Meineke Car Care Center #1632

I spoke with Ms [redacted] this morning and we are in communication going forwardShe has my number and will call me when she gets a diagnosis from the alternate repair facility [redacted]

It's obvious that no matter what I type or how I respond, the chances of me making the customer happy is very lowShe has also called Meineke Corporate numerous times although Meineke agreed that our processes were correct and no action needed to be taken on the head gasket vehicle As for this particular issue, Meineke has a nationwide warrantyIf the customer thought there was a problem that she wanted re-looked at, or repaired under warranty then she had the choice to bring it back to us or to another Meineke location under warrantyI understand she came back once and we put all new parts on the vehicle, but if it was still giving her problems it has to go to a Meineke to be coveredThat's not the issue though, and according to her statement the back brakes were fine when she took it to the other shop and they recommended front rotorsI guess that means the back rotors and pads were ok, the items that would have been under warranty? We didn't replace front rotors or brake pads, we did the rear, so why would be refunding money? Is it because the customer thinks we repaired something she didn't need? It's ludicrous to think we would have put rear brakes on her vehicle had they not been needed, as a matter of fact, the inspection form for her vehicle shows rear brake pads at 5% and the box checked "needs replacement" and the front brake pad box checked on the inspection as "Normal." 5% is a clear indication that the back brakes needed to be replaced Also, according to my technicians inspection form and the findings of the new shop she went to, the front brake pads had plenty of thickness on them which means the vehicle was NOT in an unsafe condition to driveWarped front rotors are not a critical condition which makes the vehicle UN-driveable or UN-safeIf the new shops findings are correct and the front rotors were "warped" or had some run-out in them, then her problem was taken care of and she spent the same amount of money that she would have spent anyway It is disappointing that we didn't did deeper into the front rotor thickness, or runout when she returnedIt also seems we may have taken for granted that replacing the rear would eliminate all of the shaking she was experiencing, however it didn't cost her any additional moniesOur shop did the rear, another shop did the front and both services were needed to eliminate her problemsMeineke did not mis-diagnose her vehicle and if her statements are correct on what ultimately eliminated all of the shaking then I apologize on behalf of our business for not spending some additional time on it and digging deeper into the situation, but for the record not finding additional problems is not the same as mis-diagnosing a problem

Complaint: [redacted] I am rejecting this response because: I resent the fact that you continue to blame all of this on me I'm not hard to please...when people treat me with respect and take responsibility for their actions You also continue to make arguments against statements that I did not make I did not ask for money back on the back rotors, I was making people aware of ongoing issues, regardless of which vehicle they work on It's illogical to say that since the back rotors are fixed they were not messed up to begin with There is no proof of that, especially since you mention 5% when I was told 30% warped, so which is it? I have also been told that's not even how you measure rotorsSo ,yes, absolutely right, after what happened with my second vehicle at Meineke, I will never let your mechanics near anything I own again I have every right to contact Meineke corporate, as many times as I choose, and some of the times it was because they told me to call back with updates The last time I called they told me this particular case was not closed and to call back and check, so I'm not sure why that bothers you either, if you're so innocent Again, this is pointless, no response necessary, I just hope others can be warned not to take their vehicles Meineke unless they want to throw money down the drain Regards, [redacted]

*** ***, the owner, did call me on Monday, July 11th. He had fired the lady we had been
dealing with (I'm not sure if she did any of the work on the car or not, but I don't believe she did). He said for me to let him know what the new mechanic said was wrong and we would go from there. He also told me that when the car was initially 'fixed' Meineke did let it run for an hour, but he said it was his understanding that I was told it was driven also, and that THEY SHOULD HAVE DRIVEN IT AND DID NOT. I told him I would let him know. I did contact him one other time to let him know I was still waiting on the other mechanic's response and until this point he still seemed willing to help. (At some point *** tried to call the new mechanic but the new guy refused to give him info without my permission.) The mechanic let me know on Monday, July 18th, that the car has a blown head gasket which will cost at least $to fix, as well as a noise that he believes is the timing belt - one of the things Meineke supposedly fixed - which would be an additional unknown cost. At this point I called *** to let him know. He basically is not going to do anything. He is not willing to give me any money back, even though the car was drivable before we took it there. He said the head gasket is a different issue and when I reminded him that he told me they should have driven it before telling me it was fixed, he backtracked and said he is not legally obligated to drive it. He was reading paperwork to me about what he is and is not obligated to do, and said I should have that but I don't because they wouldn't give me any paperwork saying what all they did. (In the initial conversation *** told me they should have given it to me.) So basically he fired this girl to try and cover himself, but is not willing to do anything to help fix this problem on a car that I am now going to have to sell for parts. I told them I couldn't put more money into it and to stop working on it at the beginning and they refused. I wish I had never paid them... I tried to call him back, left a message, because I wanted to ask some questions for clarification and I have yet to hear back. You cannot tell me that all these other issues that the car didn't have before it went to Meineke just magically appeared seconds into me driving it. He is saying NONE of this is their fault and that the car was brought in because it was running hot (true) but they fixed that (not true). The car was still running hot within a VERY short time period when I initially picked it up on July 2nd. As I've stated before, I let it cool, and took it back, which they are also blaming on me, even though they told me to take it... It was NOT fixed. I would like ALL the money back, at the very least

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:Actually, I lodged a new complaint about the brakes on my Rav 4, so I'm not sure what happened with that....so it's NOT the same car or issue As to the comments recorded here, I will never accept their response, but according to the rules of this site I have to state a reason There is honestly no point in us continuing to talk in circles I will only address two things regarding the Nissan: 1) I drove the car a short distance to another mechanic this week He said the issue was more than likely that Meineke did not reinstall the timing belt correctly, so when we drove the car off the lot that Saturday, it slipped and caused the head gasket to blow I know they will have an answer for this too, so it's whatever2) I did not at any point mention the other owner (or whatever) or say anyone was a bad person or say anything about morals I mentioned the reputation because one does not have to search very hard or long on the internet to find multiple stories similar to mine, about this same store Also, EVERY person I've talked to about this trying to get the car sold, fixed, etc, all I have to do is say Meineke and they groan I must have found the other 5% of the population all at once At this point, I'm just trying to save someone else's wife, mother, child, etc from going through the same financial / emotional stress I've gone through in the last few weeks Anyway, I expect no resolution on the Nissan This was a new case about the other car.Regards,
*** ***

The complete alignment was done on the customer's car Again, we could not balance her tires because of the caked in mud in the treads We offered to balance her tires for free when she could return with the tires clean We absolutely did not break the customer's windowI'm not sure why this complaint popped up She asked us to diagnose the problem with her window which we didIt's unclear to us what the purpose of these repeated and new complaints are from this customer But we will continue to offer our responses

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because: I resent the fact that you continue to blame all of this on me I'm not hard to please...when people treat me with respect and take responsibility for their actions You also continue to make arguments against statements that I did not make I did not ask for money back on the back rotors, I was making people aware of ongoing issues, regardless of which vehicle they work on It's illogical to say that since the back rotors are fixed they were not messed up to begin with There is no proof of that, especially since you mention 5% when I was told 30% warped, so which is it? I have also been told that's not even how you measure rotorsSo ,yes, absolutely right, after what happened with my second vehicle at Meineke, I will never let your mechanics near anything I own again I have every right to contact Meineke corporate, as many times as I choose, and some of the times it was because they told me to call back with updates The last time I called they told me this particular case was not closed and to call back and check, so I'm not sure why that bothers you either, if you're so innocent Again, this is pointless, no response necessary, I just hope others can be warned not to take their vehicles Meineke unless they want to throw money down the drain
Regards,
*** ***

Complaint: ***
I am rejecting this response because:
True, *** never stated that he fired *** He said she's said and done several things she should have never done, and she no longer works here, so I assumed she was fired, but that's really irrelevant The only reason I kept saying '*** told me' was as matter of fact that she was the only one I was allowed to speak with until he called, and every time I said what she told me that answer was 'well she no longer works here', not really anything about the car or what was done (or not done) to it That is why I felt that he was hiding behind her words and not dealing with the real issue Whether she left on her own or not has nothing to do with my vehicle If the water pump and thermostat were functioning properly, why did the car start running hot as soon as I picked it up? Seems like that would have fixed the problem since they keep harping on the fact that is the reason it was brought in to being with And how does *** know if he was not in town until the car was moved off the property? He told me he only knows anything because he got 'bit and pieces' from ***
I don't know what happened while the car was in their possession I have been told several conflicting stories *** and *** both said they ran it for an hour, stationary, and it was 'fine' *** told me that *** said it was NOT driven at all (I'm guessing except the few feet from the garage to the front of the store) and should have been He also said yesterday that it was not driven and when you get it out of a stationary position it can cause other problems He has therefore suggested I am the first to drive it, but that they drove it around before I got it, so both cannot be true He keeps saying running it hot caused the damage, implying that I did that I did not Any time the car began to run hot I stopped it, and either waited or put coolant in They can stop implying that I ran it hot, because that is not true I don't know the exact mileage we drove it on Saturday, July 2nd, but I can find out if necessary We took the car about 1/mile, it started running hot, we let it cool, headed back to Meineke, and in the middle of the street in front of the shop the temp went all the way to H We turned in and parked it and have a picture of that, with the mileage We also have a picture of the current mileage, which has an additional miles
I can only go by what *** (the other mechanic) told me He said that *** called and asked for an update on the car and that he was not going to give him one without consulting me If they talked after that I have no idea It surprised me, maybe that's normal, but I wasn't sure why *** felt the need to call him in the first place, especially after he told me he had never heard of the place I was taking it to
The age and mileage of the vehicle is irrelevant If Meineke is not capable of working on cars that old or with high mileage that should be stated ahead of service Other than running hot and having to constantly add coolant, the car ran well and has never had any other issues If that was a problem why is it just now being mentioned? Nissans run well with high mileageAs to the additional comments: Considering the reputation of Mr*** / Meineke around town, I didn't expect him to do anything, but was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt The last thing I asked for was my money back from what they did, since I have proof that the vehicle was still running hot, it obviously was not fixed I did not ask for him to fix the head gasket, although that would be nice, and I do think it is a direct result of something Meineke did (or didn't do) I wish his tone on the phone yesterday matched his tone on public record
*** ***

The customer did come to us for a preferred oil change andalignment.  The preferred oil change comeswith a tire balance check.  The tiretread was packed with mud and no accurate balance check could beperformed.  The tires were “scalloped” or“chopped” which is a...

definite result of worn shocks. The customer has said in her complaint that she was informed of this chopped tire condition from the beginning. This vehicle had almost 200,000 miles and inour determination, the rear shocks had never been replaced.  The normal life span of a shock is 60,000 miles.Our technician recommended replacing the most definite worn shocks before othermore expensive repairs like tire replacement were done. Had we replaced her tires without replacing her shocks, her new tires would have been ruined very quickly.  Our efforts to give this customer the best service possible is exactly what any reputable shop would have done.We also offered the customer a free balance on her tires after theshocks were replaced but could not perform that until she had her tirescleaned. We will still balance her tires for free when she desires to have that done. In addition, we also offered asgood faith customer relation to perform any other additional work for 50%reduced labor.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because: 1. True, [redacted] never stated that he fired [redacted].  He said she's said and done several things she should have never done, and she no longer works here, so I assumed she was fired, but that's really irrelevant.  The only reason I kept saying '[redacted] told me' was as matter of fact that she was the only one I was allowed to speak with until he called, and every time I said what she told me that answer was 'well she no longer works here', not really anything about the car or what was done (or not done) to it.  That is why I felt that he was hiding behind her words and not dealing with the real issue.  Whether she left on her own or not has nothing to do with my vehicle.2.  If the water pump and thermostat were functioning properly, why did the car start running hot as soon as I picked it up?  Seems like that would have fixed the problem since they keep harping on the fact that is the reason it was brought in to being with.  And how does [redacted] know if he was not in town until the car was moved off the property?  He told me he only knows anything because he got 'bit and pieces' from [redacted].   3.  I don't know what happened while the car was in their possession.  I have been told several conflicting stories.  [redacted] and [redacted] both said they ran it for an hour, stationary, and it was 'fine'.  [redacted] told me that [redacted] said it was NOT driven at all (I'm guessing except the few feet from the garage to the front of the store) and should have been.  He also said yesterday that it was not driven and when you get it out of a stationary position it can cause other problems.  He has therefore suggested I am the first to drive it, but that they drove it around before I got it, so both cannot be true.4.  He keeps saying running it hot caused the damage, implying that I did that.  I did not.  Any time the car began to run hot I stopped it, and either waited or put coolant in.  They can stop implying that I ran it hot, because that is not true.  I don't know the exact mileage we drove it on Saturday, July 2nd, but I can find out if necessary.  We took the car about 1/2 mile, it started running hot, we let it cool, headed back to Meineke, and in the middle of the street in front of the shop the temp went all the way to H.  We turned in and parked it and have a picture of that, with the mileage.  We also have a picture of the current mileage, which has an additional 4 miles.  5.  I can only go by what [redacted] (the other mechanic) told me.  He said that [redacted] called and asked for an update on the car and that he was not going to give him one without consulting me.  If they talked after that I have no idea.  It surprised me, maybe that's normal, but I wasn't sure why [redacted] felt the need to call him in the first place, especially after he told me he had never heard of the place I was taking it to.  6.  The age and mileage of the vehicle is irrelevant.  If Meineke is not capable of working on cars that old or with high mileage that should be stated ahead of service.  Other than running hot and having to constantly add coolant, the car ran well and has never had any other issues.  If that was a problem why is it just now being mentioned?  Nissans run well with high mileage.As to the additional comments:  Considering the reputation of Mr. [redacted]  / Meineke around town, I didn't expect him to do anything, but was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt.  The last thing I asked for was my money back from what they did, since I have proof that the vehicle was still running hot, it obviously was not fixed.  I did not ask for him to fix the head gasket, although that would be nice, and I do think it is a direct result of something Meineke did (or didn't do).  I wish his tone on the phone yesterday matched his tone on public record.  
 [redacted]

The customer did come to us for a preferred oil change andalignment.  The preferred oil change comeswith a tire balance check.  The tiretread was packed with mud and no accurate balance check could beperformed.  The tires were “scalloped” or“chopped” which is a definite result of worn...

shocks. The customer has said in her complaint that she was informed of this chopped tire condition from the beginning. This vehicle had almost 200,000 miles and inour determination, the rear shocks had never been replaced.  The normal life span of a shock is 60,000 miles.Our technician recommended replacing the most definite worn shocks before othermore expensive repairs like tire replacement were done. Had we replaced her tires without replacing her shocks, her new tires would have been ruined very quickly.  Our efforts to give this customer the best service possible is exactly what any reputable shop would have done.We also offered the customer a free balance on her tires after theshocks were replaced but could not perform that until she had her tirescleaned. We will still balance her tires for free when she desires to have that done. In addition, we also offered asgood faith customer relation to perform any other additional work for 50%reduced labor.

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:When I bought my car in for the tire alignment I was lead to believe that the wheels had been checked and balanced and after that they checked the shocks and they were bad. In fact I took my car back 2 times before Mienke even admitted they had not even tried to balance  or align the vehicle  which is what I asked for. They even broke my window while  doing the work and tried to charge me to fix it.   I declined the offer of 50% off of future work because on 2 occasions Mienke has failed to due work my car was brought in for and I was in fact using 10% off I had received previously for them failing to rotate my tired which resulted in me having to bring my car back. The service provided has been subpar and I would never return. In fact I an starting to think I should tweet and Facebook others so they know about the terrible experience I have had and can share it with their friends and family.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:
Actually, I lodged a new complaint about the brakes on my Rav 4, so I'm not sure what happened with that....so it's NOT the same car or issue.  
As to the comments recorded here, I will never accept their response, but according to the rules of this site I have to state a reason.  There is honestly no point in us continuing to talk in circles.  I will only address two things regarding the Nissan:
1)  I drove the car a short distance to another mechanic this week.  He said the issue was more than likely that Meineke did not reinstall the timing belt correctly, so when we drove the car off the lot that Saturday, it slipped and caused the head gasket to blow.  I know they will have an answer for this too, so it's whatever...
2)  I did not at any point mention the other owner (or whatever) or say anyone was a bad person or say anything about morals.  I mentioned the reputation because one does not have to search very hard or long on the internet to find multiple stories similar to mine, about this same store.  Also, EVERY person I've talked to about this trying to get the car sold, fixed, etc, all I have to do is say Meineke and they groan.  I must have found the other 5% of the population all at once.  At this point, I'm just trying to save someone else's wife, mother, child, etc from going through the same financial / emotional stress I've gone through in the last few weeks.  
 Anyway, I expect no resolution on the Nissan.  This was a new case about the other car.
Regards,
[redacted]

Complaint: [redacted]
I am rejecting this response because:  I resent the fact that you continue to blame all of this on me.  I'm not hard to please...when people treat me with respect and take responsibility for their actions.  You also continue to make arguments against statements that I did not make.  I did not ask for money back on the back rotors, I was making people aware of ongoing issues, regardless of which vehicle they work on.
 It's illogical to say that since the back rotors are fixed they were not messed up to begin with.  There is no proof of that, especially since you mention 5% when I was told 30% warped, so which is it?  I have also been told that's not even how you measure rotors... So ,yes, absolutely right, after what happened with my second vehicle at Meineke, I will never let your mechanics near anything I own again.  
I have every right to contact Meineke corporate, as many times as I choose, and some of the times it was because they told me to call back with updates.  The last time I called they told me this particular case was not closed and to call back and check, so I'm not sure why that bothers you either, if you're so innocent.  
Again, this is pointless, no response necessary, I just hope others can be warned not to take their vehicles Meineke unless they want to throw money down the drain.  
 
 
Regards,
[redacted]

I spoke with Ms. [redacted] this morning and we are in communication going forward. She has my number and will call me when she gets a diagnosis from the alternate repair facility... [redacted]

[redacted], the owner, did call me on Monday, July 11th.  He had fired...

the lady we had been dealing with (I'm not sure if she did any of the work on the car or not, but I don't believe she did).  He said for me to let him know what the new mechanic said was wrong and we would go from there.  He also told me that when the car was initially 'fixed' Meineke did let it run for an hour, but he said it was his understanding that I was told it was driven also, and that THEY SHOULD HAVE DRIVEN IT AND DID NOT.  I told him I would let him know.  I did contact him one other time to let him know I was still waiting on the other mechanic's response and until this point he still seemed willing to help.  (At some point [redacted] tried to call the new mechanic but the new guy refused to give him info without my permission.)  The mechanic let me know on Monday, July 18th, that the car has a blown head gasket which will cost at least $1200 to fix, as well as a noise that he believes is the timing belt - one of the things Meineke supposedly fixed - which would be an additional unknown cost.  At this point I called [redacted] to let him know.  He basically is not going to do anything.  He is not willing to give me any money back, even though the car was drivable before we took it there.  He said the head gasket is a different issue and when I reminded him that he told me they should have driven it before telling me it was fixed, he backtracked and said he is not legally obligated to drive it.  He was reading paperwork to me about what he is and is not obligated to do, and said I should have that but I don't because they wouldn't give me any paperwork saying what all they did.  (In the initial conversation [redacted] told me they should have given it to me.)  So basically he fired this girl to try and cover himself, but is not willing to do anything to help fix this problem on a car that I am now going to have to sell for parts.  I told them I couldn't put more money into it and to stop working on it at the beginning and they refused.  I wish I had never paid them...  I tried to call him back, left a message, because I wanted to ask some questions for clarification and I have yet to hear back.  You cannot tell me that all these other issues that the car didn't have before it went to Meineke just magically appeared 30 seconds into me driving it.  He is saying NONE of this is their fault and that the car was brought in because it was running hot (true) but they fixed that (not true).  The car was still running hot within a VERY short time period when I initially picked it up on July 2nd.  As I've stated before, I let it cool, and took it back, which they are also blaming on me, even though they told me to take it...  It was NOT fixed.  I would like ALL the money back, at the very least.

It's obvious that no matter what I type or how I respond, the chances of me making the customer happy is very low. She has also called Meineke Corporate numerous times although Meineke agreed that our processes were correct and no action needed to be taken on the head...

gasket vehicle.     As for this particular issue, Meineke has a nationwide warranty. If the customer thought there was a problem that she wanted re-looked at, or repaired under warranty then she had the choice to bring it back to us or to another Meineke location under warranty. I understand she came back once and we put all new parts on the vehicle, but if it was still giving her problems it has to go to a Meineke to be covered. That's not the issue though, and according to her statement the back brakes were fine when she took it to the other shop and they recommended front rotors. I guess that means the back rotors and pads were ok, the items that would have been under warranty? We didn't replace front rotors or brake pads, we did the rear, so why would be refunding money? Is it because the customer thinks we repaired something she didn't need? It's ludicrous to think we would have put rear brakes on her vehicle had they not been needed, as a matter of fact, the inspection form for her vehicle shows rear brake pads at 5% and the box checked "needs replacement"  and the front brake pad box checked on the inspection as "Normal." 5% is a clear indication that the back brakes needed to be replaced.
     Also,  according to my technicians inspection form and the findings of the new shop she went to, the front brake pads had plenty of thickness on them which means the vehicle was NOT in an unsafe condition to drive. Warped front rotors are not a critical condition which makes the vehicle UN-driveable or UN-safe. If the new shops findings are correct and the front rotors were "warped" or had some run-out in them, then her problem was taken care of and she spent the same amount of money that she would have spent anyway.
     It is disappointing that we didn't did deeper into the front rotor thickness, or runout when she returned. It also seems we may have taken for granted that replacing the rear would eliminate all of the shaking she was experiencing, however it didn't cost her any additional monies. Our shop did the rear, another shop did the front and both services were needed to eliminate her problems. Meineke did not mis-diagnose her vehicle and if her statements are correct on what ultimately eliminated all of the shaking then I apologize on behalf of our business for not spending some additional time on it and digging deeper into the situation, but for the record not finding additional problems is not the same as mis-diagnosing a problem.

It's obvious that no matter what I type or how I respond, the chances of me making the customer happy is very low. She has also called Meineke Corporate numerous times although Meineke agreed that our processes were correct and no action needed to be taken on the head gasket...

vehicle.     As for this particular issue, Meineke has a nationwide warranty. If the customer thought there was a problem that she wanted re-looked at, or repaired under warranty then she had the choice to bring it back to us or to another Meineke location under warranty. I understand she came back once and we put all new parts on the vehicle, but if it was still giving her problems it has to go to a Meineke to be covered. That's not the issue though, and according to her statement the back brakes were fine when she took it to the other shop and they recommended front rotors. I guess that means the back rotors and pads were ok, the items that would have been under warranty? We didn't replace front rotors or brake pads, we did the rear, so why would be refunding money? Is it because the customer thinks we repaired something she didn't need? It's ludicrous to think we would have put rear brakes on her vehicle had they not been needed, as a matter of fact, the inspection form for her vehicle shows rear brake pads at 5% and the box checked "needs replacement"  and the front brake pad box checked on the inspection as "Normal." 5% is a clear indication that the back brakes needed to be replaced.      Also,  according to my technicians inspection form and the findings of the new shop she went to, the front brake pads had plenty of thickness on them which means the vehicle was NOT in an unsafe condition to drive. Warped front rotors are not a critical condition which makes the vehicle UN-driveable or UN-safe. If the new shops findings are correct and the front rotors were "warped" or had some run-out in them, then her problem was taken care of and she spent the same amount of money that she would have spent anyway.     It is disappointing that we didn't did deeper into the front rotor thickness, or runout when she returned. It also seems we may have taken for granted that replacing the rear would eliminate all of the shaking she was experiencing, however it didn't cost her any additional monies. Our shop did the rear, another shop did the front and both services were needed to eliminate her problems. Meineke did not mis-diagnose her vehicle and if her statements are correct on what ultimately eliminated all of the shaking then I apologize on behalf of our business for not spending some additional time on it and digging deeper into the situation, but for the record not finding additional problems is not the same as mis-diagnosing a problem.

I spoke with Ms. [redacted] this morning and we are in communication going forward. She has my number and will call me when she gets a diagnosis from the alternate repair facility...
 
[redacted]

I really don't what else to add to the conversation Ms. [redacted] and I had over the phone . Would like to clear up a few things though,1. I NEVER told these ladies I fired [redacted], I clearly stated [redacted] was no longer here anymore2. Meineke installed and charged for a Water Pump and Thermostat which are still functioning properly.3. The vehicle did not run hot in our possession, and it was driven around the building and parking lot, as well as stationary in a HOT shop for an extended time. 4. The procedure of Installing a water pump and thermostat doesn't cause engine damage or blow a head gasket. Running a vehicle hot even for a very short amount of time is what causes that damage.5. The mechanic at the other shop did not refuse to give me any information6. The vehicle in question is 16 years old with roughly 247,000 miles on it.  I'm sorry that these ladies are having a tough time with the vehicle, I truly am. Our business, nor ANY automotive repair facility is going to fix incidental or consequential damages from an engine over heating. Here is a snippet from a web blog (diy.com) explaining the #1 reason a head gasket becomes faulty, whether is blows immediately or not."A blown head gasket can be very bad news. It’s either going to cost you money to have it fixed, or you’re going to have to do the job yourself. Either method will cost money, but doing it yourself can save you the cost of labor. Before you can repair it, however, you need to know the cause. This can be a problem since there can be a number of causes for a blown head gasket. We will start with the most obvious,1. OverheatingThe biggest cause of a blown head gasket is overheating. Usually, the head gasket armor around the cylinders can become crushed, and if this happens, the seal is lost and your engine will lose compression, leak coolant, and/or the gasket will erode.