ComplaintsforPremier Car Care

• Initial Complaint

  12/13/2023

  Complaint Type:

  Billing Issues

  Status:

  Answered

  More info

  Premier Car Care was paid by myself and my third-party insurance ******** *** ******, to replace my timing chain and supporting components on or about April 11, 2023. These replacements cost me and *** ****** $3,702.69. *** ****** paid Premier for its agreed portion of the total invoices with a warranty of 12 months or 12,000 miles. 5 months later, while I was driving my truck, I heard my timing chain break which caused immediate damage to my engine. Premier refuses to honor the warranty and, instead is taking the position that it was my fault the engine blew up due to low oil and failing to change the oil right at the time it was supposed to be changed, all of which is not the reason for the engine damage. I had my oil levels checked by 5 mechanics who all confirmed the oil was where it was supposed to be. *** **** is the shop that has my truck now and confirmed the cause of the engine damage was the timing chain breaking. 

  Business response

  12/14/2023

  There was a part internally that failed that was not changed in original repair due to not being authorized by warranty ******* that caused the timing chain to break. The truck was driven 7500 miles since repair and there was failure due to what we did it would have happened right away. She was well overdue on the oil change and the level was low when we looked at it which could cause lack of lubrication to some vital parts. She is getting some bad information about what happened and I spoke to the owner of *** and he agreed with me on what happened.  

  Customer response

  12/23/2023

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  The business is now changing their response again stating now that it was another part in the truck that caused the timing chain to break.  This is completely inaccurate.  I heard and felt the timing chain break.  As soon as it broke, it caused the engine to shut off.  This was not caused by oil or any other part in the truck.  The business is trying to come up with any way it can to not take responsibility for the work it did and was paid for by not only myself, but my insurance ******* too.  They have an obligation to pay for the repairs.  They are trying to wiggle their way out of paying anything additional - even though is was their fault the part broke - especially since I paid more money to have better parts installed.  I believe they either installed faulty parts or did not install the parts for which they were paid to install.  Therefore, I am not accepting anything less then Premier Car Care to pay for the damages caused to my truck as well as damages for me being out of vehicle for 2 months, including car rentals, and diagnostic fees.   The fact they lied to me and now attempting to side-step their responsibility in repairing my truck is the reason I am not backing down from this complaint.   Thank you.  Regards,  ****** *******

  Business response

  12/26/2023

  The part that went bad was a pin that hold one of the gears that the timing chain rides on. The customer neglected to change the oil and maintain the right levels which caused the failure. If it was a defective part or a failure of something we did it wouldn’t have lasted 7500 miles. It is her negligence that caused this. Contact the owner of *** which it’s at now and he will confirm this. It’s like having heart surgery then running a marathon shortly after. On another matter she has called me a liar a number of times and taken to social media to try and tarnish my reputation which I’ve built over the last 25 years. If this doesn’t stop I’ve contacted my attorney and I’m going to take legal action against her for slander. Sent from my iPhone

  Customer response

  12/27/2023

  Better Business Bureau: I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID 21003849, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint.  For your reference, details of the offer I reviewed appear below.I have attached 2 documents which I obtained through ****** website for my year truck and my specific engine.  As you can see, in driving my truck under "Normal" conditions which was all I ever did - one does not need to change the oil until it reaches between 7500 and 10000 miles!  It is right in the manual!  Also, that brings me to my second attachment, also obtained from **** for my exact vehicle and engine.  My engine is equipped with an "Intelligent Oil-Life Monitor" system which lets me know when I need to change my oil and has worked all the years I have owned my vehicle.  As soon as my notification would come on, I would schedule an oil change.  However, I never got an indication on my truck to get the oil changed prior to when the timing chain broke, which tells me being it was not between 7500 and 10000 miles for normal driving conditions as stated in my manual.  Clearly, it was not ready for an oil change yet as it was designed to let me know when I needed one.  So, again, Premier Car Care, is not being honest, yet again.  And if they are professionals, they would already know this!  And, now trying to blame this matter on a "Pin"?  This is the first I am ever hearing of this.  And, I have not taken to Social Media to "slander" Premier and I am not taking their THREAT lightly either!  Going to social media would mean me bad-mouthing them on ********, ******** and other platforms.  I have NOT done that!!  So, for them to try and threaten me with a lawyer is egregious behavior and shows the mind-set of who I am dealing with here!   I simply wrote them a "Bad Review" which is what they deserve for this situation.  There is absolutely NOTHING wrong with that and is my right to do so!  They have caused me a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety over the matter.  I had been without a vehicle over 2 months!  I am still making payments on a truck that I cannot even remotely drive!!    A good business would back up their work and repair damages caused by a repair they did or work with the insurance ******* to get the repairs done even if it was a faulty part which caused the damage.  Not blame the damage on a customer who has spent thousands at their shop!  And now, they are telling YOU, that this was all due to a PIN and my lack of taking care of my vehicle???  I have every single receipt for every part I have purchased for this vehicle in my records.  Premier Car Care has a record also of all the work they have done to my vehicle since I bought it.  They cannot, in good conscience, make a statement that I failed to take care of this vehicle!!!  That is an outrageous LIE!  My receipts and the thousands I have spent at their shop tell quite a different story!!!   And again, my truck was NOT low on oil!  They keep sticking to that story line - I had 5 mechanics look at the oil levels on my truck and ALL told me the levels were right where they were supposed to be.  The only one saying otherwise, is the shop that did the negligent repair work in order to attempt to deflect this!   Regards, ****** *******

  Business response

  12/27/2023

  In all our professional subscriptions *******, ******** say severe service which would include a higher mileage engine of 125000 miles or more the oil should be changed every 5000 miles. You were told that with the major repairs we did which includes new parts meshing with original parts it was important to change the oil on time. The pin I’m speaking of is what I originally told you on the phone when we pulled it apart wore and the pulley it held on starting spinning off center which broke the timing chain. As far as the 5 mechanics that told you the oil was low you told me that a guy on the highway stopped and checked it and the tow truck driver checked it , neither were mechanics. When it was towed here the oil was two quarts low and when I told you that you said your boyfriend had been adding oil and were surprised it was low. I told you the truck was overdue by 2500 miles on the oil change and you said you just got busy and had meant to bring it in to get it changed. I don’t lie about peoples cars ! In fact I have been told I’m brutally honest about them by a large number of people. The facts are that if was something that we did that caused the failure it would not of lasted 7500 miles. The reason for the failure is the oil being low and dirty and not lubricating the parts the way that it should. When talking to parts stores and dealers over the last few weeks they all said the same thing and when warranting a part like a timing chain you would need proof of the oil being changed in the first 5000 miles. As per ******** and **** **** *****

  Customer response

  01/01/2024

  I have reviewed the response made by the business in reference to complaint ID ********, and have determined that this does not resolve my complaint. Each and every reply from Premier Car Care continues to show its inconsistencies and contradicts what was originally said - you said first my truck was 3 quarts of oil low, now you say it was 2 quarts - which it was never low on oil by several people, including licensed mechanics - but which someone does NOT need to be a licensed mechanic to read an oil dipstick!  Furthermore, you did not even know about the Intelligent Oil monitoring system my truck had based on driving conditions, per **** ***** *******.  You mention ******** **** ********* that "severe" driving conditions for oil changes include high mileage vehicles - I do not agree with that statement being a lay person does not have access to licensed mechanical reference tools and according to what IS provided to vehicle owners by the car manufacturer, as in this case, ****, and in the last attachment I sent - what is considered "Severe" driving is:  "moderate to heavy load or towing; mountainous or off-road conditions, extended idling, extended hot or cold operation".  That is all.  There is NOTHING said about a high mileage vehicle.  Also, when the "major" work was performed on my truck, NO ONE said anything to me about having the oil changed right at 5,000 miles!  Another point I would like to make is that my truck was brought into Premier Car Care in August 2023 for a belt replacement that they failed to change at the time the "major" work was done.  My mileage was marked as "154,238" on their receipt - which I have attached.  If Premier Car Care was so adamant that my oil needed to be changed at 155,000 on the dot, they why did THEY not remind me that the oil should be changed, if not at that appointment, than shortly after???  We could have scheduled it at that time if they were so adamant it needed it!  Also, Premier keeps mentioning about the timing chain lasting 7500 miles.  There was no reason for this repair work to last ONLY 7500 when the original timing chain put in by ****, lasted 150,000 miles!  This is an outrage!  Because the bottom line is that Premier Car Care can care less about its customers and clearly is attempting to pass the blame onto me, the customer, for this issue, and attempting to void out my warranty by using the oil as a means as well as refuse to further work with my insurance ******* even if it were a potential part failure to have the failure/repairs resolved.  It is my position that Premier Car Care was negligent in failing to do the "major" repair work, was negligent in providing follow-up work/required maintenance instructions following the "major" repair work, and now trying to take the "easy way out" rather than make certain the part failure/repair work was done.   One last thing I want to point out is that Premier mentioned a pin in the last 2 responses.  This is yet another inconsistency on Premier's part.  Nothing was ever mentioned about a pin to me at the time this all occurred.  Premier took apart a good portion of my engine, only to tell me it was only due to low oil and being 2,500 miles over the oil change time - even though my owner's manual says differently, that coupled with my change oil light not coming on for a 5000 mile oil change.   Regardless, of not having the oil changed right at 5000 on the dot, the timing chain should NEVER have broke for no reason other than it was never repaired or never repaired correctly.   If I was a negligent vehicle owner, like Premier is trying to make me sound like, I would not have taken my vehicle into their shop every time my check engine light came on or when I noticed something not being right with it.  Tom at Premier knew I really enjoyed my truck and was always on top of taking care of it.  All my receipts back that up.   Regards,  ****** *******

  Business response

  01/02/2024

  From the beginning I told you the oil was low and I said over two quarts. It wasn’t reading on the dipstick so I was assuming at least two quarts. When we pulled the front cover off the lower pulley was loose due to the pin sheering off that holds it in place and that’s exactly what I’ve told you EVERY time. You changed from 5 mechanics to a different number now so let’s not get crazy over that. You told me your boyfriend had to put more oil in and didn’t mention how much or on how many occasions. Fluids are very import to vehicles to be full and with the right properties to do their job. When they are low or dirty, not just oil , parts don’t get lubricated properly and fail. I’ve never been through this situation with a customer in the 25+ years in business. It’s starting to affect we in negative ways. If you want  to contact the warranty ******* yourself and see if they’ll cover this I’ll do the work and take care of any extra parts or labor to try and resolve this situation. I contacted the parts store I got the chain from and they are insisting to look at engine and necessary paperwork needs to be in order which includes an oil change being done. In no way would faulty installation be the cause due to the fact that the engine ran with no engine lights on after completion. Once they look at engine and see that pulley not running straight and the pin holding it in place is bad they’ll put two and two together and deny the claim.  The warranty ******* might cover this if they see that but again with no oil change receipt might decline it. In closing I feel horrible that your going through this and would like to help but being called a liar and having the finger pointed directly at me for something that wasn’t our fault had me upset and on the defense.  

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