The "special" things that happen at Jiffy Lube

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

rekced

Joined
Jan 9, 2004
Messages
61
Location
Portland, Or
Well, today I went Jiffy Lube to have my oil changed in my GTI 1.8T. I brought in my own oil and filter, explained what I wanted and stood back and watched. These guys clearly aren't concerned w/ other peoples' property.

Anyway to make this short, when they were almost done the guy came by with a degreaser hose and sprayed all around the oil filter area without verifying w/ the guy below that the oil filter was sealed and in place. They don't even check or think about it whatsoever... Not worry in the world.
shocked.gif


To be honest, I don't know if it was on yet or not. I just know for sure that the guy wasn't paying attention.

I knew these guys were bad, but man... I didn't even say anything to them because they clearly aren't the kind of people who take the time look closely at anything. (Including costumer concerns). Even worse, they even left oil all over my bumper and valve cover like animals.

I'm thinking about just taking my car somewhere else and having it changed again. That sucks 'cause I spent $35 on the oil and $25 for Jiffy Lube to do it. That's a lot of money for nothing. I drove the car about 30 miles today 'cause there were things I had to do and I didn't notice any problems. Still, it doesn't sit well with me knowing that a few drops of degreaser could have been mixed w/ my oil.

[ March 30, 2005, 08:13 AM: Message edited by: rekced ]
 
I have tons of tools, all store about 100 miles from here. I live in a one bedroom apartment w/ no garage and don't know anyone in this city. Plus it's not like I have any time for stuff like that.

I guess I should accept the fact that this entire thread will go back to that question: "why didn't you do it yourself?" Might as well call me a moron.

[ March 30, 2005, 08:27 AM: Message edited by: rekced ]
 
Yes you need to do the stuff yourself or face the consequences. I don't let anyone touch my rides unless its absolutely necessary and even then I let them know upfront that I am extremely picky and will watch them. With all that said they still manage to screw something up!
 
If it were me I probably would not worry about the degreaser. Not saying I'm right but..the water part of the degreaser will boil off and so will the other hydrocarbon part of it probably. I doubt what's left will have any adverse affects on the oil. That's a uneducated guess though. I sympathise with your plight.
dunno.gif


Hopefully if you are in the area for a while longer, you can get the location of a reputable garage to do the change.
 
My god, I would pay $100 just have someone do it right. When I say I don't have the space or the time, I mean it.

This is the second time in my life I've let someone else change my oil. Today I was asking myself "how are all these cars able to stay on the road?"
 
They probably have a routine and didn't have to check with each other. You can only hope if things weren't going right that degreaser man would have been stopped. If they were almost done as you said and had already put some oil in, than the filter had been secured. Leave it alone and find a another lube joint or better yet a mechanic that's reasonable. I suspect that you're upset about the oil on the bumper and cover and needed a rant. I've considered getting an oil drain valve instead of using lube joints but I've found a good place for changes. With a valve, you may not need ramps and even winter changes would be reasonabley easy.
 
quote:
Originally posted by Al:
If it were me I probably would not worry about the degreaser. Not saying I'm right but..the water part of the degreaser will boil off and so will the other hydrocarbon part of it probably. I doubt what's left will have any adverse affects on the oil. That's a uneducated guess though. I sympathise with your plight.
dunno.gif


Hopefully if you are in the area for a while longer, you can get the location of a reputable garage to do the change.
Click to expand...
Yeah... I'm wondering where I should go.
 
I wouldnt use such strong language like 'moron', but the Jiffy lube claims of being quality service and a well-oiled machine are far from correct, and it was certainly far from the 'best' thing you could have done.

If you have no space/time, Id suggest trying a chain/store that does diversified work. For example, when I was in college a few years back, I didnt have space to do work. There was a local monro muffler, who would do the change for me for $10, if I provided the oil and filter. I had to schedule in on days that they werent too busy, but they were more than happy to do it. They always put ONE guy on it, to see the job from start to finish, and they did fine.

Id try to find a shop that will do it for you. They MAY attempt to tell you that you need other stuff (I never had this when I brought it in explicitly for an oil change), but then at least it could be a heads up that something will need replacement, and even if not, youll probably have someone marginally more knowledgable looking under there anyway.

JMH
 
quote:
Originally posted by goodvibes:
They probably have a routine and didn't have to check with each other. You can only hope if things weren't going right that degreaser man would have been stopped. If they were almost done as you said and had already put some oil in, than the filter had been secured. Leave it alone and find a another lube joint or better yet a mechanic that's reasonable. I suspect that you're upset about the oil on the bumper and cover and needed a rant. I've considered getting an oil drain valve instead of using lube joints but I've found a good place for changes. With a valve, you may not need ramps and even winter changes would be reasonabley easy.
Click to expand...
Actually, I know for a fact that the guy spraying degreaser didn't know where the oil filter was. I think he assumed it was on the back of the block because he couldn't find it when he was originally assigned the job.
 
Well your first problem is that u live in Potland...I mean Portland.
grin.gif
J/K I live in Vancouver about 10 mins north from Portland. I have no idea where a good place to take a car to get an oil change would be. I just got into the habit of changing my own. Best hour I always spend. I can check everything, let the oil drip out for 45 minutes and the double check all my work as i'm putting it back together. Best part is that for 25 dollers i can do a full synthetic oil change and put on the filter I want.
 
Do you have an independent VW shop near you? Chances are that for oil changes, an independent VW repair shop will charge a little less than the VW dealer, a little more than Iffy Lube, & be about 100X more careful with your GTI than Iffy-Lube would. A good independent VW shop will also stock Euro specific Mann, Mahle or Knecht oil filters.

I feel your pain, because I also drive a GTI 1.8T, & I can't stand to let anyone other than me touch it. If you have a Wal-Mart near you, they sell Rhino ramps for under $25. Wal-mart also sells all the other things you need to change your own oil, such as an oil drain pan($5) ratchet($10), socket (17 or 19mm-$5), rathchet extension ($5), oil filter wrench ($5), funnel($3), shop towels.......well, you get the idea.

At the end of the day, it's your money; If you want to pay a reputable shop to change your oil, go for it. But I highly recommend that you DIY. Happy VeeDubbin'
smile.gif


P.S. If it makes you feel any better, I used to let the Yahoos at Wal-mart change my oil.
wink.gif


[ March 30, 2005, 09:04 AM: Message edited by: wavinwayne ]
 
quote:
Originally posted by Mulaka:
Don't those ramps slide when you try to drive up on them?
Click to expand...
On slick concrete, occasionally......On rough concrete, NO. They have anti-skid pads on the bottom that do a pretty good job.
 
I used to have the local "Iffy" Lube change my oil too. They seemed like good guys and the guys who worked there each drove Hondas.
smile.gif


But the last time about a year ago I went there and there was different people there. They split oil all over my valve cover and exhaust manifold so I smelled burning oil for a while. They tried to sell me a MT service, fuel filter, and rad. flush. I said no, my rad. was just replaced 3 months ago and the guy went on and told me how I needed a flush. I was weary enough for them to change my oil but do anything else, NOPE!

I change my own oil. I dont have a garage but I have a lot of paved room. Last time my BIL and I changed the oil in my Accord along with the MTF and it was a good time.
 
quote:
Originally posted by JHZR2:
If you have no space/time, Id suggest trying a chain/store that does diversified work. For example, when I was in college a few years back, I didnt have space to do work. There was a local monro muffler, who would do the change for me for $10, if I provided the oil and filter. I had to schedule in on days that they werent too busy, but they were more than happy to do it. They always put ONE guy on it, to see the job from start to finish, and they did fine.
JMH
Click to expand...
I have done this too. In the fall 04 I travel 800 miles south to Toronto knowing I needed oil change. Went to one of those Mr. Lube places, they had a lineup with 50 minute wait period.
In search of another Mr. Lube I stopped into a speedy muffler a block away and ask if they do service job, lucky there was nobody in a few bays. Guy says "sure bring er' on in" Lucky me I was done the oil change in less than 1/2 hour.
$17.25 I don't know what they did with used oil. heh heh
 
I used to be in the same boat as you - no place to do the work, so Jiffy Lube (or equivalent) was my only option.

I did learn to watch these guys like a hawk, and never went into the waiting area with my car unsupervised.

I've had the following done, or almost done before I stopped them:
- Topping off brake reservior. Why? This goes up and down with brake wear. So when I replaced my pads I had to suck-out the fluid they added.
- Forgot to replace oil filler cap
- Forgot to replace brake master cylinder cap
- Added oil to my windshield-washer reservior. Seriously, a major PITA to fix. Had to replace all washer lines and the reservior, made them pay for the parts but did the labor myself. Like I'd let them touch my car again...

But there is one ting you can't watch: How tight they put the filter on. When I had the chance to change my own oil at one point, I needed a wrench to remove the filter. Only it was on so tight that filter wrench CRUSHED the filter can. And it still didn't budge. It took me 45 minutes to get that thing off...

Thankfully, I havea garage these days. And my Expedition is up high enough that I can just crawl underneath and change my own oil.
 
About you filter I had a problem with my Honda dealer, one more reason why I dont go there unless I have to buy Honda's fluids.

When I changed my oil in my Accord the crush washer on the drain bolt was put on wrong so I couldnt get it off, I had to cut it off. Made me mad
mad.gif
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

M
Kia K900 oil choice?
Replies
19
Views
488
shortyb
N
Back down this road again: 0w-20 Civic 2.0 NA highway commuter car
2
Replies
33
Views
1K
Glenda W.
B
PUP 5W-30 observations - Getting darker and burning faster than Kirkland?
Replies
16
Views
822
goingplacesanddoingstuff
D
Oil experts, please share your knowledge.
2
Replies
26
Views
2K
kschachn
burbguy82
GM 0w-40, Super Tech 0w-40, M1FS 0w-40, and Supercar.
2 3
Replies
57
Views
4K
We're Metals
Back
Top Bottom