Quick lube shop scams

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We need more of these undercover investigations........... Stick it to these places......... [crushedcar]
 
Almost makes me want to go there and act like I know nothing, so I can scare him a little when I get out of my car to tell him he's full of sh*t! [Big Grin]
 
You don't have to tell me about these quick lube places! I still remember when I took my car to a quick lube shop and brought my own Mobil 1 oil and oil filter. I had a funny feeling and walked into the service area, even though customers were not supposed to be in there. My Mobil 1 oil was still in the plastic bag I had brought it in. It was sitting on the floor a considerable distance away from my car. The employees were around my car. The hood was up on my car and an employee was about ready to open up a bottle of 10W-40 conventional oil (not even the correct viscosity!). It was obvious to me that they were going to put conventional motor oil in my car engine and keep the Mobil 1. Note to anybody who goes to quick lube places: If you want to use synthetic oil, change the oil yourself, or have a friend change your oil for you. Don't let a quick lube place do it. How do you know they will not rip you off and keep your oil? And if you pay extra for synthetic oil, how do you know they will actually put in synthetic oil? I remember another time I went to an Iffylube to get my oil changed (last time I ever went to an Iffylube). I had a small amount of change in a cup holder in case I had to pay for parking somewhere. They stole some of the change! You can't even trust the dealerships. I took my car to a dealership for an oil change and they did not even wash my car. According to their own paperwork, they wash a person's car after any service (including oil changes) is done.
 
We have a Jiffy Lube in town and I used their service for years. They like to recommend $3 drain plugs a lot, which is easily refused (I'm pretty tolerant of beat up drain plugs I guess). Otherwise, they have always recommended fluid changes only based on mileage. I can see how they would be in a position to cross that line if they were so inclined.
 
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Originally posted by jcork: We have a Jiffy Lube in town and I used their service for years. They like to recommend $3 drain plugs a lot, which is easily refused (I'm pretty tolerant of beat up drain plugs I guess). .... snip
The plug in my 92 Grand Am was in fine shape after 10 years and 40 oil changes. Nobody else ever touched it, and I used a wrench that fit.
 
I don't know if you read the car care tips that are posted at the end of the artcile but they are recommending only OEM replacement parts. For the most part, not always, the only place you can get an OEM part installed is at a dealer unless you go through the hassle of buying it at the parts counter or online then finding an independent mechanic to put it on. So, although I think the article is right on target and this happens every day (even at dealers) was this in any way instigated by auto dealer service depts.? My recent experience my son needed a new Alternator belt, dealer mechanic said I should replace the other two. Confronted him with the service rep. I asked why as the other two belts looked good to me, he finally said yes, the belts look good but they are not OEM and he doesn't like after market belts!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
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These days, when I need fresh oil & filter, I would rather get down 'n dirty than risk permanent damage to my ride.
Can I get an AMEN?!?!? [HAIL 2 U!] [HAIL 2 U!]
 
My sister-in-law took her pontiac in to the same place she always had her oil changed since new(every 3000) miles but this last time the shop forgot one little thing. They forgot to put the oil in. When she brought it back to the place; it was clattering pretty bad. They tried to weasle out of responsibility by putting in 20w-50 and telling her everything will be all right. Everything wasn't "all-right" the motor was smoking and clattering. It wasn't until she threatened to take them to court that they decided putting in a new motor was the cheapest route to go. They knew no judge would have any sympathy for an obvious screw-up on their part and might fine them even more. The place burned down the very day my sis went to pick up her car; fortunatly it was parked outside. Who says justice isn't metered out to the evil-ones.
 
Back before I retired I used to take my company car to oil change places, The company didn't want us doing it, One place showed me a sample of the differential lube and told me it was bad because it had air bubbles in it. That was the last time I went there.
 
My ex-mother-in-law had a similar experience at a J.C. Penney auto service bay in San Diego years ago. The happy-merry-worker neglected to pour replacement oil in the sump and her engine seized several miles down the road. To their credit, Penney popped for a replacement engine without an argument, but, still... Probably explains why Penney got out of the auto-service business within a few years. Moral of the story? She probably should have had one of those "engine treatment" products that guarantee you can drive your car to Timbuktu with no oil in the sump... [Wink]
 
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Originally posted by Speed racer: ........ the shop forgot one little thing. They forgot to put the oil in. ....... They tried to weasle out of responsibility by putting in 20w-50 and telling her everything will be all right..... ....Everything wasn't "all-right" the motor was smoking and clattering. ........ she threatened to take them to court .....they decided putting in a new motor was the cheapest route to go. They knew no judge would have any sympathy for an obvious screw-up on their part and might fine them even more. The place burned down the very day my sis went to pick up her car; fortunatly it was parked outside. Who says justice isn't metered out to the evil-ones.
I really don't know what this country is coming to. The place is like a Bosnia minefield these days. Everything you meet has teeth, and is ready to take a piece out of you. I used to think it has to do with hiring minimum-wage employees, but I think the problem is more deeply rooted than that. Possibly, it may be related to the breakdown of the family unit. Society is producing young individuals to go out into the workforce, young individuals who don't know, don't want to know, and don't ever intend to find out how to go about their job. They turn up in the morning, punch the time clock, take up space, and then go home at 5 PM. It is getting so that one is afraid to let property out of one's sight for 1 minute. Even property that is bolted down to the ground, because what they cannot carry away, they can still vandalize. [Frown]
 
Just wanted to pass on a good experience that I had at a "quick lube" place. I had been traveling quite a few miles and was at about 5,000 miles on a fill of castrol GTX. I had to get it changed and didn't have the time. I stopped at a place (Good Year, I think) about 70 miles away from home because I had about an hour of down time before I had to be at my destination. I asked them to grease the u-joints because I had be feeling a vibration at highway speeds. They came out after the oil change and told me that my car didn't have grease fittings in the u-joints and, considering where I was from, it was probably just the uneven road. I had a nice conversation and explained that I didn't take that road - that I had come from a different direction on a smooth road. I thanked them for looking, payed the $19.95 plus tax and left. No added expenses and no pushed items, and best of all, no damage in a attempt to repair it. There are some good "quicky lube" places out there, and these chains are giving them a bad name.
 
Around here a lot of places filter the oil from previous cars to put in the ones they change. Bottom line is like anything else, the national brand is not worth as much as the reputation of the owner and his employees. I like to go out and talk to the customers. We do show people bad transmission or differential oil when it is milky or gritty, we do recommend putting antifreeze in when there is rusty water, and changing out black brake fluid (although we don't do it ourselves). For our 3 locations, it's customer service we deliver, and want people to be happy with their car service so they will recommend us to factories and farmers that make up 99% of our business. We will even send an employee 5 miles to buy a weird filter if we don't stock it and sell it at cost just to have a happy customer.
 
Playing devil's advocate, if a vehicle isn't in the "EZ-Lube" computer, because it hasn't been there before, how does the tech know it's been 30,000 miles on the trans oil or antifreeze, or anything else? Maybe the customer has one of those ridiculous extended warranties that require paper receipts for every little thing done plus or minus fifty miles of a certain mileage and that's why they're there. If a customer kept their own records, and got the 2 year/ 30,000 mile work done every two years, or 30k miles, and said "no" the rest of the time... it's like the rule, never ask a barber if you need a haircut! Of course, I don't condone those sales tactics, and I maintain my own vehicles (& my sister's too).
 
Even for repair stuff....unless the vehicle is still under warranty, you should do it yourself with the help of a friend who knows....not only do you learn how every thing works, but you also avoid overcharging, over-repairing (stuff you don't need) and you know the job is done right....or at least honest. Rick
 
The quality/honesty of the worker depends on the location. Look around at your coworkers/friends/family..., would you want to purchase services/products from them? If not, then I wouldn't bother with any quickee anything [Razz] If the people in your town/city/state/location take pride(very rare nowadays) in their work, then you should be OK. Get to know the employees or do the work yourself!
 
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