[Jenita]

Hi, I have a 1993 Toyota Tercel, 4-speed manual transmission, 136K miles, carb., no ABS brakes, rack and pinion steering.

I took my car into the Toyota dealer on Friday for a regular oil change. When I went back to pick up the car, the service associate told me the drain plug had been stripped and they could not replace the drain bolt. Therefore, the car had no oil in it and could not be driven. The only remedy was to replace the oil pan. The part was $90.00, the labor was $225.00 (so they said). The service associate told me they could not determine what caused the drain plug to be stripped? It may have been that the technician who worked on it previously may have jammed the bolt into the drain plug or tightened it too much, which would have caused it to be stripped (the previous oil change was not done at a Toyota dealership).

My questions are:
Is what the Toyota service associate told me true? Is it necessary to replace the entire oil pan in these situations? Is there no other remedy? Should the Toyota dealership assume some of the blame since I never had a problem with the oil pan prior to them working on it?

Is it reasonable to demand that the Toyota dealership grant some kind of relief with the pricing since my car was running fine before I brought it to them?

If the Toyota dealership is not responsible, is there any way to show that the shop who changed the oil previously is liable?

I would appreciate a response as soon as possible. I was in the process of getting rid of the car anyway so it kind of stings that I had to pay over $400 just to keep it running when all I wanted was a $17.00 oil change.

Thanks