oil shop mixing oils and not telling you

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when i worked for a local oil change shop(i wont give the name) the had a big rack that held all the bottled oil. on the back of the rack were a bunch of non sellers like qs syn, havoline, gtx blend, superflo, etc. not very many of each just a quart or two and all different grades ranging from 5/20 to 10/40.

well i guess the manager got tired of counting them and one day had the new guy pick a bunch of Mobil 1 bottles out o the trash and put these oils in the bottles. alot of these oils were dino and like i said different grades but they all went in M1 5w30 bottles and got put back on the shelf.

one more reason to change your own oil...
 
That shop manager is an idiot. He should have done it himself and not told an employee to do such things. Just think how he could have caused a real conflict in the mind of the beleaguered downtrodden worker. Just wait until quitting time and refill the bottles himself. Typical lazy management.







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I come on. You have to tell us the shop. At least the location. If I had a chance to work on his car is have to do something to make it "top notch "
 
Trust me that manager wasn't the inventor of that scam, far from it. That trick has been done for years, and another reason why going to a quick lube shop and paying an upcharge for a synthetic, or better yet a boutique oil in many cases is a mistake. I've seen it done in dealerships as well, nothing new here. I've seen techs pour the customers oil into clean gallon jugs they brought from home, stick bulk oil in the car and leave the customers empties in a nice neat box in their trunk. These guys were smart enough to install the customer's filter though, and not get caught.
 
As you guys have observed - another reason to do it yourself...

That said, I trust my local shop. NAPA certified, and my neighbor owns it...no, they're not perfect...but they're honest and that, my friends, is worth its weight in gold...
 
Funny, Pablo!!
I have little doubt that this is a not uncommon practice.
It should do little or no harm, but it is fraud.
No wonder there is so much cynicism out there in the land.
We are almost dissapointed when we don't get ripped off.
 
................yawn..........tel us something we don't know.2

Its a mathematical impossibility to make a profit on oil changes under 20.00. I would say its a prerequisite to cheat if they are to stay in business.

If oil changes were on the level, they would have to be about 30.00, conventional dino, to be legitimate.

Always remember, there are no free lunches. If it appears uneconomical, it is unless something underhanded is going on.
 
Our local Valvoline instant oil change shop charges about $29 for 5 quarts of conventional oil/filter. I see it pumped from a bulk tank. However, who really knows what is in it.
 
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I worked at Valvoline Instant Oil Change many years ago while in college. We had bulk oil tanks in the basement. The customer never knew what was actually going in. If we ran out of 10w30 we just pumped in 5w30 but billed the customer for 10w. I only stayed on a few months.
 
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I would pour Supertech into a M1 clean 7500 jug just to show my neighbor that i'm using the good stuff in his old POS chevy truck.


he would come back in 3k anyways.
 
There is probably a lot of API-SA,SB, SC, SD....oil out on the market that has to get used up.....one way or another. There might be some real good "Mix Masters" even at the distribution level for Bulk Oil. But then again....if the product gets "stepped on" again, at the retail service level, who knows what the concoction is in the end? Buy it yourself and do it yourself and then you know for sure.
 
idk when your charging the poor people 70 bucks for a syn oil change and every one else in town is getting 50 your making alot of profit right there. but to give them [censored] and charge for syn is just... well ya know. the guy is the most crooked business owner i have ever met. heck he charges his employees 15 bucks for a 2 dollar hat and tells them if they dont buy it they are out of uniform.
 
Originally Posted By: electrolover
idk when your charging the poor people 70 bucks for a syn oil change and every one else in town is getting 50 your making alot of profit right there. but to give them [censored] and charge for syn is just... well ya know. the guy is the most crooked business owner i have ever met. heck he charges his employees 15 bucks for a 2 dollar hat and tells them if they dont buy it they are out of uniform.



Ow!
 
Originally Posted By: highmilegeguy
................yawn..........tel us something we don't know.2

Its a mathematical impossibility to make a profit on oil changes under 20.00. I would say its a prerequisite to cheat if they are to stay in business.

If oil changes were on the level, they would have to be about 30.00, conventional dino, to be legitimate.

Always remember, there are no free lunches. If it appears uneconomical, it is unless something underhanded is going on.


Oh? Are you a math major? Where does the math not work? Or did you mean financial/economic impossibility and not a mathematical one?

Oil sold in bulk (the kind that comes in 55 gallon drums or straight from the oil trucks) is actually quite cheap. There's actually a pretty large profit margin, even at $20, with a reputable dino oil.

-Techniker
 
Originally Posted By: Techniker
Oil sold in bulk (the kind that comes in 55 gallon drums or straight from the oil trucks) is actually quite cheap. There's actually a pretty large profit margin, even at $20, with a reputable dino oil.

-Techniker

Bulk oil usually costs about $2/qt, and filters cost at least $1.50/each. You may be charging more than what the materials cost, but that doesn't mean it is enough to pay for labor, rent, insurance, etc.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14
NAPA certified

That and ASE certified. Do those even mean anything?

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