The engine of Ali Cotton’s Nissan Altima is after he takes it to Jiffy Lube for inspection. Does the company have to pay its $12,998 repair bill?
I went to Jiffy Lube for an inspection. They removed the oil cap and used up all the oil, which in the end ruined the engine.
I towed my car to the dealership, who showed that the oil cap was missing and the engine was broken. Repairs to my 2016 Nissan Altima will charge $12,998. Can you help me ask Jiffy Lube to compensate me for the damage?—Ali Cotton, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Jiffy Lube inspected his car and didn’t replace the oil without replacing it.
They convinced him of Jiffy’s guilt and he sent it in writing to the company.
It seems that he has given Jiffy Lube any and all possibilities to respond to his request. He sent an email to the head office, which forwarded it to the franchisee. He then contacted the franchisee but got no response.
This is the first Jiffy Lube case involving a broken engine. My advocacy team and I solved a similar challenge for one of our readers a few months ago.
Jiffy Lube offers a limited repair warranty that covers your damages. It covers “engine performance, driving services, and repairs” for 12 months or 12,000 miles, so it looks like it would apply to your broken engine.
One of the problems with a warranty claim is proving that the damage occurred when you repaired your car through Jiffy Lube. How can we discover that it is nothing else?In his case, it looks like Jiffy Lube inspected his Nissan Altima and gave him the green light, which means his car is in good condition. Immediately after, the engine light came on and his engine suffered $12,998 in damage.
Jiffy Lube has responded to your request, but it appears that this is not the case, based on the documentary trail he provided. When this happens, you want to take your case to the next level. I post the names, numbers, and email addresses of Jiffy Lube visitor service managers on my customer advocacy site.
You reached out to my advocacy team for help. I reached out to Jiffy Lube on their behalf. A manager called you and after some negotiations, Jiffy Lube accepted $9,000 of your repair bill, which you accepted.
Christopher Elliott is the founder of Elliott Advocacy, a nonprofit that helps consumers solve their problems. Email them at [email protected] or contact them.
Deb Patterson has worked at The Papers Inc. full-time since 1978. Starting out by rewriting general press releases, Patterson has expanded into all spaces of journalism and won awards through HSPA. She was also editor-in-chief of 4 Northern Indiana Senior Life publications. She was named editor-in-chief of The Papers Inc. in January 2020.