Honda: oil pan on Acura 2001 MDX, cat and mouse game, valvoline oil

Question
Hello,

I visited my local Valvoline oil shop for a quick oil change on 5/15/2009.  I arrived and was the only car in the shop.  Within the first 5 minutes they came into the waiting area telling me I needed a new air filter.  I told them no.  Five minutes passed and they came in and told me I needed my cabin filter replaced.  I told them no again.  The last time they came in they told me they had bad news.  They told me the last person to do my oil change had tighten the bolt on too tight on the oil pan.  Valvoline told me when they removed the bolt the threads from the oil pan were stripped causing them to fall out and he brought them to me.  

I was skeptical for two reasons.  Reason #1)I there 15 minutes into my oil change before they came and told me the oil pan had a problem when they had come in twice before asking me to replace air/cabin filters. Typically they start draining the old oil out right after arriving so being there 15 minutes made me think they might have put it back in after finishing and didn't have the bolt straight causing the threads to strip on the oil pan Reason #2)If the threads were damaged on the oil pan wouldn't I have had oil leaking from the pan between my last oil change and the one that occurred on 5/15.  

I am stuck with only circumstancial evidence and a $320 bill for a new oil pan and labor.  Coincidentally, the last person to change my oil before Valvoline was Acura back in October 2008.  I spoke with them and they also agreed that if they had overtightened the bolt on the oil pan I would have had an oil leak.  Acura said they owe me an oil pan and I want to get one more opinion before I go back to Valvoline arguing my points mentioned above.

Based on the description I described above who would you side with?  Valvoline or Acura.

Thanks for any advice you can provide on the situation.
David

Answer
Hey David,

The never ending battle between owners and mechanics....its a cat and mouse game.

I can write an entire book on what mechanics can do to squeeze money out of you, I can also write one on how some people are never satisfied with the work done on their car......enough of this babble.


I would have literally have asked them to show me the threads and I would have felt around the inner threads of the oil pan, to confirm the stripped threads.

The truth about the repair. Most shops DO NOT replace the entire oil pan when the have these problems. The first order of business is to do a Tap and Die, they literally drill out the oil pan hole, enlarge it, and insert another "thread" with threads. This only takes less than an hour after it is done, they just put in a new oil pan bolt.

Acura may tell you you're getting a new oil pan (highly doubt it), you're talking about more than 2 hours worth of work, versus tap and die

To answer question 2) it depends, normally it would have, unless, it was put in an angle and locked in that way and was only strippped when it was removed.