Pro-formance Lube Center Cheap Price gets U there. but careless service leads to blown engine and loss of family vacation ripoff Spokane Washington

I took my daughters car to pro-formance lube to get all the fluids checked and changed and to get it ready for our first family vacation. We were going to Salem Or. to see my son, who we havent seen in a couple years.

Upon retrieving the car 1 hour later, we loaded up my two grandsons ( one is 3yrs and the other 9 months, my 13 yr old and my eldest daughter, 23, and our luggage.

Being our first trip, I told the service person at pro-formance that we were leaving to Salem Or. today and wanted to make sure the car was ready for the road trip.

Well, we got as far as the outskirts of Ritzville Wa. when the car lost excelerator power and there was a load knocking comiing from the engine. I pulled over and looked under the hood. Not knowing much about cars I didn't know what I was looking for or where to look anyway.

Both of our cell phones were out of their service areas, so leaving all the kids in the car, the hood up and a "need help" sign in the back window, I proceeded to try and hitch hike to the nearest road exit to use a phone to call for help.

"1 1/2 hours later a woman finally pulled over and took me to use a phone. I was able to reach the man who sold my daughter the car, which was looked over and deemed a good car with good engine, transmission, etc. by a personal mechanic.

I explained to the man what the car was doing and he said it did not sound good! Because I was not able to reach anyone to come and look at the car, this man grabbed his wife and they both got into cars from their lot, and drove down to where we were.

After he lifted the hood of my car he asked if I had anyone change my oil? I explained that I just had that service done that afternoon before we left for our trip, he shook his head and proceeded to let me know that who ever did it, did not put my oil filter on properly and that led to a blown engine!

He called a tow truck and had our car towed home and he and his wife drove all of us back to spokane, unfortunitly ending our trip before we even got 2 hours out of town.

I spent the next 3 days in bed crying, (literally). I was physically sick to my stomach and heartbroken about not being able to see my son. (it had been 2 years since we seen him last).

My personal certified mechanic came over and looked at the car the next day and confirmed what the gentleman who sold it to us said happened. My mechanic called Pro-formance and explained what happened. The kid on the phone was rude and unprofessional, and after 20 minutes of trying to explain the damage, the kid said he would send one of his technicians out to look at the car and then would get back to us.

1 hour later a young kid showed up and my mechanic showed him the car and pointed out the oil filter and how it was not all the way in and the damage that was caused. My Husband was standing there listening (he is a very quiet type of person) but never entered the conversation.

The kid from pro-formance lube said he would report what he saw and what he was shown to his supervisor, and that his supervisor would get right back to us. Well after waitingthe rest of the day, we decided to call back the next morning.

Upon reaching the supervisor, my mechanic was told that all their servicemen where certified mechanics and would never make an error such as the one he was saying they did (improper installation of oil filter).

My mechanic asked to for the name of the owner of the company, he was given the owners name and Phone Number. He tried to contact him that day but he was not in so he left our information and reason for calling.

We tried to reach this man for 2 more days. After many unsuccessful tries of reaching this man I wrote him a letter explaining the ordeal and how I just wanted to be compensated for the damage to the car. Finally 2 days later I, myself was able to talk to him on the phone. This man was very rude, he said he was standing by his men, and that kind of servie would never happen at his establisment and refused to discuss this any further and hung up on me.

I proceeded to file a report with the Better Business Bureau. When they responded to our report, it was filled with false statements and lies. I was appalled, especially at one statement where they say that I blew up my own car and was just saying they did it so that someone else, besides myself would have to pay for what I did!!!!

I am a hard working, honest woman, I take pride in knowing that I have raised my children to have good morals and values, as I always have, so when they accused me of trying to exploit their company for personal gain, I was devistated.

To witness, first hand, fraudulant behavior from a company who are suppose to "take pride in their work" and claim to "take care of their customers" really pales my perception of faith in my fellow man.

So What I got for $39.95 was this: unusable car, valued at $1000, a bus pass, valued at 32.00 per mo. for the next year, tank of gas, valued 49.00, loss of family vacation, value "pricelss", emotional damage, monitary value undetermined.

WHAT A DEAL HUH! Thanks Pro-formance lube, that was one heck of a deal you gave me and my family.You can rest assured I am telling everyone about the "Wonderful" service I received from your company.

Renee
Spokane, Washington
U.S.A.

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