Imad, the owner of RMS Auto Repair & Tires refused to install another engine in my car for his auto repair shop, through its negligence, had caused my car to lose on February 20, 2022 as I was driving away from home by having left my car's oil filter loose during a December 8, 2021 oil change procedure. Despite multiple unsuccessful attempts to have him resolve the problem, in June I filed a small claims complaint against RMS Auto Repair & Tires with the Superior Court of California, County of Stanislaus - suing for car repair costs and lost income. On August 4th, we appeared in Court. On that same date, the Court entered a judgment in my favor by ordering RMS Auto Repair & Tires, to pay me a total of $6,835.00. The Notice of Entry of Judgment was mailed to me and to RMS Auto Repair & Tires. Upon receipt of the Notice, I sent Imad a letter via Certified Mail asking him to pay me. However, Imad appealed the Court's decision and we appeared in Appeals Court on October 21st. On October 25th, the Judge ruled in my favor and ordered him to pay me $6,856.66. In the judgment letter, it is noted that the other auto repair shop provided a summary diagnostic that indicates no oil found on the dipstick and when oil was added, it came out of the filter. In addition, the other auto repair shop found "no compression due to lack of oil". The odometer reading on my car was 159,844 miles and the oil change sticker in my car showed the next oil change was due at 161,700 miles. California Bureau of Automotive Repair's investigation noted that the owner of the other auto repair shop reported that the technician who performed the diagnostic found the oil filter "2 to 3 turns loose." The technician called Imad and asked him to come to the shop to inspect my car, but he refused. Also, as part of the investigation, the investigator spoke with Imad at his shop and noted that his shop stocked the same brand of oil filters as the one in my car. The investigator also determined that Imad was in violation of failing to keep repair records for three (3) years, as he could not provide any to the investigator. My car was not serviced by anyone else between December 2021 and February 2022. Given these facts, the Court concluded that the issues with my 2005 Honda Pilot stemmed from the oil change service performed at RMS Auto Repair & Tires. Therefore, the Court found it appropriate for me to recover my costs for the replacement engine and labor as well as the diagnostic fee. Upon receipt of the judgment, I sent Imad a letter to this effect, asking him to pay me within thirty (30) days, by November 24th 2022. However, according to the post office, he rejected the Certified mail that the post person tried to deliver to his place of business on November 3rd and on November 8th. In response, I sent RMS Auto Repair & Tires an email with an attachment of a formal Post-Trial De Novo (Appeal) letter making a demand for payment and, so far, he has not responded. One other thing to note is that RMS Auto Repair & Tires is NOT accredited with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) so it is not held to proper standards nor accountability. Since Imad of RMS Auto Repair & Tires has refused to pay me what he owes me, I am making this announcement to the public so that other people will know not to patronize his place of business unless they first understand the potential risk they may incur by doing so. read more
