Decent job at Valvoline Instant Oil Change.

Joined
Apr 17, 2004
Messages
6,901
Location
Texas Hill Country
Been working quite a bit, and have been less enthusiastic about working on cars. I've started having my oil changed.
Last year I took the car to Jiffy Lube, and didn't like the service or the experience.

I thought Valvoline would do a pretty decent job. They opened a new shop in my area, and were sending coupons in the mall weekly for months on end. Finally got a 50 percent off conventional oil change, and drove down.

Car is my wife's 11 Scion XB, about 105k miles.

Drive over pit, and stay in car service. Very much like a pit crew. Service advisor called out the torque spec of the drain plug to the guy in the pit. Another guy called out the amount of quarts of oil that go into the car. The guy in the pit was wearing what seemed to be a football helmet. All points checked, and correctly adjusted tire pressure (front and rear are different specs). No leaks, about 20 minutes. $22 out the door for 5w20 Valvoline and Valvoline house filter.

Posted Price is $44.95 for Standard Conventional, $89.99 for Synthetic, and I think High Mileage was $59.99.

Was offered coolant flush and trans flush. Needed neither both are clean, but the service advisor says they just offer based on the mileage and the carfax. They do not inspect fluid anymore or drop a bit on a paper towel to see how dirty it is.

Watched a newer GM SUV being serviced with a top load cartridge oil filter change. Guy doing the job seemed to take his time, and even wipe the inside of the cartridge housing with towels before he put the new filter in, and lube the new O ring assembly properly before installing. Full Syn oil change bill was a little under $100 for the SUV owner.

Anyways we plan on keeping the little Scion another couple years to finish paying off our school loans. Service like this should keep it going as long as we care to drive it.
 
Oh definitely! I used to go to a Jiffy Lube near where I live with my old car. So many times they screwed up something:

-Never wrote the sticker clearly,
-Forgot to put the drain plug and wasted 5 qts of new oil (car was still in their bay)
-Always hassled me when I tried to use a coupon
-Didn't fill the oil all the way up
-Made a mess in the engine bay
-Took forever
-Wanted to charge more for extra oil that I would supply.

At some point, they said they stopped carrying 10W-30 Conventional and wanted to charge me $80 for Full Synthetic...

Frustrated, I found a VOIC and went there. MUCH better experience. They still sold 10W-30 Conventional.
-The staff communicated well.
-Didn't charge for the extra oil I supplied.
-They didn't hesitate to apply a coupon I had
-Took much less time
-Printed the sticker so, I'd have no trouble reading the mileage
-They literally brought my dipstick to the waiting room to prove to me they added the right amount of oil. This is actually part of their oil change process.

I was AMAZED! I never thought changing my oil would be this hassle-free. And they only charged me $27 compared to $40 with JiffyLube.
 
Both my daughters live far away from me. I use VIOC on both their Honda Civics. Never ever a hassle, always a coupon of some kind too! I really like this outfit!
 
Been working quite a bit, and have been less enthusiastic about working on cars. I've started having my oil changed.
Last year I took the car to Jiffy Lube, and didn't like the service or the experience.

I thought Valvoline would do a pretty decent job. They opened a new shop in my area, and were sending coupons in the mall weekly for months on end. Finally got a 50 percent off conventional oil change, and drove down.

Car is my wife's 11 Scion XB, about 105k miles.

Drive over pit, and stay in car service. Very much like a pit crew. Service advisor called out the torque spec of the drain plug to the guy in the pit. Another guy called out the amount of quarts of oil that go into the car. The guy in the pit was wearing what seemed to be a football helmet. All points checked, and correctly adjusted tire pressure (front and rear are different specs). No leaks, about 20 minutes. $22 out the door for 5w20 Valvoline and Valvoline house filter.

Posted Price is $44.95 for Standard Conventional, $89.99 for Synthetic, and I think High Mileage was $59.99.

Was offered coolant flush and trans flush. Needed neither both are clean, but the service advisor says they just offer based on the mileage and the carfax. They do not inspect fluid anymore or drop a bit on a paper towel to see how dirty it is.

Watched a newer GM SUV being serviced with a top load cartridge oil filter change. Guy doing the job seemed to take his time, and even wipe the inside of the cartridge housing with towels before he put the new filter in, and lube the new O ring assembly properly before installing. Full Syn oil change bill was a little under $100 for the SUV owner.

Anyways we plan on keeping the little Scion another couple years to finish paying off our school loans. Service like this should keep it going as long as we care to drive it.
I've had similar experiences at VIOC. High priced, even with a coupon I think, but if you value the little time you waste it's worth it. They tried a million upsells but weren't pushy. You just had to say "no thanks" a million times. For the price, even with a coupon, my dealer will rotate tires, wash it, and vacuum the floorboards 🤷‍♂️
 
I would guess its more specific to a given location doing a good job vs which chain it is. Maybe ask to see old oil filter and make sure there is a gasket on it.

But any oil change is better than no oil change.

One thing I forgot to say, and just remembered this. There was a guy who seemed to be the "manager" he would check out all 3 cars being serviced at once. It seemed to be a policy that the guy could not put on the new filter before the manager checked the old filter for the gasket. The guy in the pit handed the old filter up to show him before work continued. They yelled out the task like a football team. Filter check here!
 
I’m on my first cup of coffee so maybe I missed something. You paid $22 for a oil change?

There have been a number of good stories here about VIOC. They just opened up another one in my area and from just driving by, business looks like it’s doing well based on the cars lined up.
 
Good and clear communication is a great sign at any place. $22 for a 20 minute oil change, didn't have to get out of the car, and if you felt they did a good job then I'd say that's a steal.
 
Well that’s good to know. Personally I’d never take my car anywhere except for tires unless I go to a shop that I can do my own tires at. I do all of my own work because I am a mechanic so it’s to be expected. I would never use JL I used to work there before starting at the dealership that I just left recently. I could tell you story after story of how not good place that is. They just built 2 Valvoline in my area they always seem not busy unfortunately. I know someone that works at one of them they like it well much better than their last job they are there until they can get a job doing everything. It is much better than their competitors I’m sure.
 
Glad to hear that you had a good experience. My grandson went to Valvoline a couple of weeks ago and came out with a bill for $139.00 for a oil change and power steering fluid change. They said that would help the old Ford Focus last 400,000 miles. I was kind of miffed that he spent that kind of money especially when I have a garage and have shown him how to change his own oil.
 
VIOC near me was very good when I used it for years. Since I've retired and my teenaged drivers are grown and out of the house, I'm back to doing my own changes. The Jiffy Lube was awful.
 
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Glad to hear that you had a good experience. My grandson went to Valvoline a couple of weeks ago and came out with a bill for $139.00 for a oil change and power steering fluid change. They said that would help the old Ford Focus last 400,000 miles. I was kind of miffed that he spent that kind of money especially when I have a garage and have shown him how to change his own oil.
Even worse if all they did was a “Turkey Baste.”
 
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