96 Taurus Starter Problem - please help - am I being scammed?

[jingle135]

I had a new starter installed in my 96 Taurus in April. A few weeks ago the car started to stall when I was slowing down. It happened a couple times, but would start right back up. The last time it happened it wouldn't start again so I had it towed to the shop where I had the new starter installed originally. It set there for a couple weeks because the owner said he was swamped and couldn't get to it. I didn't need it right away so I just waited. I don't know much about cars so I didn't think much of it just sitting there. Finally yesterday my dad stopped at the shop to see what's up and the owner said I told him that I didn't have any money to get the car fix - which I didn't say that - and that I told him that it didn't have to be his first priority - which I did say that, but only because he was working on my dad's car and my dad needed it right away and I could wait. That was over a week ago and it took less than one day to fix his car. Anyway, my dad told him to work on my car asap. The owner called me today and said that the starter was burned up from it being cranked over and over. He also said that there was no gas in the tank. I'm the only one that drives the car and I would not and DID NOT crank it over and over again - and I know there was gas in the car when the tow truck took it away. The owner had already replaced the starter when he called and said that KOI would not honor the guarantee because of it being cranked so much - basically that it was my fault and they wouldn't cover it. So now I'm wondering - do you think I'm being scammed here? I am a woman and know very little about cars, but I'm not an idiot and can tell when something just isn't right. It seems suspicious to me that he waited so long to work on my car and that he sent the "burned up" starter back to the manufaturer without talking to me first or showing it to me - who knows if it really was burned up. He also said that my oil pan gasket needs to be replaced and that my dad needs to come look at it because he likes for the owner or a family member of the owner to look at things first before working on them. If that is the case, why didn't he show me the starter before completing the work on it? It sounds to me like something was either wrong with the starter to begin with or perhaps they didn't install it properly. When I asked the owner for KOI's number he blew me off and said something like oh that place is just a big manufacturing warehouse kind of building in northern Kentucky and you'll just get an automative answering system and won't get to talk to an actual person and left it at that. I realized then that I wasn't going to get anywhere with him and was just going to find KOI's number myself and call them - which I think he realized. We hung up with the understanding that my dad was going to stop by to check the oil pan gasket and then maybe five minutes later he calls back and said that he called KOI and they're probably going to show up and kick his butt because he was really mean and told them that they needed to fix this situtation - I really don't know if I believe him or not. They are supposed to call him back to let him know what they'll do for me. Sounds like he was calling them quickly before I did to either cover his butt or cover both of their butts, but I really don't know. Any advice that anyone can give me on what to do next is GREATLY APPRECIATED!!! Thanks!!!

[escort0526]

Go get your car out of that shop right now! That guy is spending more time working you over than working on your car. Get a new mechanic, and get someone to kick your dad's butt for sending you there in the first place.

Also, take a basic car maintenance class, it'll teach you basic things and help when a situation like this comes up again.

[way2old]

We deal with KOI all the time. We are in a fleet repair shop, and KOI has always honored the warranty on parts. You do not need to call the warehouse, just a local KOI store to find your answer. Most of the time a shop deals with the same parts house, so this person should have gotten the starter replaced under warranty anyway. Unless the warranty was only for 90 days. I think the cranking theory may be far fetched. If you crank the starter for an extended period of time, say for close to a minute at a time, it may cause a problem. But normal cranking for 15 to 20 seconds should not have caused any problems. Heck, sometimes we use the starter to drain a battery to see how long it takes to recover. Good luck. If the KOI shop they deal with are anything like the one here, you probably will be taken care of. A lot depends on the owner or manager of the parts house.

[jingle135]

Thank you guys for responding so quickly! I agree that I should definitely take a beginners class on this stuff because I think I'm an easy target! I will definitely call KOI myself - right after this post - and see what they say. There is a KOI in the next town so I'll call there. Thanks again for your advice! I'll keep you posted. Have a great day!