Do not, EVER, take your vehicle to Oil Stop. Their employees are all young and inexperienced. They do NOT know what they are doing. Their mistake could have cost me my life and those of my kids!
In January I took my '93 Ford Aerostar to Chevron Oil Stop for a regular oil change. I had been there once or twice before and my experience had been good. Besides the oil change, they also replenished the other fluids in my car, including the brake fluid.
About a month later, my brakes began to make a screeching sound whenever I applied them. It was very strange because I had just had new brakes installed the previous October. Why would I be having brake trouble?
I just ignored the brakes. I didn't have the money to get them checked out, and they still worked. That's all that was important.
As the months went by, I noticed it was getting harder and harder to stop. On May 1, with four of my children in the car, the brakes stopped working in the parking lot of Food 4 Less on Sunrise Boulevard. The van ended up on top of a planter box in front of a nearby store. I was able to get the car home safely, but my kids were so upset that they wanted to walk home rather than ride in that van.
It was too dangerous to drive my car anymore, and I had to get the brakes fixed, even if I couldn't affford it. I shopped around and found the cheapest place I could find. On May 2st, I drove to the repair shop because I couldn't afford to have it towed. The shop was very close to my home and I thought I could make it. On the way, I tried to stop for a stop light and couldn't. I plowed right through the light. It was extremely terrifying. The rest of the way I had to use my emergency brake to stop.
The mechanic inspected the brakes and told me that THERE WAS MOTOR OIL IN THE BRAKE LINES! The brakes were RUINED. They had absorbed all the motor oil and the rubber had become brittle. The whole system would have to be flushed and new brakes installed.
I told him that I had taken the van to Oil Stop and that they had refilled the brake fluid. He told me that the week before, a woman had come in with her brakes ruined by Oil Stop, because an ignorant employee had mistaken a bottle of motor oil for brake fluid. He said that they hire new employees right out of high school and they don't know what they are doing.
When I was at Oil Stop that January, I noticed that the employees were very young, but I thought they were trained. My 11 year old daughter, who was with me that day at Oil Stop, recalls that the containers for various liquids weren't labeled or anything, and that the young man just grabbed a bottle and poured it in.
Well, the mechanic recommended a repair shop, Quality Auto Care, that would make all the repairs, and my van was towed there by Roseville Tow. I probably got hosed by Quality and Roseville Tow, too. They gave me a written estimate for $600, and I let them fix the brakes. But when I went in to pay, the manager said the bill was $800, NOT $600! He said it cost more than they thought. I could afford $600, but not $800. I tried to get him to tkae a check and everything, but he wouldn't compromise. My car just ended up sitting there at Quality.
Eventually, a lien was put on my van. I don't know why, but Roseville Tow's name was listed on the lien, not Quality! Quality must have given the van to the tow place! Roseville Tow auctioned my van off, and I lost my car forever. I had bought the van for $6300 with a lump sum Social Security had awarded me for back disability payments. I will never have the money to buy a car again!
In June, I called Quality to find out what had happened to my car, but they said they were under new management and that records of my van being repaired there DIDN'T EXIST!
I tried to contact the manager of Oil Stop 3 or 4 times, and every time they said he would call me back, but he didn't! I eventually just gave up on Oil Stop ever reimbursing me for the cost of my car. They have ruined my life. You need a car to live in the Sacramento area. I have several chronic diseases, including lupus and Reynaud's syndrome, and I AM NOT SUPPOSED to be out in the sun, heat, or cold. I GET SICK! I am severely limited in my mobility. I have to hire a taxi just to go grocery shopping!
Oil Stop needs to be put out of business! They should not be allowed to do this to people! If you live in the Citrus Heights - Fair Oaks - Orangeville area, patronize Oil Stop AT YOUR OWN RISK. If you don't care about your car, take it to Chevron Oil Stop.
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