Do you trust the techs at the dealer when you give them oil?

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I no longer have the time or the space(condo rules against it) to do my own changes so I have resorted to bringing my own Mobil 1 with me to the dealer to do the oil changes.

Do you trust that the oil that you are giving them ends up in the engine and not in their trunks lol. Short of standing over them, how confident are you that it is being put into your car?
 
quote:

Originally posted by ucandoit:
I no longer have the time or the space(condo rules against it) to do my own changes so I have resorted to bringing my own Mobil 1 with me to the dealer to do the oil changes.

Do you trust that the oil that you are giving them ends up in the engine and not in their trunks lol. Short of standing over them, how confident are you that it is being put into your car?


I have always been more concerned about incompetence than dishonesty with dealership techs. The end result is the same though.

I think the techs tend to be fairly honest. Dishonesty is the pervue of the sales department and service writers and they don't like the techs moving in on their territory.
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On the rare occasion when I go anywhere for the oil change, I'm always right at the bay supervising them. By doing that I have a chance to take a good look at what is going on under the car.
I was refused the bay entry only once, and I drove right away from the place.
 
Honestly with good oil I am/would be nervous. I have seen it happen, had it happen, and heard of it happening. Sometimes your precious oil/fluid doesn't even make it into the shop.

This should not stop you though.

Get to know the shop/dealer. Get to know the owner if possible. The techs, the service writer as well.

Don't leave - hang out. Stand near as possible to your car. Get a lawn chair if necessary.

You really can't trust people you don't know. Especially with automotive stuff - Sad and I wish it weren't so.
 
For all the years that I let quickie-lubes change my vehicles' oil, I always opted for the bare-bones cheapest oil change service they offered. I have a very hard time trusting anyone, & I always had the fear that if I paid for a premium product/service, I would still get the el cheapo stuff at the premium price.
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Just spoke with a friend at work about 2 hours ago. Nissan dealer didn't put the oil cap on tight. Car was smoking. Popped the hood and oil was all over the engine area. A complete mess. He's not happy. Almost ruined the engine and it might be damaged.
 
If the oil you supply the dealer with is green GC, then it would be pretty simple to check up on them. Just pull out the dipstick and look for the green...not too many other green motor oils out there to substitute with.
Then again, just watch out for techs with green food coloring on thier toolbox.
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quote:

Originally posted by Brikhead:
If the oil you supply the dealer with is green GC, then it would be pretty simple to check up on them. Just pull out the dipstick and look for the green...not too many other green motor oils out there to substitute with.

Yet another good reason to use the magical green elixer!
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We really need a separate section for dealer and service horror stories. Those would keep you awake at night....

Umm, yes, you'll need to watch over his shoulder to see your oil go in. But you could tip him five bucks for letting you be a PITA. They understand: they get these fussy owners ALL the time.
 
maybe not a whole forum dedicated to horror stories, but a thread would be cool. id start a thread but i dont have many horror stories except for me asking to have my tires rotated while having some warranty work done. only to have two of the tires tread pattern be going backwards even though there is a large arrow which says "ROTATION --->". just makes me think if they can screw up something as simple as rotating 4 tires.. how can i trust them to do anything else.
 
ucandoit -- Just find a mechanic who will allow you to use one of their bays after hours, or a friend with a suitable facility (garage, driveway, etc.)
 
I have no issues presenting synthetic oil at the Audi dealer. I am on excellent terms with them and they are interested in my oil selections anyway. (pre-502 and GC) I also think of the awesome dealerships that field competition cars like Holbert's and Champion Audi. Yeah, Champion Audi WON 24 hours of Lemans, but the ******** stole my brick of Mobil 1...not!
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Go to Walmart. You can usually see into the shop, the one I use is great. SO many oil choices too. I pretend not to watch... exact oil I ask for every time, with leftovers to go.
 
Pour your M1 into a dino Supertech jug? Tell them a friend of your brother-in-law's cousin said the engine was broken in on ST, and it will start burning oil if you switch brands.
 
One for the good guys, one for the bad guys...

I live about 2 miles from a Ford dealership with a Quick Lane shop. Never had a problem, they have low turnover and most of the mechanics have been there since day 1 which was about 6 years ago. Usually I do an end-of-year OC when it is too cold outside for me to do it myself, so I bring my own oil and bring my vehicles there. They have no problem with letting me watch, in fact if it's not busy they don't mind if I chat with the techs as long as I don't cross the yellow "work zone" line for OSHA reasons. Great folks, always accommodating by bizzare wishes!

On the other hand...

In college when I was short on funds and short on time, I would have half of my OCs done at Jiffy Lube, Oil Doctor, or Redi Lube Plus. No matter which of those, and no matter where it was located, bad things happened so often that I gave up on them. The straw that broke the camel's back was at a Redi Lube Plus on route 12 in Worcester, MA. They did the old trick of trying to sell me a new air filter at some ridiculous price and claiming that mine was too dirty. At least I think they were honest enough to actually be showing me my own filter...because when I left there, the vehicle was running a little differently (94 Blazer with 4.3L Vortec V6) and the Check Engine light came on immediately. Looked under the hood, and half my airbox plus the filter were missing. Went back to the shop, apologies all around, they gave me my money back and tried to offer me coupons for free services...NO WAY...I walked out of there for the last time and never looked back.
 
Its very simple, simply ask for the empty containers back.

It stops MOST mechanics...they simply won't bother to pour the oil into a container to steal it from you.

Michael
 
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