Oil change disaster advice needed

Interesting, owner plans to keep the truck for 300,000 miles but is worried that if it had an engine replacement at 7000 miles the resale value would be lowered.

 

Yeah, the level of dishonesty seen at many dealerships would lead you to believe some of them are capable of anything.

And some surely are, but it would be a very dangerous game to play for even the most derelict of the lot. Having a Toyota franchise revoked for attempted larceny would be a very effective deterrent.

In the big picture this is a nothing deal (to the dealership, it's a big deal to the owner for sure) Yes it will cost them a few dollars but nothing like loosing a $500,000 franchise fee.

 

Do you think his dealer is reading all of these comments? Surely they are aware of this forum.

 

Where did he say that?

 

I would be concerned. You never know what might happen in the future....plans change.

 

So if at 7,000 miles a truck owner says he plans to keep his truck to 300,000 he must be locked into that decision forever? And maybe there’s a value impact even at 300,000 miles.

 

And aside from that truth, he never said it. I did.

 

To be fair, I don’t believe OP is concerned about resale value. Possibly concerned about it being able to make 300k maintenance free as it would had this not happened.

 

I’ve heard that before Toyota makes a decision on a big fix, they have a special area master tech examine the vehicle.

Basically, a guy that is a Master Tech that travels out to different dealerships just to make the final decision.

I can’t say if this is 100% true. But I’ve been told this by a trusted friend.

It makes since that you’d want the opinion of more than just one guy when replacing a $5,000 or more part.

 

Not a bad process if that were the case.

 

OP , if it were me and this may have been said already , let the dealer fix it in whatever method they want so they can say it is as good as it was pre problem . Afterwards trade it to them for a new one. If they say it is not worth as much as one that never was repaired , it is all because of thier mistake , not yours . Any adjustment to it's value should be thier loss. As dedicated as you have said you are to keeping your vehicles pristene , I doubt you will ever be happy keeping it .

 

I wouldn’t settle for anything less than a brand new engine.

 

I find it interesting when people say this. It sounds like the op is going to have a claim of some kind but if there is no actual damage to be found do you really think you could just demand a new engine and they will give it to you?

 

Yes. If a dealership is neglectful enough to send a customer’s brand new truck off without any oil in it, and the customer realizes their stupid mistake by it knocking and the oil/check engine lights coming on, there is no way for Toyota to ever DISPROVE that the life expectancy of this engine is now severely diminished... and there’s every reason to believe it will be. If it went to court, the OP would have no problem finding plenty of professional mechanics who would testify that running an engine for any amount of time without oil is one of, if not thee worst possible things anyone could ever do to hinder the life and reliability of an engine. Toyota knows this. Any good mechanic knows this. You (should) know this.

If this happened to you and you let Toyota get away with giving you a free t-shirt, lifetime oil changes or whatever, and their assurance there’s nothing wrong with your motor, then honestly, you’d deserve to get stuck with a ticking time bomb for not standing your ground. It may come down to how the OP handles it if they give him any bullshit, but I know if it was my truck, I would never let it go until I have the piece of mind back that I paid a premium to have.

 

Once you realize that the worth of the vehicle isn't only important for resale, it begins to make more sense. OP has every right to be concerned with the value of his vehicle being the exact same as when he drove it in for the service, and it should be when this is all said and done (whatever that looks like). OP's future intentions of the truck have zero relevance to the topic of his truck being restored to the condition that he brought it in as.

 

It’d either take a new engine WITH an extended warranty or a brand new truck for me to forgive this.

 

It’ll be interesting for sure to see what they find and ultimately do. I did attend a fairly large family gathering today and discussed this situation with my cousin. Interestingly, this exact same thing happened to her a few years ago. When I say exact I mean EXACT. She took her vehicle in for its first oil change and experienced all the knocking and warning bells that I did. Her dealer (not Toyota) replaced her car within a few days. So to those here who say such a scenario with my truck is impossible, I talked to someone today who says it’s not. With such a new truck if the engine is damaged that should at least be on the table.

 

And hers was a Ford in case anyone wants to know.

 

Nothing is ever off the table in this situation just remember by law the dealer only has to make you whole which giving you your truck back exactly the way it came in. No more no less. If they choose to do more that would be great but it’s simply a courtesy they are no way obligated to do so. Imo I would hope they do more, let’s us know.

 

I will certainly let you guys know as soon as I hear something. I actually kind of heard from the dealer today. At 5:35 p.m., I got a text requesting to complete a survey regarding my last service visit.