Rosenberg that Randy is being rude and won't give me the paperwork that I have asked for, so I will go and she can call me if she needs me.
I go to Cooley to find out what happened. Service rep. Says that the Monro employee was there to pick up the car and knew nothing about the car. Cooley gives me the paperwork along with the estimate that Monro requested for the engine repair ($5,662.02). Cooley notes, Monro requested the availability of longblock. The estimate does not include the additional damage caused by Monro, when the car was in their possession.
Cooley VW found:
1) Evidence vehicle has been taken apart since last visit to Cooley
2) Intake Manifold support bolts missing
3) Camshaft cover on valve cover missing
4) Throttlebody harness misrouted
5) Cel on throttlebody faults
6) Check engine light flashing due to misfiring
7) Monro put incorrect oil in vehicle and Greg (manager of Monro) would change oil to correct type. This was never done (jpg 71)
I call Lisa Rosenberg to see what she came up with and to tell her about the additional work that may be needed. She says she found a salvaged engine and knew of a couple of places that could install it. She said the estimate was for $920. I told her this was unacceptable because Monro had already agreed to have Cooley VW put in a new longblock engine. Also on Cooley's estimate was a throttlebody, which was not included in Traveler's estimate.
I call Electric Insurance to see what they can do for me. They suggest to call Monro and make sure they aren't charging me storage fees and that the offer is ridiculous. They will see if I am covered under my policy. I call Monro, Eric has gone for the day and they will have him call me. I ask about storage. They say they aren't charging me storage.
9/30/06 I go to Monro with my brother, Trooper. I ask what they are doing with my car. Eric says its in insurances hands. I ask for the paperwork for my car. He doesn't have it. Randy does. I ask what Greg's last name is. He doesn't know. I ask the employee that's standing next to the counter what Greg's name is. He has no idea either. I tell him to have Randy call me. We go to my car, open the hood and I point out the same oil filter with black markings on it to my brother. Travelers estimate is left on the front seat of the car.
10/2/06 Speak with Paul Farris from Electric Insurance. I am not covered, but from viewing all the pictures and paperwork that I had sent them, he feels that I shouldn't accept that offer from Travelers and I should call the Attorney General's office.
Called Monro's corporate office. Asked to speak with Randy Howerton's supervisor. Left message with John Lamb, asked for a call back. He hasn't returned my call to date.
10/3/06 Melinda Whitkowski from Travelers calls. Wants my address so she can send this check to me. I tell her if the check is for $5700 she can send it to me. She isn't giving me that. I tell her that Monro and I had agreed that Cooley was installing a new engine and that's exactly what I want. She says she isn't giving me a new engine. I say that I didn't ask her to since Monro already agreed to it and I find their estimate unacceptable. She then says then she expects litigation from me. I ask her if she knows Greg's last name. She says she doesn't.
I told her that I had been given Cooley's report after the appraisal and none of their findings were included on Traveler's estimate. I have the estimate that Monro requested from Cooley along with their findings of unauthorized work being performed on my car. Do you want it? She says I can send it and she will put it in my file. I also reminded her that Travelers isn't supposed to tell me where I can get my car fixed. She says she didn't. I didn't say she did, but a Travelers employee tried to give me a couple of shops who would install the salvaged engine. I told her that I showed a NYS Trooper the original oil filter still remains on the car. And no one knows Greg's last name or where he is now. Melinda says that he was fired.
10/10/06 Enterprise Rental, Eric Galloway calls me at 11:25am says that Travelers has cancelled my rental as of 8:13am this morning, but they want to backdate the cancellation date to 10/05/06. I tell Eric that I am not responsible nor will I pay for the rental from 10/05 to 10/10 since they just called me. I return the rental at 11:45am. I remind Eric that Monro said they were taking care of all rental costs and I am not responsible for these days since I returned the car within 20 minutes of notification of cancellation. I also filled the tank, but was responsible for of a tank. Eric says that he will reimburse me once this bill gets worked out.
At 7pm, I go to Monro to remove the plates from my vehicle, so I may return them to DMV and cancel my insurance on a car that is inoperable. Dee from Monro comes over to me to see what's going on. I tell him I am taking the plates. He asks if he can help? I say sure since I can't get the front plate off. Dee says that what Monro did to me is just wrong. He says they should have put the new engine in the car like they said they would and this all would have been over in a few days. Dee says that the shop is having problems with a lot of workers screwing people's cars up. I ask him about a woman getting her oil changed on Ladies Day and how she had a similar problem as I did with the all the oil coming out of the engine. He says, yeh, that's one of many problems.
Harry, one of their technicians and the one who worked on my car has been fired and they moved Greg. Dee says their shop has a bad reputation and that their volume is way down. I tell Dee that he can tell his manager that he helped me remove the plates or he can say nothing. It's up to him. He says he has a family to take care of and wishes me luck.inside the car I notice that parts are lying on the floor. The vehicle needs to be cleaned inside as well as outside. Motor oil has been left on the vehicle since 8/13/06.
10/11/06 Eric from Enterprise rental calls. He says he has rec'd another note from St. Paul's Travelers saying that they want this account closed out. He can't because they wanted to backdate the termination date to 10/05/06. I remind him that Monro hired them, Monro authorized payment and Monro is responsible for the rental. He says he hasn't called Monro. I remind him that he told me my rental was terminated 10/10 and within 20 minutes that rental was returned. I tell him to get on Monro's case since they authorized the rental.
Cooley VW was the repair shop chosen by Monro. I agreed to all repair work being done by this repair shop.
The 9/15/06 Cooley VW engine replacement estimate was requested by Monro and offered to me by Monro. The manager, Greg and I agreed that this was the only acceptable fix.
9/15/06 to 9/28/06, my VW was at Cooley VW for the sole purpose of having a new longblock engine and throttlebody installed in my car.
To date, I have not authorized any work other than an oil change, to be done by Monro. As I was informed by Cooley VW, they have done more than an oil change.
I have not received any paperwork from Monro concerning any work performed on my car. I have asked for this paperwork numerous times.
No estimate was obtained for the additional damage caused by Monro taking apart my vehicle when it was not in Cooley VW's possession.
It has been near impossible to obtain, Greg's, the manager of Monro shop 107, last name. None of the repair shops, rental agents, employees or insurers know his last name.
10/10/06, Enterprise notifies me that Travelers has cancelled my rental as of 8:13am, but they want to backdate to 10/05/06 and want me to be responsible for Oct. 6 10, $169.45.
The Cooley VW dealership paperwork detailing all of the previously mentioned repairs, diagnosis and damage in this post is
available for anyone to view at the NYS Attorney General's Office, as well as the NYS Department of Motor Vehicles.
I am a stay-at-home father with three young children and being without my vehicle has been trying, to say the least. We were blessed that noone was injured, in what could have been a serious accident had we not avoided the oncoming tractor trailer.
All my family and I want is what Monro promised they would do, for them to repair all the additional damage caused due to unauthorized work performed on my vehicle and to clean the car inside and out.
Also attached is Monro's Product and Service statement. You be the judge in determining if they performed any work with-out authorization. Did work that was not needed. If they provided written, explained recommendations for repairs.
This ordeal began in August of this year and it is now November. This matter needs to be resolved.
I have sent pictures detailing some of the aspects of this experience to your frontpage address.
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