Kelly's Sea Bay Sunoco/Service Center

Review: On July 8, 2014 while on vacation I brought my car in to [redacted]'s Sea Bay Sunoco for an oil change and told him to check the plugs because they had not been changed in a while. My car is a 2005 Volvo XC70 with 214,000 mile that was maintained by the book by [redacted]'s Volvo in Hawthorne NJ from the day I purchased it. Mr. [redacted] called me to say I should change the plugs, air filter, fuel filter, clean the fuel injectors and do the oil change. He stated the car was in very good condition and I should do the work so I said ok. later that day the service manager [redacted] called me to ask if there was a knock in the engine and I replied no and you know there was no knock the car was perfectly fine when it went in to the shop in the morning. They said the engine could have been starved oil and wanted to try another oil filter just in case it was defective. That did not work so they kept the car over night. The next day Mr. [redacted] called me and asked me to come down to the station, now I was told it was knocking then stopped running and now won't start at all. Mr. [redacted] called [redacted]'s Volvo to review my service records and ask for some advice. He said he did not know what to do at this point and asked if I wanted it towed to Red Bank Volvo or back to [redacted]'s Volvo in Hawthorne. I used my AAA to have it towed to [redacted]'s Volvo where it sat waiting for Mr. [redacted]'s insurance adjuster to contact them. Mr. [redacted]'s insurance company is the Burlington Insurance Company, adjuster is Daniel Myers phone # [redacted] claim # [redacted]. [redacted]'s Volvo discovered that the timing belt jumped 4 teeth causing valve damage and ruining my engine. The insurance company is refusing to pay for anything . The timing belt was in perfect condition, no broken teeth, not stretched or cracked, and not do to be replaced for another 24,000 miles, I have the parts. Mr. [redacted] also told me to rent a car and save the receipts, his insurance did not call or decide [redacted]'s Volvo until 7/21/14 causing a $605 rental billDesired Settlement: I am now purchasing a new car. My trade in value dropped from $4,000.00 prior to the so called repair to $1,500.00. I also incurred a bill for the renal car of $605.00 and a repair bill from [redacted]'s Volvo for $426.00. I am seeking reimbursement of the expenses. I spoke with 4 mechanics and no one can figure out how the timing belt could have jumped by itself. One possibility was the car was started without oil but no one car prove this, and there was no knock in the engine until they started it after the oil change. I am asking that the insurance company reconsider this claim for reimbursement.

Business

Response:

Business Response: If my service caused a problem on any car we stand behind it. No questions asked. Mr. [redacted]'s car had 214,139 miles on it when he asked us to service it. We have serviced Mr. [redacted]'s cars since 2007. We last serviced the oil and filter on this Volvo 11 months ago on 8/13/13 when the car had 159,942 miles on it. After my technician recently serviced the oil, oil filter and performed a minor tune up we started the car.(These repairs were authorized by Mr [redacted]. Our estimate was $736.93 and was never paid) The engine had a knock noise in the valve cover area. We asked Mr. [redacted] if he had any issues with a engine noise. He said he did not. As per my recommendation we had the car towed to [redacted]'s Volvo, Mr. [redacted]'s regular repair shop. I told Mr. [redacted] I wanted their opinion of what the noise was. I also told him if the work we did caused the damage we would cover the costs to repair it. I also contacted my insurance company and reported the issue and sent the oil filter we used back to the manufacturer for a defect test.(No response on the oil filter test as of yet) The car was driven 54,197 miles in 11 months so the car probably should of had oil and filter services approximately 10-12 times in the last 11 months.(4-5,000 mile intervals) I have no record or those services. My insurance company investigated the claim and the adjuster spoke to [redacted] in service at [redacted]'s Volvo as I did also. [redacted] said the timing belt jumped and caused valve damage according to Volvo's diagnosis. This timing belt has approximately 90,000 + miles on it since Mr. [redacted] had it replaced last. I personally told [redacted] at the Volvo dealer if he finds anything we did that caused the timing belt to jump to let me know and I would cover the repair. He found nothing. We never serviced Mr. [redacted]'s timing belt. There are many service bulletins and forums all over the internet and on technical web sites we subscribe to stating that the timing belt on this make and model car needs to be replaced sooner than the 120,000 mile interval that is in the owners manual. Most recommend 80,000 mile intervals. Car parts fail everyday. Timing belts jump and break all the time especially on high mileage engines as this is. Car engines wear out. I am sorry for the timing belt problem but stand fast that our service was not the cause of this problem. Please contact me if I can be of any help. [redacted]

Consumer

Response:

I am rejecting this response because:

Mr. [redacted]'s statement that my car was driven 59,000 miles in 11 months is false. Either he has the wrong date or the wrong mileage from the last time he serviced the car. I have all service records and the oil was changed every 3,000 to 3,500 miles. I also have the old timing belt, pulley and tensioner that was changed and there is no wear or damage on any of these parts. Also his insurance adjuster took almost to weeks to get back to me causing me to rent a car for 2 weeks before [redacted]'s Volvo could do any work to it. At the minimum I should be reimbursed for the rental due to the delay of his insurance company. That expense was $605.00