Take it. I've never had any problems with dealer oil changes. In fact, I regularly have the dealership do the service on the parent's cars as they periodically send out free oil change coupons. Time is money...
Should I take the stealer's first free oil change?
- Thread starter LouDawg
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Quote:
Quote:
That oil change isn't free;somewhere in the deal you paid for it. Go get what is yours,run for your life,and follow up on what was done.
Of course...we all know nothing is "free". But it's a matter of me buying the oil/filter and doing it myself now or letting them save me the $12-15 and 30 minutes.
Yes and no. It could be to start a relationship and win a lifetime of business from you. Maybe they want to prove to you that changing the oil at their dealership is worth coming back again and paying for it.
I'd take it. For every story of woe with a dealership oil change there are a thousand uneventful ones. Check the dipstick when you go home and feel good about it.
I'm to get two free oil changes for my MKZ in the first year of ownership. I'll be standing right there to make sure they use Motorcraft 5W-20 in bottles, not bulk. I know I can see the car from where I stand. If they want to use bulk oil, I'll just tell them to forget it. (I'll take it to my local Ford dealer, bring my own oil [Either PP or GC] and pay them for the Motorcraft Filter and labor, just like I've been doing for my other cars).
BTW, The rule is NEVER LET THE CAR OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!
BTW, The rule is NEVER LET THE CAR OUT OF YOUR SIGHT!
1) wait until near the recommended OIC (this way you can visually determine the 'used' oil that was in there from the factory and 'new' replacement oil...prevent someone from 'skimming' clean oil for themselves and leaving the factory fill in your rngine)
2) have them do the oil change (if possible visually assure they are draining the oil from your engine...walk around and peek through an open bay door or try to look out from the waiting area)
3) ask for the 'used' filter back (if you can reach the filter, put some sort of mark on filter that was put on in the factory; use a permanent marker or bright colored touch up paint that you may have laying around)...if you see your mark, then you know that the filter was changed
4) before the oil change is done, provide them with a clean container and ask for a sample of the used oil since you plan on sending it in for analysis; whether or not you truly send it in is up to you
5) you may seem 'paranoid' to the service writers & service techs, but if you ever have to take your vehicle back to the dealership, you will be remembered as the person that they couldn't get a 'fast one' over on and you and your property will be respected since you will appear to hold them to a higher standard thatn the average joe or jill
3)
2) have them do the oil change (if possible visually assure they are draining the oil from your engine...walk around and peek through an open bay door or try to look out from the waiting area)
3) ask for the 'used' filter back (if you can reach the filter, put some sort of mark on filter that was put on in the factory; use a permanent marker or bright colored touch up paint that you may have laying around)...if you see your mark, then you know that the filter was changed
4) before the oil change is done, provide them with a clean container and ask for a sample of the used oil since you plan on sending it in for analysis; whether or not you truly send it in is up to you
5) you may seem 'paranoid' to the service writers & service techs, but if you ever have to take your vehicle back to the dealership, you will be remembered as the person that they couldn't get a 'fast one' over on and you and your property will be respected since you will appear to hold them to a higher standard thatn the average joe or jill
3)
Take it. A many years old car brought in for a coupon freebie will get a close examination to encourage (potentially made up) repairs. At 3-5k they have no excuse for nonsense... no air filter monkeying... and who knows, maybe a light bulb will have blown that they'll notice or something.
The waiting room might have wi-fi... surf BITOG from there... use the man to fight the man.
The waiting room might have wi-fi... surf BITOG from there... use the man to fight the man.
So....do you like my rides or not? I know they can't compete with Dr. Haas's exotic beasts, but I'm pretty happy with them.
...and they BOTH take 5W-20! Yayyyyyy!!!!
...and they BOTH take 5W-20! Yayyyyyy!!!!
Oh, one other little qualifier. I have to drive 25 miles to the dealer.
Does that change things?
Does that change things?
Four cylinder Escape uses the FL-910 with the OEM being a FOMOCO EFL-910.
Easy to get too. Look under the bumper, it is right out front hanging straight down. I know I do them all the time. No big deal. You get good oil and filter for free. Heck, they even give you bottled oil if you ask for it at my shop. Some people are sticklers for it. No problem at all.
I know of no-one in my shop that has ever not changed the oil and says he did. Even on a diesel which is harder than HECK to tell. If you do and get caught the immediate reward is unemployment. It is not even negotiable.
Easy to get too. Look under the bumper, it is right out front hanging straight down. I know I do them all the time. No big deal. You get good oil and filter for free. Heck, they even give you bottled oil if you ask for it at my shop. Some people are sticklers for it. No problem at all.
I know of no-one in my shop that has ever not changed the oil and says he did. Even on a diesel which is harder than HECK to tell. If you do and get caught the immediate reward is unemployment. It is not even negotiable.
Yeah, I've already looked and it's a piece of cake to get too...don't even think I'll need the ramps. And I already bought my MC FL-910 filter and the MC 5W-20. Just don't know whether or not to save it for the next one or not.
Yes, LouDawg, we like your rides..
And Utah Bill is right. Take the filters. They gave me 6 free oil changes when I bought my Hyundai, but I got em to give me the filters the night I took the car..
Then, they gave me a sales survey form on the way out, offered me three free oil changes to return it (presumably whether I reported either a happy or UNhappy experience). I returned to the dealer with the form, handed it to the sales manager and when he reached for it, I pulled it back and traded it to him for 6 more filters, instead of the three changes. They didn't bat an eyelash, they probably pay a dollar each for them. Besides, a dealer-performed OCI requires a scheduled stop, loss of the car all day, with all kinds of opportunity for them to do non-warranty billable "stuff" to the car.
Take the filters..
And Utah Bill is right. Take the filters. They gave me 6 free oil changes when I bought my Hyundai, but I got em to give me the filters the night I took the car..
Then, they gave me a sales survey form on the way out, offered me three free oil changes to return it (presumably whether I reported either a happy or UNhappy experience). I returned to the dealer with the form, handed it to the sales manager and when he reached for it, I pulled it back and traded it to him for 6 more filters, instead of the three changes. They didn't bat an eyelash, they probably pay a dollar each for them. Besides, a dealer-performed OCI requires a scheduled stop, loss of the car all day, with all kinds of opportunity for them to do non-warranty billable "stuff" to the car.
Take the filters..
Exactly. Those ads claiming "30 minutes or less" are only helpful to me if I'm right there by the dealer. Heck I like to let my oil drain for an hour or more but its probably still quicker than having it done at the dealer since there is no travel time to factor in.
I say get the free filters and do it yourself.
I think there is too much paranoia about bad dealerships on BITOG. Take the free oil change, after all, you did pay for it at some point.Just think how ALL new cars are treated before you take ownership. They are rolled off the assembly line by someone who couldn't care less, driven a short distance, parked, moved a few more times by someone who couldn't care less, moved onto a truck or boat again, by someone who couldn't care less. Trucked across the country. Driven off the car carrier truck by someone who couldn't care less, and then driven around the dealer's lot a few times by a lot boy who couldn't care less. Finally it is sold to you, the consumer who does care! What I am trying to say is that your new car that you are so happy with with and baby has already had a long life of stop and go, short trips put on it. The dealership free oil change is the lesser of the poor treatment it can/has received (providing they put oil in it)!
Don't agree. How much time do you waste at the Dealership waiting for your oil to get changed! Cheaper overall to buy the oil and filter and do it yourself. Your time is money!!
Ditto, my dealer gave me 3 free oil changes when i purchased my 06 sentra. They use mobil 5w-30 dino, i have 1 free oil change left.
It should be okay. I got my first four free with my Sport Trac but I only used three. The last time they did it, my receipt said 5w-20 and my engine is one of the few that Ford still recommends 5w-30 for. I drained it the next day and put in 5w-30. At least the filter was free. Your Escape calls for 5w-20 so you'll be okay.
Main problem is time. During the day I don't have a half-hour to an hour or more to wait at the dealer. I can do it myself at home in 15 minutes.
Main problem is time. During the day I don't have a half-hour to an hour or more to wait at the dealer. I can do it myself at home in 15 minutes.
Take it to the dealer for the first oil change. The factory employs an 800lb gorilla to install the OEM filter, dry
. You'll save yourself a lot of grief. I was lazy and had the dealer do my oil changes for several years. I decided to do it myself and found they had crossed the threads on the drain plug
. I bought a new drain plug and everything seems ok now. Needless to say I change the oil myself now. I did so for the previous 25 years but old age and arthritis set in. However, no matter how much I hurt I'm back to doing my own oil changes. I time them to miss the dead of winter
. However my wife takes her 2005 "Exploder" to the dealer for service. She has a 5 yr/75,000 Ford ESP plan. So if they mess up the drain plug it's "their nickel" as they say. She goes every 5,000 miles. I hope they use MC 5W-20 in her 4.6L V-8 and not some unknown oil? I'll have to snope next time I pick her up.
Whimsey
Whimsey
Sorry, Jeepster, I gotta call this one. It isn't like they're banging it into walls on the way to the Stealer. Every step in the chain of custody, the car is inspected as it changes hands. Maybe they don't care, but they aren't abusing the vehicle.
At the stealership on the other hand, the lot boys (excuse me, porters), mechanics, and anyone who lays hands on it do everything from backing it into stuff and scarring the paint (they aren't responsible), to redlining the cu-rapp out of it on test drives and trips around the block. The trip from factory to rail to ship to carrier is the EASIEST duty outside the hands of the owner, that the car will ever see, IMHO. Especially when you consider what the stealership and their minions are capable of.
I work near a Toyota dealer and they have a designated area where the new cars come once they are taken off the car carrier for "paint touch-ups" and the like. I see the guy doing alot of work on new arrivals. They should find him somewhere out back to work. Its like seeing the kitchen at a Chineese food restaurant-something you wish you didn't see.
New cars are neglected the minute they roll off the assembly line. Sure- preventive measures are taken with the white hood plastic and foam on the doors to prevent dings, but still new cars are not cared for the way we would like to believe that they are.
New cars are neglected the minute they roll off the assembly line. Sure- preventive measures are taken with the white hood plastic and foam on the doors to prevent dings, but still new cars are not cared for the way we would like to believe that they are.
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