Dear Tom and Ray:

The unbelievable has happened. I took my new '97 Toyota Camry (12,000 miles) to a shop to have my oil changed. Well, they did a fine job of removing the old oil, but dropped the ball when it came to adding new oil! I drove away, then noticed the oil light was on, and ended up driving about a mile before getting back to the shop to complain. The engine was probably running for about five minutes without oil. The shop put oil in the car and then tried to ignore me -- like I would go away or something! Unfortunately, the place I went to was not a Toyota dealer; it was a Cadillac/ Olds dealer. They had been changing my oil for the last three years and said they could do Toyotas. I had the oil pan taken off at Toyota a week later and had an oil analysis taken; the results are not back yet. The dealership said my bearings are not scorched, and everything looks just fine. However, everyone tells me that the life of my car has been seriously shortened. Who should I believe, and shouldn't the dealership that screwed up be responsible? I tried to talk to them, but they brushed me off. I have a lawyer, and he says the dealership has shop liability insurance that will pay for a replacement car or a replacement engine. What should a little brunette with a Camry do? -- Robin

Tom: The little brunette should sue their pants off, Robin. If they're really ignoring you, that may be the only way to get their attention.

Ray: They certainly didn't do your engine any good by sending you off without oil. Whether there's physical evidence of damage now, or whether that damage will show up in 60,000 miles, we can't tell. And the problem is that nobody can tell if and when the damage will show up. But the dealership certainly IS responsible for this screw-up. And your lawyer is right; garages carry liability insurance to cover just this sort of mishap.

Tom: Your best bet would be to get the Toyota dealer to attest to the fact that some damage was done (based on the oil analysis or their own investigation). Then you can present your claim to the Cadillac/Olds dealer, and they'll turn it over to their insurance company.

Ray: If they're reasonable people, and there's no clear damage now, I'd propose a compromise. Make a deal by which the insurance company puts $5,000 in escrow and if any lubricated portion of your engine causes the engine to fail before 100,000 miles, that money goes toward buying you a new engine. If you get to 100,000 miles without a major problem, they get to keep the money. Given the uncertainty about how much damage was really done, that's a very fair and logical way to do it, Robin.

Tom: Unfortunately, not all insurance companies are fair and logical, so you may have no choice but to sue them right now for a replacement engine. But try reason first, Robin. Good luck.

In their pamphlet "Should I Buy, Lease, or Steal My Next Car?" Tom and Ray break down the strategies for buying a car, so you can make the most of your money. To order, send (check or money order) to Ruin, P.O. Box 536475, Orlando, FL 32853-6475. You can also order online.

© 1998 by Tom and Ray Magliozzi and Doug Berman Distributed by King Features Syndicate, Inc.

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