I went to Jiffy Lube #71 located at 1717 Sycamore View Rd in Memphis, TN 38134 on 5/19/03 @ 8:17 AM and was in Bay #2. I had asked for the Early Bird Special (little was I know just how "special" it was). I had been waiting for 20 minutes (on a "quick" oil change) when the"technician" called me over to the computer. He said that my vehicle was considered "high mileage" and he showed me a picture on the computer of some kind of oil.
He said that since my vehicle was high mileage he recommended that I purchase this "high mileage" oil for an extra $30.00. I told him I wasn't remotely interested and please just use the owners manual recommended oil (10w30). He then went into a spill about my transmission needing serviced because it had high mileage and should be serviced every 50k miles.
I asked him if there was any indication that my transmission needed serviced other than the mileage and he said "no" I then advised him that the transmission had just been serviced 30k miles ago right after I bought the car. He then started trying to sell me the next thing his computer popped up that I needed and I at this point was getting a little angry and said just fix my car so I can go. He spouted off ok I'll fix your car.
I then walked back to the area outside the bay to wait an additional 10 minutes for my "quick" oil change. Finally he called me over to pay and I departed the property. I turned right onto Sycamore View Rd and headed toward the 40 interstate. Traffic was backed up as usual and I had to stop for the traffic block. I was in the center lane headed for 240 West. I noticed that my vehicle was surging very bad and didnt seem like it wanted to stay running.
As I continued to set there, the temp gauge started to rise rapidly. I couldn't pull over because I was locked in that lane and I couldn't get the cars to my right to let me over. We again started to move forward and I noticed that the temp started to drop. I got off on exit 20 Getwell Rd. And had a red light. Again the temp gauge started to rise and the car was running poorly again. The light turned green and I started forward. There werent many lights after that and I noticed that it only ran hot and wouldn't idle while I was stopped.
I came up on another red light and the temp gauge went up very rapidly as I started to slow down. I ran through it because there was no place to pull over and I was about to be at work. When I arrived at work, a few minutes late no less, I immediately shut the engine down. I advised my supervisor of the problem and asked permission to take my vehicle to AutoZone because the engine light had come on and I told him what had happened. He told me to let the engine cool about an hour first.
At 10:00 am I left the property toward the Auto Zone that was about 2 miles from our location. Once I arrived I went inside and had the counter man come look at my vehicle. He noticed right away that a seal had been left off. He said that it looked to be intentional and asked if I wanted him to replace it. I asked him to please do so. With-in seconds after he replaced the seal the idle returned to normal and shortly after that the temp went back to normal.
I called home office and they directed me to call the district manager. I placed a call to him and explained everything to him. He told me he was sorry for the poor service and he would reimburse me with a free oil change. With-in a few days I noticed that the antifreeze was out of my vehicle. I added more and went on with my business.
On Friday May 30th after I arrived at work I noticed that my car was making a funny noise. I tried to again and again to start my car and it wouldnt catch it would only turn over. I had to have it towed. The shop told me that the head gasket was bad and possibly the intake and the damages would run $1600.00 tax. Because I was at work and couldnt pull from my duties, I had my mother relay the information to Jiffy Lube. They said they needed to talk to me directly.
I called and spoke with the manager of the location I had my oil change preformed at and the manager to would go the shop where my car had been looked at and see what would be done. The manager told me he would try to get to it Monday afternoon or first thing Tuesday. On Tuesday at 2:00 pm I called and ask the manager if he had a chance to inspect the damages.
He said that his assistant quit and he couldnt pull away yet and it may be another day or two. I was advised by an attorney that couldnt get to the case that if the manager wasnt a certified service repair technician or a claims rep to not let him touch my vehicle and that would be like letting the fox in the henhouse. At this point I have bought a Junker used car until I can get something done. I am still without my transportation and am getting nowhere fast on my own. I am currently seeking an attorney to work on the case. I have done a great deal of research on the matter and with what I have gathered I think the case would be easy to deal with but not with-out legal council, which I am currently contacting.
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