Automotive help: coil pack replacement turns into a failed engine?

[rockhound]

well you are going to be out some money, lets say he did fry your motor, what is a 213K mile motor worth? nothing,,,, What are you going to do go down to the junk yard and grab another 200K plus motor and have it installed?

I dont think so. you might get his labor to out it in, but i would bet that most courts would say your motor was past it useful life anyway. you might get labor and a couple hundred bucks towards a motor, a newer motor will be out of pocket money for you. He is not required to pay for a better motor.

[cfortune]

well you are going to be out some money, lets say he did fry your motor, what is a 213K mile motor worth? nothing,,,, What are you going to do go down to the junk yard and grab another 200K plus motor and have it installed?

I dont think so. you might get his labor to out it in, but i would bet that most courts would say your motor was past it useful life anyway. you might get labor and a couple hundred bucks towards a motor, a newer motor will be out of pocket money for you. He is not required to pay for a better motor.

I get that if they were found to be in the wrong that they would not be required to buy a better motor. Not exactly easy to find one with that mileage though, which I think is to your point. I can get a motor for $1,000, it's the labor as well as the principal/accountability of the issue. I've already gone and traded in my summer vehicle for something I can get around in because I couldn't afford to miss anymore work.

I just spoke with the guy again, this is probably going to turn into a court case. He refuses to put an insurance claim in. The dealership I took it to said it's obvious the vehicle lost oil pressure and the clean oil that is in it is riddled with metal shavings. The initial shop made no note of that when they changed the oil. The guy's answer "What obligation would I have to tell you that there is metal shavings in your oil?". Real class act over there. He also claims I'm making up what the dealer found and speaks like a child when he starts getting upset. It's comical yet frustating.

[Irving]

If you can find out who his insurance company is, you don't need his permission to turn in a claim.

[cfortune]

If you can find out who his insurance company is, you don't need his permission to turn in a claim.

He told me it couldn't be done without his involvement and he feels that its an admission of guilt. I highly doubt he will give me the name to file a claim on my own. Thanks for the info though Irving, I'll still run it by him. I'm assuming as soon as that happens, his insurance will be the ones handling the investigation?

[Irving]

Correct. A few insurance companies rely on agents to turn in commercial claims. In those cases the agent can get in the way. You might take Mark's advice and turn into you're own company to see if they can assist you.

[sniper7]

Sunday like a small claims court issue is in your future. Get his info, address, business stuff, any paperwork he gave you. Initial symptoms of the vehicle, doubt you took pictures of the codes at autozone but those would be helpful. I'd research some other mechanic forums and get statements of what a misfire is and how replacing the ignition coil wouldnt lead to a engine failure with metal shavings. Also timelines of engine failures in that particular vehicle to prove it isn't coincidence.
id get all the paperwork and statements ready from the Toyota dealership about metal in fresh oil, what they noticed and the history they had had with engine failures versus ignition coils going on and misfires on cylinders.
firgure out how to get them served, you will have to get somebody not associated with the case to do this.
id wait until I put in a newer motor in it, or get this rebuilt, save all receipts, add that plus court costs and reasonable expenses to the total and let the magistrate figure it out. Maybe the guy will settle with you.

or just bring up this info before you get np anything done and tell him you will be filing small claims after your engine is rebuilt.

engines don't just start knocking out of nowhere, it is almost always associated with loss of oil and failure of bearings. I'd out money they ran that thing without oil in it....one guy drained the oil while the other was doing the ignition coil, he starts it up to check timing, gets it timed and running right...then other guy goes oh shit there isn't any oil in there and bam...you have a knock. oh...well we can out in fresh oil and cover this right up!