I've had my wife take her car in to some of the lube-joints before, I always told her just oil and nothing else. The biggest problem I had is these boobs wouldn't keep their hands off non oil change related parts, I'd find things like the airbox not put back together right, etc. We have a few less cars now, so it's easier for me to stay on top of oil changes myself. It's hard to trust people these days.
Quick lube shop scams
- Thread starter Ken2
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EZ-Lube's $68/customer quota enforced against their managers is like an order from corporate to steal from their customers. They should have their feet held to the fire for that.
In 1999, I had an Iffylube lose my drain plug soft washer, fail to inform me about the loss, and then try to ram the drain plug in with brutal force. Luckily, my sump was well made enough not to lose the threads in the drain hole.
I only found out when I wondered why my car leaked oil onto the driveway.
I got off lightly: just go out and make inquiries on other people who have used Iffylubes and Quick 15's. Some unlucky people have had them destroy the threads in the drain plug. Then instead of fixing the damage, the monkeys just grab hold of a cork plug and ram that into the sump drain hole. The poor customer is in for a big shock when the next oil change service takes place!
These days, when I need fresh oil & filter, I would rather get down 'n dirty than risk permanent damage to my ride.
Ok, the worst JiffyLube story I've ever known. It happened to a guy at work and I saw the damage. We call it the all afternoon $500 oil change.
So one of our sales guys takes his car up the street to JiffyLube. His car happens to be a Saab Sonnet. For those not familiar, it's a 60's vintage sports coupe with a strange carbureted V4 engine, dual exhaust, and front wheel drive.
He goes to the JiffyLube and tells them right away, "Be careful, it's easy to confuse the transmission drain plug with the engine drain plug." Of course, as he watches they remove the trans plug first and dump the trans lube out. No problem right, now they have it, he'll just get the trans oil changed too.
They get the engine and trans drained and put the plugs back in, then let the car down. But now, they seem to be having trouble with one or both of the fill caps. They get progressively larger and larger tools, cuss a lot, beat on things, but finally get the caps off and the lubes refilled after about 1/2 hour. He's relieved but he shouldn't be yet.
They go to back the car out and it won't start. Uh oh, he's wondering why this is happening since it's never done this before. They grind on the starter, and grind, and grind, probably pumping the gas all the time. Remember, this car has a carb. Finally they run the battery down. No problem they have a booster charger. "This'll just take a few minutes..."
He suggests maybe they look under the hood while they charge the battery. They do, and after about 20 minutes discover a cracked ignition coil. Strange, it was fine when he brought it in. No problem again, while there is of course no Saab dealer within a 100 miles, there is a NAPA about 2 blocks away. "We'll get something that fits..."
Another hour goes by. Back from NAPA, new generic coil fitted, all is good right...
They start the car and both mufflers blow out. It seems the attempts to get the fill caps off with *large* tools had somehow "bumped" the ignition coil and cracked it. Then, the attempts to start the car with a cracked coil had filled the mufflers with raw fuel. Along with his new oil I'm sure...
He finally leaves after being there pretty much all afternoon with the wrong coil on his car, fuel diluted oil, and blown out mufflers. What's more, they expected him to pay for the oil change, plus the parts from NAPA and the labor to install them, and told him he's on his own for the mufflers.
Nice...
So one of our sales guys takes his car up the street to JiffyLube. His car happens to be a Saab Sonnet. For those not familiar, it's a 60's vintage sports coupe with a strange carbureted V4 engine, dual exhaust, and front wheel drive.
He goes to the JiffyLube and tells them right away, "Be careful, it's easy to confuse the transmission drain plug with the engine drain plug." Of course, as he watches they remove the trans plug first and dump the trans lube out. No problem right, now they have it, he'll just get the trans oil changed too.
They get the engine and trans drained and put the plugs back in, then let the car down. But now, they seem to be having trouble with one or both of the fill caps. They get progressively larger and larger tools, cuss a lot, beat on things, but finally get the caps off and the lubes refilled after about 1/2 hour. He's relieved but he shouldn't be yet.
They go to back the car out and it won't start. Uh oh, he's wondering why this is happening since it's never done this before. They grind on the starter, and grind, and grind, probably pumping the gas all the time. Remember, this car has a carb. Finally they run the battery down. No problem they have a booster charger. "This'll just take a few minutes..."
He suggests maybe they look under the hood while they charge the battery. They do, and after about 20 minutes discover a cracked ignition coil. Strange, it was fine when he brought it in. No problem again, while there is of course no Saab dealer within a 100 miles, there is a NAPA about 2 blocks away. "We'll get something that fits..."
Another hour goes by. Back from NAPA, new generic coil fitted, all is good right...
They start the car and both mufflers blow out. It seems the attempts to get the fill caps off with *large* tools had somehow "bumped" the ignition coil and cracked it. Then, the attempts to start the car with a cracked coil had filled the mufflers with raw fuel. Along with his new oil I'm sure...
He finally leaves after being there pretty much all afternoon with the wrong coil on his car, fuel diluted oil, and blown out mufflers. What's more, they expected him to pay for the oil change, plus the parts from NAPA and the labor to install them, and told him he's on his own for the mufflers.
Nice...
It's true, those places suck. My friend's boyfriend took his Camry to JL for an oil change and they did not put oil in it. They bought him a used engine as a replacment.
It had lower miles then his pos engine.
Pep Boys failed to replace the o-ring on the canister filter on my BMW. Man was that car esy to service, but they f-ed it up. I drove home and when I stopped the car released it's hot oily bounty in my driveway. I drove another car back to PB retrive the o-ring, gather fresh oil and kitty litter, all complementary.
PB will ruin your car, I have stories of cut wiring harness, burned electronics and stripped suspension parts.
Funny side note, on AudiWorld.com when I hear guys ask if their Audi service techs will steal their Mobil 1 I laugh. No way, the service techs pay a lot for their certifications. Some dealers have serious reputations themselves, Al Holbert Audi...Champion Audi and other places with advanced racing programmes steal your Mobil 1??? Don't flatter yourself, M1 is not that good!
[ November 09, 2003, 01:54 AM: Message edited by: TSoA ]
Pep Boys failed to replace the o-ring on the canister filter on my BMW. Man was that car esy to service, but they f-ed it up. I drove home and when I stopped the car released it's hot oily bounty in my driveway. I drove another car back to PB retrive the o-ring, gather fresh oil and kitty litter, all complementary.
PB will ruin your car, I have stories of cut wiring harness, burned electronics and stripped suspension parts.
Funny side note, on AudiWorld.com when I hear guys ask if their Audi service techs will steal their Mobil 1 I laugh. No way, the service techs pay a lot for their certifications. Some dealers have serious reputations themselves, Al Holbert Audi...Champion Audi and other places with advanced racing programmes steal your Mobil 1??? Don't flatter yourself, M1 is not that good!
[ November 09, 2003, 01:54 AM: Message edited by: TSoA ]
I worked the parts counter at Sears Automotive back in 1982. Once, I asked the night service manager how he checked shock absorbers for wear, just to see if his comments matched with my Chilton-learned methods. His response was quick, effortless, and dead serious: "If the car has Sears shocks, they're good. If it doesn't, they're bad." As you know, Sears was slammed with a lawsuit and regulatory action some years later for their institutionalized fraud. Switch to a different sign outside and different corporation a generation later, and some things never change!
Actually, Sears had a sale on shock last month and my son had 4 installed. First thing you get there they take theinfo and go out to measure the tire tread depth. I said don't bother, I know the tires are fine and this has nothing to do with why I am here. Their reply, it is required by their policy to check all tires. Right, nothing but a scam to sell more tires. I saw two ladies get the pressure treatment for tires that day, not sure if they needed them but they most certainly could have gotten a better deal or at least shopped around. Same day purchase was not necessary.
Had to do a failure inspection on an F150 a few years back. The cause of the engine failure was that the "oil" in the pan was more like gelatin than oil. In fact the shop got the pan out of the truck without draining the oil. Not that you could.
You could turn the pan vertically and the contents would sorta slump toward the bottom over the next several minutes but not actually do any real movement. I find it amazing that the truck managed to get that far. Anyway, I called it "failure due to extended maintenance intervals" and went on my way.
A couple of months later I heard that REAL reason for the oil to be like that was that the truck's owners had been going to a local quick lube which had not been actually performing the work they had been paid for. Apparently they had just topped off fluids as necessary and sent the truck on down the road for who knows how long. The word is that there were some criminal prosecutions along with at least that truck getting another engine on the quick lubes dime.
You could turn the pan vertically and the contents would sorta slump toward the bottom over the next several minutes but not actually do any real movement. I find it amazing that the truck managed to get that far. Anyway, I called it "failure due to extended maintenance intervals" and went on my way.
A couple of months later I heard that REAL reason for the oil to be like that was that the truck's owners had been going to a local quick lube which had not been actually performing the work they had been paid for. Apparently they had just topped off fluids as necessary and sent the truck on down the road for who knows how long. The word is that there were some criminal prosecutions along with at least that truck getting another engine on the quick lubes dime.
Yeah everytime I go to the dealership TOYOTA, they have the $24.99 - $29.99 oil change plus 9pt check and blah blah blah. EVERY SINGLE TIME except when I paid for a $149 15,000mi service, they forgot to fill up the windsheild washer fluid, and didnt wash the car with the 15,000mi job.
The only reason why I even go to the dealership and not do the oil changes myself is because I have one of the sludge prone camrys 2000 LE 4cylinder.
If I have any problems...I dont want to here ANYTHING from toyota!!!
The only reason why I even go to the dealership and not do the oil changes myself is because I have one of the sludge prone camrys 2000 LE 4cylinder.
If I have any problems...I dont want to here ANYTHING from toyota!!!
Oh and the last oil change, I gave them 4 quarts of M1, when I got my car back I was wondering where my 1/2qt went. I gave them Amsoil some other time and the technitian left the 1/2qt of Amsoil in the car. If I find out that some worker just kept all 4 qts to himself and have me conventional, I'm going to raise &*#(, but dont know how to prove it really. I did send it for testing.
Many moons ago my parents took their new Chevy to the now defunct Montgomery Wards for an oil change. Same show....no oil, car seized up and was towed back to Monkey Wards. When the lack of oil was discovered the store manger fired the guy on the spot and authorized a rental car and a new engine. It was taken to a Chevy dealer not a cut rate place. When the car was returned the 305 V-8 had been replaced with a 350! One of those bad deals that actually turned out good in the long run.
This is scary if you think about it. There service writer must have screwed up, then somebody ordered the wrong engine, and the the mechanic or service tech, as they like to be called these days (who should know the difference between a 5.0L & a 5.7L), put the wrong engine in.
Consider if he was 100% wrong, like he was about the engine, with the oil. He put tranny fluid in instead. It's more expensive, so it must be better? I honestly would've taken this vehicle to a reputable mechanic just to make sure eveything was bolted down, hooked up, etc... correctly.
When I took my 2000 3500 GM pickup, with 454 engine in for it's first oil change at the local Iffy Lube, they informed me it had a "special filter" and would have to charge me an ADDITIONAL $10 for the filter. They also refused my request for Mobile 1, saying that it would cause all kinds of seal and gasket leaks, ruining the engine. Miffed, I went straight to the dealer where I bought it and inquired about the filter. Parts guy informed me it was a PF454 short filter, but a PF1219 full size would work also. Price difference? $.05
Years ago my wife (at the time my GF) took her car to a Jiffy lube because she really felt secure knowing the car was given a "14-point multi-check". A few days after an oil change (and right before a long road trip), she called me and told me there was a small puddle of oil in her garage. I checked her plug, and found it was a few turns from falling off!!
I checked the rest of her car, and found that the main fan belt was falling apart. It was the notched type, and about 1/3 of the notches were gone and it was frayed along the edges with flaps of thread on the side coming off. Fan belt inspection is part of Jiffy Lube's inspection list.
Another girl I dated earlier showed me the receipt from some quick-lube shop she went to, and it showed that she paid for a new drain plug. She was told that they had to replace it because it was stripped. She also told me that this was the only place she had her oil changed. In other words, this place stripped the drain plug and charged her for a new one! When I asked her what she saw, she said they used an impact wrench to remove and install the drain plug!!
I checked the rest of her car, and found that the main fan belt was falling apart. It was the notched type, and about 1/3 of the notches were gone and it was frayed along the edges with flaps of thread on the side coming off. Fan belt inspection is part of Jiffy Lube's inspection list.
Another girl I dated earlier showed me the receipt from some quick-lube shop she went to, and it showed that she paid for a new drain plug. She was told that they had to replace it because it was stripped. She also told me that this was the only place she had her oil changed. In other words, this place stripped the drain plug and charged her for a new one! When I asked her what she saw, she said they used an impact wrench to remove and install the drain plug!!
You just need to be sure you take it to a place where your vehicle can be seen while they work on it. I took my Jeep to a PepBoys once for a Mobil 1 oil change(on special) and when the clerk was going out on the floor to get the oil and filter, I happened to be right there and noticed her grabbing Mobil Drive Clean, not Mobil 1. I asked to look at the ticket in here basket to see if that was for my Jeep and it was and even said Mobil 1 10w-30. I go to a place by my office that has a customer bench, separated by a railing, right next to your car and all dino oil, but the bulk Citgo, is in the bottle for an extra $3.00 and I can see exactly what they put in there. I used to climb under my car for the oil changes but for $25, I will pass.
A quick lube place cracked my aluminum transmission case in half; 92 Mustang 5.0. Oh, and they let me drive home. Went back with my dad, who went mental on the manager.
And I've asked for my empties back.
You shouldn't be letting your wives/girlfriends go to these places anyway, but if you do... don't let them wear skirts, and tell em' to stay in the car. Pit monkeys are pervs.
I have a feeling I'm getting shafted at the dealer too. We'll see if my oil is green when I get it back this Friday.
You shouldn't be letting your wives/girlfriends go to these places anyway, but if you do... don't let them wear skirts, and tell em' to stay in the car. Pit monkeys are pervs.
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.
That of course is right on the money. The root causes. Nobody has any integrity these days. It doesn't pay to be honest. From quick lube shops to lawyers and anything in between. Theft and fraud is rewarded, honesty is penalized.
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.
That of course is right on the money. The root causes. Nobody has any integrity these days. It doesn't pay to be honest. From quick lube shops to lawyers and anything in between. Theft and fraud is rewarded, honesty is penalized.
Secondly, all this does reinforce my desire to do it myself. This way, I know exactly what's going in there.
Back to the big picture,
Specialization is an attribute of highly evolved societies. When you can no longer trust or afford others servicing your vehicles, to me it demonstrates a collapsing society.
Back to the big picture,
Specialization is an attribute of highly evolved societies. When you can no longer trust or afford others servicing your vehicles, to me it demonstrates a collapsing society.
Automotive repair scams have been around as long as cars themselves and are not only isolated to oil change places. In Canada, the Automobile Protection Agency, a non-profit organization, does an annual undercover report with cameras and stuff. They usually take a perfectly good vehicle and create a no-brainer repair such as a loose hose or connection. Repair bills should be less than $100 but are sometimes as much as $1500. Overall, there is only about a 50% pass rate in this investigation. In other words, 50% of car repair places rip you off. The worst is Canadian Tire.
Here is the link for the 2003 report.
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?SectionID=3&ArticleID=12
Here is the link for the 2003 report.
http://www.apa.ca/template.asp?SectionID=3&ArticleID=12
I took my Jeep Cherokee to an iffy lube and the guy pops my intake tube off the throttle body and rubs his grungy finger in it and shows me a little grease and said I needed fuel injector cleaner. I said, really, my air intake needs fuel cleaner??? The 4.0 is an MPI engine. I could have broken his finger. I said put it back together and leave it alone. This probably works with so many people, especially women. Taking advantage of people like this is SO wrong.
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