Crash Test Dummies: Wal-Mart Auto Center Totals Woman’s Car During Routine Oil Change
Here’s your weekly reminder to take nothing for granted when it comes to finding quality car repair services; not even an oil change.
According to WFFA News in Dallas, TX, local woman Roberta Slayton took her car in to the Wal-Mart auto center in Midlothian for a routine oil change. Only a few minutes later, she received some troubling news.
The worker who was pulling Slayton’s SUV into the area where its oil would be changed claims that the throttle hung, causing the vehicle to accelerate into a wall and completely totaling it in the process.
To make matters worse, Slayton claims that the manager of the auto center told her she would have to pay to get it towed from the premises and investigation of the incident would take at least two weeks.
“Their deal was ‘get a hold of your insurance have somebody come tow it away,’” Slayton recalled. “And I said, ’I didn’t do anything wrong. Why should I have to do that?’”
According to NBCDFW.com, the mild-mannered florist said she never had any problems with her SUV prior to the incident and relies on her vehicle to make flower deliveries.
This is the last thing any driver expects to happen when they drop off their car for service. While some 19% of vehicle owners may be told that their air filters are dirty when they go for a car checkup, events like the one this grandmother of 13 encountered are virtually unheard of.
A spokesman for Wal-Mart told NBCDFW.com, “We are investigating to determine what caused this accident, and we’re working directly with Ms. Slayton to resolve this as quickly as possible.”
Until the issue is resolved, Slayton has been forced to loan an SUV from a local funeral home to do her job. Now that the story has gone viral, it’s a safe bet she will be driving something a little fancier once the investigation is complete.
