My dealership is giving me free oil changes

[Razl]

I purchased an '08 Prius about 2 weeks ago. One of the perks that this dealership offers with all auto purchases is free oil/filter changes for as long as you own the vehicle.

Anyways, when the Prius hits 1,000 mi, I plan on replacing the factory fill with Mobil 1 0W-30 and running 5,000 mi oil change intervals according to Toyota's intervals.

My initial thought was to have the service dept change the oil & filter for free but instead have them use the 0W-30 oil I provide. But then, I feel like I'm passing up on 4qts of fresh 5W-30 oil that is free.

I have an oil extrator in the garage, so should I could just let Toyota change my oil & filter like any other customer and when I get home, extract the 5W-30 and store it for my other small engines (lawn tractor, mower, snow thrower, etc.)?

Would I be diluting the benefits of a full synthetic oil in the Prius or am I over analyzing this?

 

[Mudcat]

I don't know squat about the hybrid scene, but is there a chance that the Prius takes xW-20 and not xW-30? Enjoy the new ride.

 

[Steve S]

What is wrong with the dealer oil?You do not need syn oil especially at the mfgs oil change intervals you will not gain anything.

 

[FZ1]

Dude?

 

[GMFan]

Go for the free oil changes/filters.

That's a [censored] of a deal. You figure $30 for an oil change every 5k miles. If you own the vehicle 150k you save $900 and having to crawl under the vehicle.

 

[bruce381]

let dealer do it till he starts to "sugest" other things that need changeing like "air in the tires" LOL
bruce

 

[Razl]

Toyota specs 5W-30, not 0W-20 officially but I've seen some UOAs that show 0W-20 works well in the Prius. I wouldn't be surprised if Toyota switched to a xW-20 with the 2009 Prius.

Steve, nothing wrong with the 5W-30 Toyota oil, it's just that I prefer full synthetic protection and the slight MPG improvement (the Energy Monitor teases you beat your MPG record each time you drive it). So you and FZ1 think I should just forget the Mobil 1? I'd have no prblem running longer intervals with M1 but not until the powertrian warranty runs out.

 

[FZ1]

Take it in every 2500 miles and use the the dealer fill oil and filter.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Tough call for a BitOGer.

If it were me, I'd use the dealer oil as a rinse, draining it fully at home...take the free filter, being SURE it was renewed everytime. The rinse factor shure lets you extend the oil changes to the max. If you re-use the rinse oil somewhere, more power to you.

As for which oil to use...I'm not sure if mixing synth+dino everytime is ideal. I'd use a dino 5w-20, maybe even the same brand as the dealer bulk-o-fill.

 

[BarkerMan]

I consider the oil change to be too important to let someone do it for free. That's just me. If they do it for free it's probably worth what you pay for it. I can't imagine your car will get the care you would give it in your driveway. If you don't keep cars then maybe it's a good deal.

 

[Mr Nice]

For the time it takes to go to the dealership, wait for the oil change and cross my fingers that they don't overfill the engine or strip the oil pan.......I would just use my 49 cent closeout oil.

I would be more than happy if I took an emply 5 quart jug and they filled it up with bulk dino oil and gave me a filter for free.

 

[Cutehumor]

free oil changes, but you need "new air filter, fuel filter, rotate tires" fuel injector service. etc. they will get their money out of you.

 

[Vilan]

You could ask them if they can just give you a jug of oil and the filter and take them home and do with them what you wish. Comes to the same thing in the end as far as they're concerned and gets you out of the bay faster.

Only on BITOG...

 

[Audi Junkie]

Umm, ask for the oil in a jug? Not cool.

 

[NHHEMI]

I used to work in a dealership( Parts & Service depts )that did this and have purchased new vehicles that have come with this as a perk as well. As a rule( I am not saying always )when a dealer does this they use the cheapest bulk oil they can and it is not always the correct weight for your vehicle either. I have seen this a lot where 5W-30 or even 5W-20 is called for yet cheapo bulk 10W-30 is used under the free OC. At least the filter should be a decent OEM one( but make sure!!!! ). I never felt right when I worked at the dealer being a part of that scam.

As a customer I would always take advantage of the free labor and have the dealership do it even though I brought my own oil and filter. I have them do my OC's all the time anyway but it is nice when it is free. I also requested I be given the new filter still in the box.

They didn't like that but as I pointed out I was not using their oil( I run synthetic and didn't want the cheap bulk crud used )so they saved money there and what does it matter if the filter actually gets put on or not? I would sell the filters to a guy who used the same one and wanted OE filters.

I say have them do it and use the filter if you want but be wary of the oil they use. If you decided to use it make sure it is quality oil and the correct weight. Dealers use cheap bulk all the time and you constantly here about them using one weight for everything regardless of what the mfg calls for. You would think if there is ONE place they would be sure and use the right weight it is the dealer but you would be surprised how many use a single weight cheap bulk oil on all vehicles.

 

[wander2039]

I wouldn't.. the last free oil changes we got the dealership left the oil filter loose. We were lucky we didn't loose a engine. On our honeymoom no less. And with the oil they used we got extremely bad mpg.

 

[smithph]

I purchased a vehicle back in 2000 that had free oil & filter changes for life. The fine print stated it was subject to change without notice. After about a year they dropped the free filter and only did the oil change and wanted $4 for a generic non-oem filter and $6 for an oem filter. They would not let you bring your own filter/parts due to insurance reasons (at least that was the storyline). It still was not a bad deal until they later started charging an oil and filter disposal fee and increased the price of the filters. When the free for life oil change started costing over $12 I started doing them myself.

Edit: However I did go from having zero filters and oil in the garage to a stash good for the next four oil/filter changes

So I am not really saving any money.

 

[02zx9r]

Originally Posted By: NHSilverado
I used to work in a dealership( Parts & Service depts )that did this and have purchased new vehicles that have come with this as a perk as well. As a rule( I am not saying always )when a dealer does this they use the cheapest bulk oil they can and it is not always the correct weight for your vehicle either. I have seen this a lot where 5W-30 or even 5W-20 is called for yet cheapo bulk 10W-30 is used under the free OC. At least the filter should be a decent OEM one( but make sure!!!! ). I never felt right when I worked at the dealer being a part of that scam.

As a customer I would always take advantage of the free labor and have the dealership do it even though I brought my own oil and filter. I have them do my OC's all the time anyway but it is nice when it is free. I also requested I be given the new filter still in the box.

They didn't like that but as I pointed out I was not using their oil( I run synthetic and didn't want the cheap bulk crud used )so they saved money there and what does it matter if the filter actually gets put on or not? I would sell the filters to a guy who used the same one and wanted OE filters.

I say have them do it and use the filter if you want but be wary of the oil they use. If you decided to use it make sure it is quality oil and the correct weight. Dealers use cheap bulk all the time and you constantly here about them using one weight for everything regardless of what the mfg calls for. You would think if there is ONE place they would be sure and use the right weight it is the dealer but you would be surprised how many use a single weight cheap bulk oil on all vehicles.


I agree 100% with this.

See we can get along and agree on some things!

 

[daman]

IMO i would pass on the free dealership oil,,in my experience
i've seen some shady work let me tell ya,loose oil filter's
loose drain plugs OR overly tight drain plugs,missing filler
caps etc,etc..

do it your self with a oil you feel good about and know that
the jobs getting done right, no one touches my cars but me..

 

[XPR]

If your asking, then you should pass and use a good quality oil rather than the who knows what they buy.