I am considering the Dark Side. Quick Oil Change shops.

I agree with QuickLane, I generally have a good experience with them, though they can't be counted on to properly retrain the TPMS on the T150 otherwise no issues with them around the country. Not sure what filter they would use on other than a Ford though..

I've used walmart once or twice and they were fine too.

My old 2005 Civic you could actually reach the filter through the left wheel well and get it out the top... doesn't solve the fact it runs down the downpipes and oil pan rail though... Oil change for that car involves 4QTS oil, Filter, Drain Washer, Complete can of brake clean... ;)
 
Agree. It’s just not a good value to me, even in the wintertime.

Though to OP’s point, Honda often has pretty horrible locations for oil filters, and it can make a real mess.
My GM & Mopars have easy filters … but the Fusion Hybrid has a dinner table bolted under it - however with M1 AP will be going 10k on that one again …
 
I mentioned earlier that I use them for our company cars, it's required, but I haven't had any problems in 25 years.

I do it myself on my own vehicles. My 2016 Honda CRV is extremely easy and quick, so is changing the CVT fluid.

F150 isn't bad.
 
I changed the oil in my civic today. I also changed the oil in my Toyota Van a few weeks ago. I literally did not spill a single drop of oil changing my Van's oil and filter. The civic? It has a detestable oil filter mount location. It's one of those filters on the firewall side of the transverse engine. So when the filter comes undone, oil drips down the side of block and in this Civic's case, onto the exhaust pipe. I spilled about a teaspoon of oil. Not horrible compared to my past spill disasters, but still frustrating. The used oil coated my arm, and stained a jacket. I'm just about fed up with these sort of oil filter locations. I believe I am ready to concede. Most of my life, I have been a devoted DIY addict, but for something as mundane and as cheap as an oil change, I believe I am ready. Ready to discard this infuriating chore to a quick oil change shop. I know there is risk of error, but the risk of occurrence seems so low. I will remain DIY for big jobs, but a simple oil change? I think it's time to throw in the towel. Who else has crossed the line from changing your own oil to enlisting oil change shops to descend into the oily abyss?

You just described my 1985 and 1995 Escorts (except for the Escort you didn't drip oil on the exhaust). Once you get all the tools that you need to do the job and get used to it, it's not that bad.
 
I am not buying it. I suspect the vast majority of people use oil change shops rather than DIY, and I don't hear of engines blowing up because of oil change shops. Of course it is possible, but not a common occurrence. All my family members pay for their oil changes. I am the only one who is DIY.
Been using a local valvoline since around 2005 or so, never an issue. The $50 extra cost to have them do it is well worth it to me.
 
Sorry...but it sounds like your good friend is incompetent and doesn't need to be managing a lube shop. First of all, nearly all "stripped" oil pans aren't stripped. 99.99999% of every oil pan I ever saw could easily be repaired with a thread chaser. The threads are still there, they've just been pulled and need to be straightened, new plug installed and tightened per the manufacturer specs with a torque wrench. A lot of times...it's the plug that has damaged threads...then an uneducated pit worker tries to put it back...and amplifies the problem. Most of the time, a brand new drain plug is all that's needed. It's all about training.

If his employees screw up THAT much...it's a direct reflection of poor management. In 14 years and 4 quick lubes I worked in...I can remember 2 claims that required me to pay out money....and a 3rd that was an oil filter failure that was paid by the filter manufacturer. Sloppy workers didn't work for me long at all. If procedures are followed...mistakes are minimal to nonexistent.

Dealerships have $9/hr "lube techs" changing oil and most have minimal training. The majority of oil pans I ever had to fix were serviced at a dealership prior. Mostly Ford and Honda.
Nice try, but he isn't incompetent, the owner is, and is who directs him on how to manage the employees. For what it's worth they hire a lot of ex-cons because of the benefits they get for doing so, and my friend is in a tough spot because of this situation. This is one example of why I would avoid them.

Nice of you to comment without knowing the full situation though. (y) He will be moving onto a better job soon. His role is essentially just to approve the repairs of their mistakes and has no say in direction of the employees.
 
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Used to work at a quick change oil place in high school (still can't believe they let me do that at that age).

Honestly, we weren't terrible but we did have some screw ups...ruined a BMW engine when the oil filter fell off half a mile down the street.

I personally almost took a guys hand off when I thought I heard him say "clear!!", only he didn't...and I started the engine while his hand was in their. He luckily was ok.

Other than that it wasn't all that bad...oil and filter got changed and new oil went in, no big deal. There was one guy there that was really pretty talented. Seemed a waste to have him work there. Not sure what kind of oil we were putting in...some no name house local delivery service. That's the one thing I would be very concerned about.

Walmart does use quality oil - of course you'll pay more for it - but they'll use Pennzoil Platinum there.
 
As an owner/operator of a "Quick Lube" I appreciate the positive comments from some of the BITOG members
who have used a fast lube and have had a positive experience. No industry is perfect. There are bad Doctors and bad Lawyers.
It would seem as a few certain contributors have no love for the quick lube industry. I chuckle at all of the nightmare stories that
are circulated. Everyone makes mistakes :

Researchers estimated that an annual 251,454 U.S. deaths — or 9.5% of all annual U.S. deaths — resulted from medical error, making it the third leading cause of death in the country. Oct 18, 2019

Thanks for the kind words from the few.

ps. I'm only here to learn. BITOG has helped educate me on the complexities of motor oils. I have Oilzheimers.
My customers appreciate it.

Merry Christmas!
 
As an owner/operator of a "Quick Lube" I appreciate the positive comments from some of the BITOG members
who have used a fast lube and have had a positive experience. No industry is perfect. There are bad Doctors and bad Lawyers.
It would seem as a few certain contributors have no love for the quick lube industry. I chuckle at all of the nightmare stories that
are circulated. Everyone makes mistakes :

Researchers estimated that an annual 251,454 U.S. deaths — or 9.5% of all annual U.S. deaths — resulted from medical error, making it the third leading cause of death in the country. Oct 18, 2019

Thanks for the kind words from the few.

ps. I'm only here to learn. BITOG has helped educate me on the complexities of motor oils. I have Oilzheimers.
My customers appreciate it.

Merry Christmas!
That’s very true, good apples and bad apples. Medical error is another thing entirely though from an oil change.
 
Medical error is another thing entirely though from an oil change.

Ain't that the truth. If they kill 250k I have to wonder how many they hurt.
I wonder if fast lubes kill 251,000 cars in a year.
You know what they call the person who finishes last in their class in medical school?
Doctor.
God Bless America
Merry Christmas to All!
 
Ain't that the truth. If they kill 250k I have to wonder how many they hurt.
I wonder if fast lubes kill 251,000 cars in a year.
You know what they call the person who finishes last in their class in medical school?
Doctor.
God Bless America
Merry Christmas to All!


Having seen a error in judgement by a physician first hand.... It was a "sentinel" event which a patient died.... The patient died on the operating table from bring septic. I did the patient admission work. I had requested wound cultures with gram stain, blood cultures, a hospitalist consult, and a broad spectrum antibiotic. Got no on everyone. I figured once the physician actually saw the post operative back wound he would change his mind. Next day the physician cane in and saw the patient and did not change coarse... No antibiotics treatment ordered. This was right during Christmas time.... 2 days after Christmas the patient went to the operating room. He looked very, very, very bad... One of the hardest things I had to do was gather his belongings and take them to his wife in the OR...

RNs certainly make errors in judgement too... Or being in too big of a hurry. I firmly believe someone pushed IV 4 mg of morphine too fast on one of my step father's former coworker... They crashed him and he did not make it.... I heard recently someone gave 50 mgs of morphine by mouth... To a patient.... It should have been 5 mgs.... The patient ended up ok... Though it was fortunate it turned out that way. .

Good Judgement... Listening... Doing something extra or exploratory... And at times. Taking their time.... Not being in a bums rush... having a questioning mind and listening to the patient or family members of the patient... And candidly.... A person giving a darn ... I saw a rn give my good friend Scott morphine IV and she pushed it way too fast... In like 30 seconds... Should have been 2 minutes... She didn't give a darn.... And he started rolling around and you could tell it made him feel very bad... She could have cared less.... That happens more than we would like to know or hear about.
 
Nice try, but he isn't incompetent, the owner is, and is who directs him on how to manage the employees. For what it's worth they hire a lot of ex-cons because of the benefits they get for doing so, and my friend is in a tough spot because of this situation. This is one example of why I would avoid them.

Nice of you to comment without knowing the full situation though. (y) He will be moving onto a better job soon. His role is essentially just to approve the repairs of their mistakes and has no say in direction of the employees.
I don't need to know the "full situation". In your prior comment you specifically said he was the manager. I was in the business long enough to know what I'm talking about and I stand behind my comment. Another statement you made that HE told you to stay away from quick lubes just because the one he works in is obviously a circus further verifies his incompetence. So either he has a bogus job title or he really isn't a "manager" at all.
 
I don't need to know the "full situation". In your prior comment you specifically said he was the manager. I was in the business long enough to know what I'm talking about and I stand behind my comment. Another statement you made that HE told you to stay away from quick lubes just because the one he works in is obviously a circus further verifies his incompetence. So either he has a bogus job title or he really isn't a "manager" at all.
You can be a manager without having the ability to make your own decisions if the owner structures it that way since he is the one you answer to. Since you've been in the business long enough you should know that it's full of cheap idiot owners and crooks. While obviously not all of them are like this, they have a bad reputation that is well deserved. I've personally fixed enough quick lube mistakes for family and friends to know to stay away from them. Most aren't even smart enough to figure out how much oil a car should take, never mind replace a filter.
 
This is why I stopped going to "doctors" and took my health into my own hands (though it is needed for emergencies if it ever came to that) because at the end of day I'm responsible for my body and who I become. After many years, I now firmly believe you are what you eat, think, and speak. I feel healthier and happier than ever.

Regarding the OP it's all about the people who run/work in the shop.. For me, my worst experiences have been with the local hot shot dealership and a very fancy boutique auto 4x4 shop.. My local 2 bay auto mechanic is pretty good. I am about to bring my friends jetta there because they let me bring in my own oil and charge $20 for the labor and I get to watch the process. I was going to do it myself but my garage is packed with boxes from a recent remodel and I can't reach my jack/stands. I called another reputable shop and they wanted $100+tax to change the oil on a 2013 2.5L petrol Jetta... No thank you.
 
Kurtatron: You need to make a connection with a lube manager, or perhaps a place you buy tires from that do oil changes. My tire place that I've done business with for some years uses my oil and filter, charges me $20 + tax. That is their fee for everyone who brings their oil. They serviced my recently sold 14' Accord, and currently my ancient 20 YO Ranger for many years. I know the manager by name.

They can't do my Slingshot 3 wheeler so I found a small lube shop with pits. I run the front over the end of the pit and they do work, same price as above. They have problem with me standing by observing, and I always do the final tightening of the canister filter which is on top of the GM 2.4.

My Q3 has a similar canister on top of motor and I use an oil evacuator (dealer does the same) to remove the oil. It holds 6 and that is the amount removed. It also works well on the Slingshot if I dont feel like taking to the Lube shop.

Even if it worked on the Civic, I understand your issue with the filter. Just a thought for future vehicles.

 
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