On August 12, I went to Precision Auto care at Almaden Expwy, for an oil change with a coupon for $16.99. While waiting I went to the grocery store nearby, then I got a call from the Auto care mechanic, telling me that my brake fluid is black and needs flushing, so my brakes will work. The cost of this job is $79.00. So I agreed for them to flush the brake fluid. Then I got a call again from the mechanic, that the drain pan plug cannot be opened even with all of their mechanics trying to take the plug out, it keeps on twirling, so they saidthey need to replace the whole drain pan including the gasket, and the cost is $760.00. I told them I cannot afford the cost, and would like to drive my car home. The mechanicsaid, it is too dangerous to drive the car because it may cause a fire, due to the drain plug sealbeing broken, and oil may leak. Also they already ordered the drain pan and it will be delivered in about 2 hours that day. Since I am concerned that driving my car is dangerous at that time, I agreed for them to replace the pan. After 4 hours waiting, I got a call again from the mechanic, that the drain pan that was ordered does not fit and they have to order another one coming from Reno, Nevada. Which means my car will need to stay at the shop overnight. I told the mechanic to forget the job, and I will go ahead and get my car towed (not drivable anymore) to the Chrysler shop. Again, the mechanic refused to give me my car back because the engine is already suspended and can not be put back and the car is hanging already from the ceiling. He said, he will work on my car in the morning. I asked if there is any loaner car, but they said None. They advised me to get a rental car but at my own expense. I was so frustrated. I even had to cancel my Dr's appointment because of no transportation. The following day my pastor called just to touch bases. I told him about my dilemma and he offered to come with me to Precision Tune. My pastor spoke to the station manager explaining the situation of a widow being on a fixed income and the difficulty this is going to put on her and he said he had mechanics to pay and he had so many hours in on this situation already all he could do was to not charge the $16.99 for the oil change and there was nothing else he could do. My pastor then mentioned to him that customer complaints on Google about his store were overwhelming. The car was now ready and I had to charge it on my Visa card. Shortly thereafter my pastor did a quick search on Google for an oil drain plug fix and here's the first entry to pop up: Stripped Oil Plug? Not a Problem! Thanks to Uturn VROC # 1125This is a $3.00 fix for one of those big Uh-Oh's in our lives. Uturn Sez:
I took my oil plug into a local auto supply store and described that a couple of the threads in the aluminum case had come out with the plug and asked what they recommended as a fix. I figured I'd have to drill and re-tap another hole. Well, they took the stock oil plug, which they determined to be a 12mm plug with a 1.25 pitch. They sold me a 12mm plug with a 1.75 pitch, which was self-tapping. I went home and started to thread it into the hole using a 3/8" ratchet and a socket. Every turn or so I would back the plug out and wipe all of the metal shavings away. A couple of minutes later the plug seated and the job was done. The plug came with a gasket, which I used, whereas my stock plug never had a gasket. I filled the old BUBF up with oil and fired her up... No leaks! This fix worked for a BUBF, but I'm not sure of the stock sizes of the plugs on other Vulcans. The plug was made by Oil-Tite, part number 65213, and was a 12mm with a 1.75 pitch (M12-1.75). Cost was $2.99. Repair time was about 5 minutes.
It is my hope that others will have a heads up beforehand, and not be taken to the cleaners at this particular Precision Tune location in Almaden.
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