My brother and my dad have a big waste oil burner in their generator shop. I used to always change my oil there and pour my waste oil in the burner's tank. They don't want synthetic oil in there. They said it doesn't burn properly.
Had A Bad Oil Change Experience Today.
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Never had this problem. All my oil is delivered to my front door by Petroleum Service Company.
Originally Posted By: 4WD
That’s a great ending to a tough situation - I mean that - but let’s get to the solution:
To be a member you must have huge shelves of various jugs & bottles...
Kick me out then....
My stash consists of 3/4 quart (less actually) of a 5-quart bottle of Castrol Magnatec as my wife's Fusion holds 4-1/4 quarts. I used a little bit of that to top off my G35 when I replaced the oil cooler gasket (only lost 250ml and was hardly worth replacing but I had it measured and had oil, so....).
That’s a great ending to a tough situation - I mean that - but let’s get to the solution:
To be a member you must have huge shelves of various jugs & bottles...
Kick me out then....
Why would you replace exactly what was lost as opposed to using the dipstick?
Sorry to hear about your experience... but I suppose it wasn't all bad - Your neighbor came through. I suspect you guys will probably talk a lot more in the future.
your story got me thinking though... and I wonder what the chances are something like this happened:
Some other Autozone customer did an oil change, put the old oil in the Mobil-1 Jug, then brought it into Autozone and instead of pouring into the waste oil container, he just left the jug full of used oil in the back for some reason.. or even on the front counter. Later that night, a store employee saw it back there and, either absent-mindedly, or because he was just an underpaid, tired, or otherwise careless person, he picked it up and put it on the shelf, thinking it had been misplaced.
I know.. probably unlikely, but it COULD happen. I, myself, have brought used oil into my local Autozone and been told that the waste oil container was full, and I should just leave the jug on the counter and they would take care of it. Makes me wonder now if they really did "take care of it" or.. did something else with it.
... Oh, hey, look.. This is my 2000th post. Nice!
your story got me thinking though... and I wonder what the chances are something like this happened:
Some other Autozone customer did an oil change, put the old oil in the Mobil-1 Jug, then brought it into Autozone and instead of pouring into the waste oil container, he just left the jug full of used oil in the back for some reason.. or even on the front counter. Later that night, a store employee saw it back there and, either absent-mindedly, or because he was just an underpaid, tired, or otherwise careless person, he picked it up and put it on the shelf, thinking it had been misplaced.
I know.. probably unlikely, but it COULD happen. I, myself, have brought used oil into my local Autozone and been told that the waste oil container was full, and I should just leave the jug on the counter and they would take care of it. Makes me wonder now if they really did "take care of it" or.. did something else with it.
... Oh, hey, look.. This is my 2000th post. Nice!
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On Long Island, this is a very common occurrence. I promise you this was not waste oil that accidentally ended up back on the shelf. Some dirtbag changed their oil, put the dirty oil back in the container and returned it. The manager at the store said he wouldn't have believed me but he's seen it happen a few times. I asked why they don't check the seal and he replied "They wait til we're busy to come in and do the return". I mentioned earlier it happened to me once with printer ink.
My best friend used to have a battery store. Everything from watch batteries to 8D's. I saw people come in there all the time trying to return batteries that he knew they had used. It got so bad he finally posted up a big sign with some crazy restocking fee. Since it was posted, he had a leg to stand on and made it not worthwhile for them to return the battery.
I just have to be more careful and I posted this thread to remind everyone else.
My best friend used to have a battery store. Everything from watch batteries to 8D's. I saw people come in there all the time trying to return batteries that he knew they had used. It got so bad he finally posted up a big sign with some crazy restocking fee. Since it was posted, he had a leg to stand on and made it not worthwhile for them to return the battery.
I just have to be more careful and I posted this thread to remind everyone else.
OP remember that Uber and Lyft services do exist in a pinch.
Originally Posted By: thescreensavers
OP remember that Uber and Lyft services do exist in a pinch.
That's a GREAT idea. I never would have thought of that since I never use them. The store is approximately five miles from my house. I was going to ride a bicycle with a backpack. The distance wasn't a problem. I'm an avid rider. I was trying to solve this asap. If there's ever a next time, now I have that in my head as an option.
OP remember that Uber and Lyft services do exist in a pinch.
That's a GREAT idea. I never would have thought of that since I never use them. The store is approximately five miles from my house. I was going to ride a bicycle with a backpack. The distance wasn't a problem. I'm an avid rider. I was trying to solve this asap. If there's ever a next time, now I have that in my head as an option.
Originally Posted By: George7941
Why would you replace exactly what was lost as opposed to using the dipstick?
The dipstick covers a range of oil volume and my method put the level back where it was. Using the dipstick alone, I probably wouldn't need to replace ANY oil as the level would have been between the "L" and "H" marks. Some believe the level MUST be at the top mark, all the time, but I don't. Anywhere in between is acceptable. If it's at the bottom mark and I have oil, will I top it off ? Sure. If I don't have the oil, will I go immediately and buy a quart ? Nope.
Why would you replace exactly what was lost as opposed to using the dipstick?
The dipstick covers a range of oil volume and my method put the level back where it was. Using the dipstick alone, I probably wouldn't need to replace ANY oil as the level would have been between the "L" and "H" marks. Some believe the level MUST be at the top mark, all the time, but I don't. Anywhere in between is acceptable. If it's at the bottom mark and I have oil, will I top it off ? Sure. If I don't have the oil, will I go immediately and buy a quart ? Nope.
Originally Posted By: PimTac
It’s always a good idea to mark the jugs. I just put a X on mine as the used oil goes back into the 5qt jug the new oil came in.
I keep a can of bright orange spray paint in my garage for exactly this. After I pour the used oil back into a jug, I hit the jug with a couple strategically-aimed spritzes of the bright orange stuff. No mistaking THAT jug any more.
It’s always a good idea to mark the jugs. I just put a X on mine as the used oil goes back into the 5qt jug the new oil came in.
I keep a can of bright orange spray paint in my garage for exactly this. After I pour the used oil back into a jug, I hit the jug with a couple strategically-aimed spritzes of the bright orange stuff. No mistaking THAT jug any more.
I worked at a mom and pop auto parts store years ago and yeah people try and return about anything they replace the part then box up their old used stuff and try to get their money back with about any excuse you could imagine. We had to check every return no matter how busy. Only electrical parts had a no return policy, you buy it you own it
Originally Posted By: dailydriver
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
I think stores should make it a habit to check any returned oil to make sure the seal has not been removed.
This is something which I thought that every chain/store, save for Sino Mart, DID!
The black girls that work my local WalMart returns desk is not going to mess up their nail jobs looking at oil bottle returns for broken seal.
Originally Posted By: Jimkobb
I think stores should make it a habit to check any returned oil to make sure the seal has not been removed.
This is something which I thought that every chain/store, save for Sino Mart, DID!
The black girls that work my local WalMart returns desk is not going to mess up their nail jobs looking at oil bottle returns for broken seal.
Originally Posted By: hallstevenson
I returned a bottle of carpet shampoo to Walmart and the returns person opened the bottle (it didn't have any sort of seal) and smelled it. When she did it, I actually said, "You're kidding ? You have to check because people will fill these back up with water or something and return them, huh?". She said yeap, people do that....
Not posting this in defense of Walmart, but they at least seem to have a rule or policy about this. Does it happen every time ? Of course not. Do the return clerks know what used oil smells like compared to new oil ? Nope, nor should they.
Was returning something one time to Wal-Mart about last Christmas season and seen behind the returns counter desk a half empty gallon milk jug and open box of cereal. I asked the returns girl if someone had the audacity to return that stuff half eaten and she rolled here eyes and said "yea, happens all the time".
I returned a bottle of carpet shampoo to Walmart and the returns person opened the bottle (it didn't have any sort of seal) and smelled it. When she did it, I actually said, "You're kidding ? You have to check because people will fill these back up with water or something and return them, huh?". She said yeap, people do that....
Not posting this in defense of Walmart, but they at least seem to have a rule or policy about this. Does it happen every time ? Of course not. Do the return clerks know what used oil smells like compared to new oil ? Nope, nor should they.
Was returning something one time to Wal-Mart about last Christmas season and seen behind the returns counter desk a half empty gallon milk jug and open box of cereal. I asked the returns girl if someone had the audacity to return that stuff half eaten and she rolled here eyes and said "yea, happens all the time".
I really don't blame you one bit. You go to a store, buy something and having paid for it, you expect to get exactly what you paid for. But with the likes of dishonest @$$hats thinking they are smarter than everyone else, and return their USED oil to get a free oil change (seriously, how low can you go?!), it definitely pays to check the cap and seal before putting it in the cart.
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