1st oil change free

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Anyone skip the free oil change. My dealing with the Ford dealership has been poor and I don't know if I want to risk further shenanigans for $40 worth of oil and filter. I was thinking of calling them to see if they would give me 2 gallons of oil and a filter.
 
I skipped the first change for my car, but I had a different reason.

My car says conventional 5w30 is okay, so that is all they will put in my car. Since I have a turbocharged gasoline engine, I will not put conventional oil in the engine, no matter what my manual says.
 
Shenanigans? You show up, they change the oil, you leave. If they try to sell you this, that, or the other thing, you say no.

And it's really not "free". You are paying for it one way or another even if you don't do it.
 
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Shenanigans? You show up, they change the oil, you leave. If they try to sell you this, that, or the other thing, you say no.

And it's really not "free". You are paying for it one way or another even if you don't do it.

Or I could show up and be stuck there for a couple hours if past experience carried over.
 
Originally Posted By: hatt
... I was thinking of calling them to see if they would give me 2 gallons of oil and a filter.


I like this idea!
 
What could they possibly claim? That your air filter has 30k on it when your car has 6k?

Your salesman just wants to smother you in his Axe body spray again.
 
I skipped the first free oil change, and the $8 oil changes for life. Not worth the hassle, the cheap oil, the second rate filter they'd use, and the inevitable up sells down the road. Somethings even when free just aren't worth it to me.
 
The big question is...will they BREAK something when doing that service?

I say get it changed there ...BUT make sure you wander into the service bay and watch them. Then check their work BEFORE you leave the lot.
 
I had 4 years free maintenance, oil+filter, brake fluid flush, coolant flush, engine and cabin filter ..., when I bought the E430 in 2000, I didn't skip anyone of them, just made an appointment early morning, dropped off the car and picked up a loaner for the day, came back in the evening picked up a washed car then went home.
 
I skipped them.

My Civic came with the first one free, but I did it myself instead. And I'm pretty sure my WRX came with a year of free oil changes (maybe more?) and I did those myself too. I'm far too obsessive to let the dealer do oil changes, not to mention it's only marginally more convenient than doing it myself on a weekend.
 
Going to the dealer is more inconvient than doing it myself for sure. They are all the way across town. Probably at least $10 in gas. And I have a shop. I'm doing it myself. Worrying about $30 after spending $30,000 doesn't make any sense when you think about it.
 
I bought an '88 Cougar brand new in December of '87. I got free oil changes every 3K miles for the life of the car. (That was the policy of the dealer on every new car they sold. I couldn't delete the service to get a cheaper price) I brought in the car for my first oil change and they stripped the oil plug. There was a big puddle of oil in my parking lot. They dropped the oil into a dirty container, installed a new plug (luckily, it was the plug and the pan threads that were stripped), then put the old oil back in that they had dropped into the dirty container. I never went back to them, not even to have any recalls performed.
If you do decide to get the free oil changes, tell them up front that you do not want any upsells. It will save everybody a bunch of time.
 
I took my 2007 Mustang GT in at 5,000 miles (I did a break in change at 800 miles). The dealership did a fine job except for a huge oily handprint on the passenger side right behind the window. That car was my baby so I decided from then on I was the only one allowed to get it dirty
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I took my FF oil & filter change on my Mazda CX7 at my Ford/Mazda dealer. I watched them do a good job and even used the correct 5w30 oil from quarts for my turbo engine. Very pleased with the dealer service. Ed
 
Was in the area so stopped at the dealer to get my free oil change. Figured why not save the $40. Everything looks intact. New correct filter and full fill. Said he'd see me in another 5000. I told him Ford recommends like 10K and asked him what the OLM(4500 miles it was at 54%) was for. Said FL was a hostile environment. They are also ethanol gimmick pimps. Had a sigh outside talking about the problem and overheard the same guy I was talking to telling the guy in front of me some nonsense. I'm a huge ethanol hater but this place takes the cake. I was going to mess with him and see if he recommended his stuff to combat the problem ethanol was inflicting on my E85 engine.
 
I skipped the free oil change simply because it was inconvenient for me. I can do it at home very quickly. The dealership is located in an area that has lousy traffic and I would have to sit around and wait. I guess I have also seen on this forum that the bulk oil is not the Idemitsu high VI oil w/moly. I guess that reason is secondary.

Also, I just like doing it myself. I installed a Fumoto valve, too.
 
Every time I buy a new car, the dealer throws in the first one free - I have always skipped it. Now my ATS has prepaid maintenance for 50k miles, so I guess I am going back to dealer oil changes.
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