I feel the same. With all the other issues I wonder if the car was deeply discounted.

 

Thanks guys for the condolences. I'm looking into all options to rebuild, buy a new M96, sell, etc. My first 996 ownership has been nothing but trouble so far but I have confidence there will be brighter days ahead! Hopefully I can get this sorted sooner rather than later.

I don't know if this is a reliable option and what I could reasonably expect in return. If it were a dealer, I would be a little more confident they would try to make it right.

 

Might be worth getting the engine apart and asses the damage , it's toast anyway, if the crank isn't damaged there might be hope in a rebuild if it's not too far gone , what do others think??

 

I would atleast consult an attorney. There may be a time frame on this so you may want to act fast. Who knows, maybe just a threatening letter from a lawyer to the PO maybe net some cash back or reverse the deal. Couldnt hurt to ask.

 

Terrible story , worst case . I am on my 9th car , never had a major issue . Sounds like you are dealing with it well . Best of luck ! My advice would be a good take out replacement motor ..

 

Or take out the guy you bought it off ?😂????????????????

 

Its hard to think people out there would be this shady and sell a car they knew was heading towards catastrophic failure. I have to lean towards the seller had no idea, being that close to failure (sounds like it didn't even last hours) he would be taking a gamble every time he let someone test drive it. Sounds like a case of really poor timing. I am hoping the buyer got this at a price point that a rebuild will not put him completely upside down.

There has to be some lawyers on this forum, how would one prove this guy knew there was an issue to go after legally? Seems like you would need him to admit he knew there was an issue.

 

 

Well I think it's pretty likely there is some foul play here and the filter was removed to quiet down a rod knock as Jake suggested. One of the PO's might have just punched his ticket to hell or upset his Karma or whatever you believe in.

As far as who is to blame for this, it's a tough one. There's the seller who really doesn't appear to be knowledgeable about cars in general, the seller who sold him the car, and the Meineke shop who did an oil change about 3K miles ago.

I will probably call the Meineke shop and see if they will share any records of the oil change if they have any. Their sticker is in the upper left of the windshield. If they have a record of the customer requesting no filter, then I can conclude the PO knew about the issue. If they don't have record of that, the filter was either forgotten (again, WTH) or the car was tampered with after the oil change. If they noted that the car came in with no filter, I can start pointing the finger at the guy who sold it to the seller.

I can maybe ask the seller who he bought the car from (somewhere in FL according to carfax) but trying to pin any blame on them is probably going to be much tougher.

In the end, I don't think I have much of a chance of actually receiving any compensation. Too many players involved. It just might cause a little more hair pulling than I already did last night when my engine received the death certificate.

 

OP, I used to work for a quick oil change chain. It was a big one. This kind of case with them would not be contested at all. They'd make a reasonable settlement offer and move on. You being the next owner down the line may be an issue but with the oil change being only 3k miles ago you may be good to go. I'm not an attorney and this does not constitute legal advice. Just saying it may be worth a shot.

 

Holy crap, this is getting to be some story. I don't think any oil / muffler place is going to let a car leave without a filter even if requested by the customer. They may agree not to change it, but if someone requested no filter to be installed, they would most likely refuse the business or fill it up with oil and put on the old filter. I think that leaves you with two scenarios: the PO removed the filter or Meineke forgot to put the filter on. You've said your PO wasn't mechanically inclined, plus he took it to goddamn Meineke to have the oil change done. I doubt he removed the filter after he took it to them. Remember that a new O ring comes with the new filter, and in your case it was missing. Why remove the filter, and the O ring if you just want the increased oil flow?

This sounds to me like Meineke removed the old filter and O ring, then forgot to put the o ring and filter back on and let the car leave. That, or some dumb tech kid took the filter off and somehow made it un-reusable before he realized they didn't have a replacement so he just put the filter case back on and hoped you'd come back in when he wasn't there. I have worked for one of these lube places, and believe me they do not care about your car, they only car about avoiding an issue. As other have said, I'd get a lawyer. These filters are not common, and a court case may find out that this particular Meineke never had any in stock.

 

Im no lawyer but play one on tv.

At this point without a witness or time stamped video pulling the filter housing its OP word against Meineke's that no filter was in place.

 

<NOT LEGAL ADVICE>
Sure, but the evidence of the seller that he took it to Meineke and it was OK, and the OPs evidence that the filter and ring were gone + engine damage. It is a reasonable inference to draw that the damage was caused by the missing filter, and that the filter went missing at the lube place. </END NOT LEGAL ADVICE>

I would get a lawyer.

 

Meinke isn't going to admit anything about anything to do with anything. But, I guess for due diligence. There is just no way a commercial oil change shop would let a car go out the door with no filter cartridge installed. They did the oil and filter change, sent him on his way, he heard something on that drive, or a later drive, found out it was a 10 min job to remove the filter, and make the noise lessen, then put the car up for sale. I don't buy the 'I am too stupid' act from the seller, and I doubt a local judge would either. I wish there was a third party present when you removed the filter housing, but we deal with what we have.

Stop talking to people, and go file a court claim. Once you see the cost of your short block, plus R&R, plus swap and ancillary costs, I'd just serve the seller with that, and deal with it all in front of a judge/JP. Keep everything, and use it as exhibits in court. The court typically loves lots of exhibits that show malfeasance.

Sorry you started out this way. A caution for all who read this and go jump on a deal.