Poor Customer Relations from Valvoline Instant Oil Change

We took our car to Valvoline Instant Oil Change in Saginaw, Texas, for an oil change. Less than 3 months later our engine failed, and we were stranded on the highway at 10 p.m. with 2 sleeping kids in the back. Our car was not even due for another oil change for a couple weeks.

We took our car to a Hyundai mechanic and he said that it appeared that Valvoline never put fresh oil in the engine, or that perhaps they put the dirty oil back in, but either way, the engine was prematurely bone dry and locked up. They wouldn't file it under the warranty because it appeared to be "neglect," which was due to Valvoline Instant Oil Change not changing the oil properly.

We contacted a lawyer through Prepaid Legal Services, Inc. who wrote a letter on our behalf. Ten days later the owner called us directly and seemed very supportive and willing to work with us. He promised to "take care of us" knowing that it was our only car and we were having to find other ways to get to and from work. He offered to pay us $2500 or fix the engine as well as pay rental fees on a car for as long as it took to fix our car.

The owner never followed back up with us as he said he would and we were told by our lawyer to give him 30 days to comply before going to small claims court. We were generous and gave him 30 BUSINESS days before beginning to call regularly for updates. Over the course of 3 months we called Valvoline corporate offices as well as the Attorney General and the Better Business Bureau with NO response on the business owners part. Finally over 3 months later we got everything together and went to small claims court, but gave him a call on our way there. He then returned our call to say he "had been too busy to return our call" and didn't care that we had been struggling for months. He said he was not accepting fault and that he would fight it, counter sue with a frivolous lawsuit and that it was a risk taking the matter any further. We were forced to sell the car that was worth $2500 for a measly $300 for parts. That $300 didn't even cover the first payment on the car we had to buy to replace this vehicle. I DO NOT recommend this store or its owner, named Joe, to anyone.