Oil Change Fraud

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No offense I understand some people probably don't know how but if they can't afford to take/spend 10 seconds checking the oil before they leave then then kinda had it coming.

I don't believe in scamming anyone but if people made it a practice to pop the hood and check before they left it would stop.

It would be very hard to explain why they didn't change your oil. No oops.. I forgot to drain and refill it in the 30 mins on the lift.

As for filters being your own and switch between 2 brands if you have the shops change your oil during winter months.
 
How would checking the oil before they leave solve anything? Nothing is said about them not changing the oil...just giving you a lot cheaper oil than what you're paying for.

I agree with the OP, I've always thought this happened at some places. I've never had the oil changed by anyone other than myself to prevent any wrongdoing or negligence by the shop.

But on another note, I did work at Mobil 1 Quick Lube over in College Station during college, and I know for a fact that when people paid for the more expensive synthetic oils, that's what they got. All came out of new, unopened bottles. I was there for a year and never saw any wrongdoing.

I do like that this report commended the shops that actually did the right thing.
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Only go to places where you can watch the oil being changed. However; even that does not cover you if they prefill their oil containers with cheap oil. ed
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
No offense I understand some people probably don't know how but if they can't afford to take/spend 10 seconds checking the oil before they leave then then kinda had it coming.

I don't believe in scamming anyone but if people made it a practice to pop the hood and check before they left it would stop.

It would be very hard to explain why they didn't change your oil. No oops.. I forgot to drain and refill it in the 30 mins on the lift.

As for filters being your own and switch between 2 brands if you have the shops change your oil during winter months.


Guess maybe you didn't watch the posted video - your response makes no sense.
 
I wish I could say I'm surprised.... but I'm not. I consider quick oil-change stores as the highest single risk for fraud that most consumers go to, for the very reason that its impossible to tell what they're doing without a lab test. Especially if they're as blatant as to re-fill used jugs from the bulk oil drum!

I watched the video, and it turns out they actually tested a place that I use for state safety/emissions inspections (Lube Pit-Stop), and they passed the test. Nice to know, even though I've never bought oil from them.
 
I worked tire shop back in the 90's for about a month, if that. When I first started, the techs that were already there there used to tell me that they wondered how the manager could sleep at night.

Quickly, I saw that he used to do stuff like this regularly, pushed employees to do it and got extremely upset with me when I was honest with a customer about the work that should be done to their car (which was none). I refused to engage in it and he had some real nice things to say to me.

I ended up working at that place for a month, if that and quit without the prospect of another job.
 
Wow, that is really bad. I wonder how common that problem is across the US?

In the early '90s I worked at a chain auto parts/service shop in the Minneapolis area that had two service bays. A standard oil change was $13.99 if I recall correctly, which included a Purolator filter and a name brand 10w-30 that came out of a bulk tank. If a customer wanted a different oil or filter, either customer-supplied or from our store shelves, that is what they got. We made plenty of money doing things honestly. There isn't much money made doing an oil change, but while the oil is draining you can do a quick inspection and point out to the customer legitimate things like bad tie rod ends, torn CV boots, worn brakes, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: Bill_G
Originally Posted By: 3800Series
No offense I understand some people probably don't know how but if they can't afford to take/spend 10 seconds checking the oil before they leave then then kinda had it coming.

I don't believe in scamming anyone but if people made it a practice to pop the hood and check before they left it would stop.

It would be very hard to explain why they didn't change your oil. No oops.. I forgot to drain and refill it in the 30 mins on the lift.

As for filters being your own and switch between 2 brands if you have the shops change your oil during winter months.


Guess maybe you didn't watch the posted video - your response makes no sense.


Videos posted every day. This is the third time iv seen a thread about oil change scams in the past 2 days.
 
Originally Posted By: 3800Series

Videos posted every day. This is the third time iv seen a thread about oil change scams in the past 2 days.


The point watching the video was that the shops were charging for synthetic, but putting in conventional. How do you check that by popping your hood?
 
As long as the punishment is a slap on the wrist there is no incentive to stop the oil change scams. It's difficult to measure the actual damage done and you're talking about transactions that usually don't amount to much. Since it's only individual consumers that are harmed there's not much incentive for local authorities or politicians to do much after the press conference or TV news story is over and the lights and camera are turned off. You'll have to accept the fact that if there's nothing in it for them, they don't care.

These scams are a good reason to do business with a regular service and repair shop and be willing to pay a few bucks more for that oil change and consider it part of a regular service plan or schedule.
 
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