i have a serious problem almost two weeks ago my car was broken into and vandalized by my ex he broke my window and pured bleach into my car this however is not the problem. when i went to the dealer to reterive some items i was told there was bleach in the engine and they showed me the creamy oil on the dip stick at this point the car had been started and ran for about five to ten minutes by me before i knew about the damage (autostart) the first person i spoke to said that anything in the engine the bleach came in contact with was ruined along with a few other things. my insurace company will not take the engine apart and see if or how much damage was done until i get a statement by a manufactured dealer that it could cause damage. i am unable to find a dealer that will write out this statement and due to his remarke about the damage to my engine he is no longer allowed to speak with me or anyone else in this shop i need some help please no other car place will get involed even tho they have all said they agree with the first person at the shop due to leagal matters and chevy refered me to a chevy dealer im looking for legal advise elsewherebut i need something to go on
Get an indepent insurance adjuster. They will put in a third person opinion and then you can use that to argue with the insurance company. But until then don’t drive the car and plan to be without a car for a while.
thanks a lot never thought of that … do you think it would damage the engine after running it and it sat for about 72 or more before the oil was ever changed
i just dont want to waste my time or oney if i was given the wrong information
Have you reported this incident and resulting damage to the police? This is a criminal act. It might help your insurance claim process. You should also contact a lawyer for advice. I wouldn’t tamper with the car at this point until after the police have an opportunity to look it over for evidence. Bleach is very caustic, and corrosive, the final damage could be in the thousands of dollars.
I agree with @UncleTurbo entirely. The jerk who did this gets to repair the damage, and be sure to hold him responsible for the interior bleach damage as well.
@roundtree82 do you think you’ll be able to legally prove that your ex is liable for the damages?
Of course you’re sure it was him, but can you prove it?
Perhaps it’s a good idea to contact a lawyer about this matter.
Perhaps the lawyer will have an idea how to legally proceed as to determining if your motor is toast.
The thing is, if you have an oil change done, it will mitigate the damage. I doubt the police will go CSI on your car so you should just get the oil changed and drive the car for a little, then if the oil appears milky in any way, change the oil again. Keep the receipts.
The dealership may not want to come out and say what damage was or could be done by the bleach, but they can be compelled to give a statement to the police on what they found. They do not have to worry about any legal repercussions for testimony like “watery substance in oil, smelled like bleach”. Thats not the same as saying there was bleach in the engine and it damaged it.
Pouring the bleach in the oil would not do anywhere near as much damage as bleach in the cooling system. Make sure someone has checked that. Check the gas tank as well.
@db4690 i can not prove that he was the one who did it but im not the kinda of person that is hated enough to do what he did he is the only person i have upset @whoit 32 ive already started looking for someone in my city that will help me @uncleturbo i reported him and the situation to the police and my insurance company but the police took only pictures at the time and the car has been handled by a few people since then so im sure if anything was there its gone now @keith the thing is the dealership already came out and said what could have been done to the engine but now my car has been turened over to someone diffrent and now the insurance company is saying there going to belive the second person and not the first. i have called around and took down verbal convo with multiply chevy dealers about the damage that could be caused by the bleach one of them is the same company i bought my car from just a diffrent location. im keeping very detailed notes about this and will be contacting a lawyer monday as directed by another chevy dealer along with the people on this site…the damage is crazy as far as what was all done to my car so im not sure if i will ever be able to drive it again
I guess I don’t understand your original post. You said that bleach was poured into the car but that was not the problem. I assumed that the bleach was poured into the interior of the car. Then you state the dealer found bleach in the oil. I assumed that you took the car to the dealer because of the bleach poured in the interior and did not know that you had an engine problem. It was the dealer who found the oil in the engine.
If you did not detect a problem with the engine, then the oil should have been changed to protect the engine from further damage. That does not mean that damage is not already done, but an immediate oil change could mean that you would get at least a few more years of use from the engine. Bleach is very corrosive so the longer it is in there, the more damage it does. I think your lawyer will tell you that you are required to mitigate the damages in order to collect full compensation from the person responsible, if you can ever prove who did it.
But it does sound like you are doing everything right so far.
I would only add that as you get each oil change, make sure the tech obtains a sample of the oil for you. It needs to be marked, and dated. If your situation gets to this, the oil can be chemically analyzed to determine if it is adulterated, and with what. If you do multiple oil changes, follow the same procedure.
You need a lawer and a indepent adjuster. Let them handle it. You may not get him in criminal court, But I think civil court will be your best bet for the EX.