Jiffy Lube caught red-handed. Again.

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Lord Haw Haw

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White Bear Lake, MN
A local (Mpls/St. Paul) TV station did some undercover sniffing around at some local JLs, acting on a tip. You know how JL has "good/better/best" oil changes? They're supposed to be conventional, syn blend & full synthetic. Of course you pay more for each step up.

WCCO went to three different JLs, and at each one, the good and better oils were identical, according to lab analysis. (The lab is located in my birth city. Whee!) So, if you go for the "better" oil, you're spending an extra $13 for nothing.

JL tried to blame it on ConocoPhillips, but they were having none of it.

Then JL said the better change included a "high performance" filter. But that only started four months ago, and they've been running the good/better oil scam for the last two and a half years.

I'm not surprised whatsoever. Friends don't let friends go to Iffy Lube.

http://wcco.com/specialreports/local_story_232225845.html <-- with video!
 
I wouldn't trust JL any farther than I could throw them BUT, do any of you remember the tests performed by Terry Dyson on German Castrol to determine if it was PAO or not? Those of you that do, remember how expensive AND difficult it was to complete that series of tests and that parts of it are subject to interpretation? My point is not to come to JL's side on this but to me, I just can't see a local station going through all of that(with the time it takes) to determine if an oil is dino,blend,or PAO. Do you?
JL's reputation has long been one of distrust and suspect in every way but this really smells of one of those "set-ups" local stations love to do to increase ratings.
I wouldn't advise anyone to visit JL but not becouse their oil may not be full synthetic. My reasons would be more along the line of not getting any oil (regardless of formulation)back in the crankcase. I hate to take Jiffy Lube's side on anything but this really smells like a set-up to me.
I know one thing, these reporters have also been caught red-handed setting people up that were not guilty of anything. It was all about ratings for them and trying to destroy someone's credibility was a non-issue for them.
Stay away from JL becouse they have a revolving door of "lube-techs" that may or may not do a good job of changing your oil. Find yourself a good ind. repair shop that the owner shows up to work at everyday. His name is on the line and he will generally employ and pay for the best techs he can find. Build a relationship with him and don't desert him when his estimate is 20 bucks higher than the guy down the road and you won't have problems with getting screwed when you have to get the car serviced.
 
Mokanic, I agree with you for the most part. I would just say that WCCO would be stupid to stick their necks out that far without having some fairly solid evidence to point to. I don't want to get too sappy about it, but Minnesotans won't tolerate public or private institutions that go too far. If WCCO were caught phonying up a story like this, their feet would be held to the fire for a good long time.

Salvageyardteen, I like "bad/worse/FUBAR" a lot! I'm going to remember it and use it when no one's looking.
 
Highly doubt the add packs would be the same between all the oils. There should be no need to determine what the base oils are, just whether there's any difference at all in the additive packs..
 
In the old west if you messed with a man's horse they put a rope around your neck. I think if you mess with someone's transportation the penality should include jail time. I'll bet that you could travel across the US and come up with a good batting average testing quick lube operations and finding problems.
 
Quote:

Highly doubt the add packs would be the same between all the oils. There should be no need to determine what the base oils are, just whether there's any difference at all in the additive packs..

Click to expand...



You make perfect sense becouse you have been around BITOG. These ninnies at the local station have not. They don't know zinc from shampoo. I'm certainly not saying that a JL wouldn't do something like that but it's just too cut&dry. Almost like it was made for TV.
liar.gif
 
I would hope the lab they used would be able to interpret the results for them. I should be able to send Blackstone, or any other oil testing lab, three samples and have them determine if they're the same without me having to look at the results myself.
 
"JL tried to blame it on ConocoPhillips, but they were having none of it."

Jiffy Lube is owned by Pennzoil (Shell) and I highly doubt they would be installed CP products!
 
The Jiffy Lube name and the franchise are owned by Shell, but there is nothing in the contract that requires a JL franchiser to use any of Shell's products. It's a STUPID contract, but that's the way it's been since day one. I can remember when the Jiffy Lube's in Minneapolis used Amoco oils. Would not surprise me one bit for them to be using ConocoPhillips products. They are like everyone else, they buy from the cheapest bidder. The only Jiffy Lube's that you can be sure use Pennzoil products are the company owned stores. And the sad part is, it's always the franchise locations that cause the bad press. The company owned stores have very strict guidlines.
 
Jiffy Lube is starting to look like an ongoing criminal enterprise. I wonder if they qualify under RICO statutes for some special attention. Jiffy Lube has proven that they are not going to stop screwing the public. A private citizen gets whacked for failing smog or letting their registration lapse but Jiffy Lube get a second chance, again and again, for stealing money that was meant for a basic need, transportation.
 
Bang! Bang! Bang! What's that? Another nail in the coffin. More and more I find myself telling everyone I know to stay the h-e-l-l away from that place. My cousin and her 06 GTO won't be going back after our conversation this morning. There's just too much competition in this segment for the crooks to flourish. Stock drop, followed by buyout, followed by re-launch under a different (and perhaps reputable)name may or may not clear this issue up. For what they charge for a basic oil change around these parts, I would expect the work to be done by someone who actually knows what he's doing, and be done in an honest manner. Stuff like this has forever prevented me from allowing my car to be filled with oil via a hose extending down from the ceiling.
 
Watch for JL employees to drive off in the company truck, stock up at Wal-Mart, then drive back and get back to working on the cars.

No proof.
 
Jiffy Lube is probably not where most of us would take our cars.
However, in the absence of JL, many of the cars serviced would never see any service at all.
Did people get charged for an oil quality not provided? Maybe.
Did they at least get their oil changed?
Of course.
Between Jiffy Lube and nothing, I'd have to vote for Jiffy Lube.
Finally, many dealers are as dishonest in their practices as any franchised prix fixe service operation. Focus upon them as well.
 
If Iffy Lube wasn't doing anything wrong why were they blaming ConocoPhillips? Wouldn't the Iffy Lube had their lawyers on that station in a heart beat for slander and defamation of character?
No they made excuses. I wonder if Iffy Lube went after ConocoPhillips for selling them inferior products?
No they just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar as they say.
 
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