Drew Poll has serviced a lot of cars in his time, but he soon realized he was witnessing something you don’t see everyday when a first-time customer visited his shop last year. That’s why the manager of Performance Plus Quick Lube in Ludington, Michigan, is the runaway winner of America’s Dirtiest Cabin Filter contest, sponsored by Service Champ.
“It was the worst cabin filter I’ve ever seen and was on a 2006 Honda Civic with 115,000 miles on it,” said Poll, whose chain has 32 locations throughout Michigan. “I’m not sure if she was the original owner but the filter looked like it had never been changed. It was full of dirt and grime and even had rat feces stuck in it. The owner said she had never been told her car had a cabin filter. I’ve heard from other customers that it is something not commonly checked, but it’s a part everyone should be made aware of. It needs to be changed on a regular basis and should be part of their normal car care service.”
More than 1,000 entries were submitted by Service Champ customers across the country. Poll won a $1,000 Visa gift card. David Frazier, of Lightning Lube in Columbia, Tennessee, and Brendon Kelly, with Kelly’s Car Wash in Providence, Rhode Island, were second-place finishers. Marleigh Elizabeth Martin, of Valvoline Express Care in Ashland, Virginia, Timothy Morgan, of Grease Monkey West Virginia, and Christopher Peece, of Fast Change Lube and Oil in Nicholasville, Kentucky, were third-place winners.
