Engine blew up in the shop.

[Mainia]

This is likely going to end up a no win situation. Giving the customer money is admitting guilt, people don't handout money for no good reason. Here's a few possibilities of what is likely to happen. Even if the OP were to hand money out, odds are after the payoff the customer is going to say I brought my car in for service, the repair was botched I brought it back to fix it they blew up the engine. They paid me peanuts for my loss and I'm out a lot of money trying to replace the car now. Certainly not something I'd want to hear as a shop owner.

The OP could explain the reason for why he thinks it happened, then sit and wait to get sued. If sued let the judge determine who is right or wrong. Then pray the judge is a car guy with half a brain. Either way imo the customer is lost and he is going to tell his story regardless of what kind of goodwill payout he gets or doesn't get.

Or the OP can apologize, handout cash and pray the customer tells the story of how his engine blew up when in for repair service and the shop was great and paid him a bunch of money for his loss.

Final option is listen to the customer, explain the expert opinion of what you think happened, dig in and hope it goes away with no lawsuit. You can't please everyone and in business things like this happen unfortunately. The longer you're in business the more chances for something to go wrong. Odds are anyone saying they were in business for decades and never had a problem are probably liars.

Flip a coin, unfortunately any way it's sliced the OP loses. JMO

Yes they do, business owners who are busy and have some money, know dealing with a POS Jag is not worth $3-4,000 grand that doing a complete engine job can upset the regular workflow if it is not deep into R&R engines. Anything can happen here, even on the good side, with a POS Jag, your dipping into fun times there.

Here are my fun times today.

 

[walterjay]

Years ago when I worked for a dealership I blew up a customers engine. He was trading up to a new vehicle. I was tasked with appraising the old vehicle (VW BUG). As I drove it up a hill hard looking for problems the engine started rapping and blew. The customer understood acknowledging the engine had problems. He was given scrap value for trade.

End of story.

 

[demarpaint]

Years ago when I worked for a dealership I blew up a customers engine. He was trading up to a new vehicle. I was tasked with appraising the old vehicle (VW BUG). As I drove it up a hill hard looking for problems the engine started rapping and blew. The customer understood acknowledging the engine had problems. He was given scrap value for trade.

End of story.

I had a similar story working at a Honda dealer, with a not so good outcome. I had a customer who wanted to trade in a car and buy a new Accord. The shop was busy and couldn't check the car, so the manager said take the car for a drive and let me know what you think. Then he'd come up with a trade in value. This guy was a tool, he knew how to check for collision damage but was no mechanic. I drove the car and said it has transmission problems, he barked saying I was no mechanic. I said then why did you ask me? His reply it was my deal, and the car was clean and would sell fast. My reply, OK. He took the car for a trade, and I spot delivered the new Accord. A few days later the shop was prepping the car for the line and called to inform us the car needed a transmission. LOL We ended up wholesaling the car at a loss. LOL Funny thing was this jerk manager screwed up more than once like this.

 

[Zee09]

Did the shop consult with a lawyer
Before deciding on what to do???
Just wondering

 

[PontiacHO]

Maybe I’m missing something….
So the engine was idling when it shoved something through the block?
Just idling.
Not just idling after a high RPM rev?

 

[D60]

To be fair any vehicle should be able to go to redline at least briefly. Any less is unsafe and a half step away from death's door anyhow.

Furthermore all EFI should have a fuel cutoff to self protect. I'm not talking about bouncing off the rev limiter, but if someone told you you had to keep a car 1000 under redline or Uncle Rodney would come visit, would you consider that viable, reliable transportation???

 

[SwampSurvivor]

To be fair any vehicle should be able to go to redline at least briefly. Any less is unsafe and a half step away from death's door anyhow.

Furthermore all EFI should have a fuel cutoff to self protect. I'm not talking about bouncing off the rev limiter, but if someone told you you had to keep a car 1000 under redline or Uncle Rodney would come visit, would you consider that viable, reliable transportation???

My almost 260k mile 5.4l hits it's rev limiter frequently while towing ...

It may come apart some day but so far it seems to still like that.

 

[D60]

My almost 260k mile 5.4l hits it's rev limiter frequently while towing ...

It may come apart some day but so far it seems to still like that.

The 2V 4.6 in my '07 F150 has ~244k freedom and you HAVE TO push it over 5k to make it really do anything meaningful

 

[Vil_Riker]

With my recent experience in the legal system-- at least in Cook County IL-- that hope is entirely unfounded.

It's amazing how crooked, arrogant, unreasonable or dumb a lot of judges seem to be.

 

[Hohn]

It's amazing how crooked, arrogant, unreasonable or dumb a lot of judges seem to be.

The primary defect I see is laziness.

 

[Nick1994]

Sometimes things happen at the most random times.

My dad lives about 120 miles from me. A few years ago he was in town for an appointment, while he was in town I told him he should leave his 2002 Mercury Sable at my house so I could do the brakes for him that weekend. He parked it in my driveway, borrowed one of my cars and left. I jacked the car up and replaced the brake pads and rotors and when I went to take it for a test drive, I noticed it didn’t have 4th gear.

I called him and asked him if it’s given him trouble before, and he said no (he’s a car guy inside and out, 30 years collision repair too) and it was fine on the 120 mile highway drive to my house.

I took it to a transmission shop and had it rebuilt for him.

 

[SwampSurvivor]

The 2V 4.6 in my '07 F150 has ~244k freedom and you HAVE TO push it over 5k to make it really do anything meaningful

Baffles me how Ford made these engines and then didn't throw the proper gearing in anything. My marquis with the factory 2.73 gearing was awful. If I floored it from a stop, it would be going 40 in 1st gear before it hit the power band. Then it would take off but ... wide ratio transmission, fall on its face until about 70 again.

 

[addyguy]

The cost of the repair will come out of Chris142’s future raises, lol!