“That one time when I took my car to Midas…”
A Volkswagen driver took his vehicle to Midas for an oil change. Then something catastrophic and entirely avoidable happened: it fell off the lift.
In a TikTok with over 4.1 million views as of this writing, Chris (@chrisblaze520) shows the aftermath of a Volkswagen falling off the lift at Midas.
“That one time when I took my car to Midas for an oil change,” the onscreen text reads.
That one time turned into quite the memorable experience. You can see broken windows and serious damage to the left side of the vehicle.
In a direct message, Chris told Motor1 that the Volkswagen isn’t his. He just posted the footage.
An auto shop damaging your vehicle is never ideal. The good news is that you probably have a solid case to get compensation.
According to FindLaw, a mechanic can be sued for defective mechanic work, breach of warranty, fraud, invalid use of mechanics lien, or giving false estimates or no estimates. Your vehicle falling off a lift definitely qualifies.
Mechanics generally follow certain protocols to ensure vehicles don’t fall off the lift.
That said, cars falling off lifts is rather common, ASE Deals reports.
A car can fall off the lift for a few different reasons. It could be an issue with the lift itself, potentially because the shop purchased a “bargain” lift. Lifts can fail at the lift carriage, at the arms, or a four post lift failing around the cross-member which supports runways.
The next reason can be poor lift installation. Some shops do it themselves instead of getting a professional. This may increase the chances of a faulty installation that ultimately leads to lift failure.
Additionally, the flooring itself can play a factor in a lift failing. Concrete that is uneven, cracked, soft, or old may not be able to support the weight of a vehicle.
While errors can take place in the assembly or the environment, vehicles falling off lifts is typically caused by human error. The most common issue is that a worker does not properly position the lift arms to meet the vehicle’s jacking points.
While the damage to the Volkswagen is obviously serious, the comments on the video were much less so.
“You boutta have a 2027 whatever you want,” one wrote.
“Midas we’ll go buy me another car,” another added.
“It’s the Midas touch,” a third chimed in.
Other viewers congratulated whoever owns the vehicle for earning a new car sponsored by Midas.
“Well at least they owe you a new car,’ one commented.
“I would be smiling from ear to ear,” shared a second.
“Congratulations on your new car boo,” one wrote.
At one person was a little more serious. They wrote, “First rule in lifting a car. Bounce test.”
Motor1 contacted Midas via online submission form. This post will be updated if the company responds.
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