After many years of changing my own oil I cannot imagine how anyone, even an inept klutz, could screw up putting the pan plug back…they must do it blind-folded using a high speed torque wrench!
it sounds to me (although i am not a therapist) like you are bound and determined to ‘show them a lesson’
there is a chance that you have a galled, buggered up thread in the plug. why sweat it? it is a normal part of maintaining mechanical things. they wear out, they need repair, and they sometimes get @#$%^** up!
why not just go somewhere else, and get a second opinion. at least you will have more of an idea about what is really needed to repair, and how much.
you seem to want to go to court, without more than your desire to ‘show them who is boss.’
get another estimate, (or two) and some more input. remember. all those on this website have NOT seen your car, so we are not like ‘expert witness’) you can take to court as professional testimony.
as has been related to you, there are at least three remedies to this problem. it appears you have not gone elsewhere for a second opinion. and it appears the dealer will not consider ANY other solution but the oil pan replacement.
Things can become stripped when the X number of people out there tightening a bolt think that the “tighter the better” rule always applies. Grunt everything down and call it good is the motto.
On the surface of this particular problem, I might agree that someone may have overtightened it; either during the last oil change or the prior one.
However, like most car problems there’s about a dozen unanswered questions and those niggling little details could make a difference in the opinion expressed.
I have no idea why you write that I just want to show the dealership " who is boss". The dealership offered to"heliocoil" the oil pan, if I pay them $150.00 and they won’t guarantee the work. In small claims courts there are no expert witnesses. You tell your story, the other side tells their story and the judge renders a decision. Even if I win in court, they just won’t hand me a check. They could continue to fight it. I think $500+ is worth fighting for on the face of it. There is no crusade against this dealership. Just a business dispute.
NO, not according to the technician.
then why not go get a second opinion to have it helicoiled somewhere else, and give them the bill?
the dealer is being an #$%^&*( why not just leave them, and get some professional help and maybe a second opinion elsewhere?
i think you are not realizing how dependable helicoil is. the dealership is certainly not helping.
BTW, this is the first time you mentioned the dealer WAS willing to helicoil. are you still insisting on a new oil pan? i would knock them over until the helicoiled it for free!
or, go to another shop, and have it done and walk away from the dealer.
you said all the maintenance has been done at this place. why not go in, and plunk down all your receipts on the desk (from the start), (in front of other customers at about 900 in the morning) and ask them if this is how they treat their customers, after one of their mechanics strips your oil pan!
but that SAME tech is the one who stripped the plug… how dependable is his opinion?
Grunt everything down and call it good is the motto.
I learned that lesson the hard way. Then a torque wrench became my friend.