Charlie Winkler claims a Coral Gables, Florida gas station sold him gasoline that caused nearly $2,000 worth of damages to his vehicle, news sources report. Winkler says he paid for regular unleaded gas but believes the Valero gas station instead gave him a corn-based fuel that damaged his vehicle. Officers are conducting an investigation and are testing the fuel to see if Winkler's suspicions are correct. If so, Winkler may be able to file a damages suit against the Valero gas station for compensation for the damages. It is not clear how many other victims also may have been affected.
According to reports, the incident occurred at a Valero gas station on Biscayne Boulevard and Northeast 78th Street. A spokesperson with the Valero corporate headquarters issued a statement following the incident, saying the Valero station where the purported mishap occurred is independently owned. The spokesperson declined to comment further.
Winkler says he purchased gas for his Volkswagen Jetta at the station on Valentine's Day. Following the purchase, Winkler was reportedly traveling on an expressway when his vehicle's engine stopped dead. "It happened on 395, so I was startled definitely," Winkler said. According to Winkler, he re-started the vehicle and began to drive to a nearby repair shop; however, Winkler says the vehicle's engine failed several times during that trip.
Winkler eventually made his way to a Coral Gables repair shop where mechanics began to search for the root of the problem. "After about five hours, [the mechanics] told me it was bad fuel," Winkler said. After two days of repair work, the mechanics got the vehicle up and running again. They flushed the fuel from the car, but the damage had reportedly already been done. According to reports, the bad fuel harmed the vehicle's thrusters and spark plugs, causing $1,772.58 worth of damage. "Whenever I heard that figure, my heart definitely dropped," Winkler told reporters.