QuestionWe bought this vehicle used when still under mfg warranty and so far it has been no trouble. She drove it back to school last weekend and called to say that it "sputtered" died, but restarted - running rough but she was able to get it to a parkinglot to be towed to the dealership. She fueled up before leaving (after a 100 year flood - reports of water in the station tanks all over town). SO, we were hoping it was just bad gas. The dealership called and told my daughter today that it had NO OIL and was going to need a new engine?? This just doesn't sound like a very likely story to me. If nothing else she's pretty good about taking care of her vehicle and its' maintenance. Got any ideas? I'm really concerned about this!
AnswerWell, if it was out of oil the question would be why? If the dealer changed oil for you, say, 2000 miles ago you'd have a claim. If, on the other hand, the oil had not been changed in 9000 miles the problem is on you because you should have checked it.
Further, does it have leaks? If it's in warranty and it developed a major leak, that should be covered.
Essentially, you have some duty to care for your car. They have a responsibility to make a car that does not use excessive oil. So there's a balance there in deciding responsibility. In my prior experience, in the absence of a leak, you're going to have to show where the oil went. You'll need to show the history of changes, and checks, and leaks (if any.)
