Thoughts on Quickie lube places

[mmmmoil]

I searched and didn't find a topic...sorry if a repeat.

What are the general thoughts on quickie lube places. Wal-Mart charges 30 for 5 quarts and some 15 point inspection. Jiffy is 32, not sure of many others.

What are your thoughts on these types of places?

Me...never been to one. Stripped plugs, pans, wrong oil, no oil cap, no dipstick, overfill, underfill, I've heard so many stories.

What are your thoughts; experiences?

 

[aquariuscsm]

Changing oil is too much fun to let someone else do it :^)

 

[ThirdeYe]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Changing oil is too much fun to let someone else do it :^)


x2!! Right on

 

[SAJEFFC]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Changing oil is too much fun to let someone else do it :^)
LOL I agree. God we all need help!

 

[ZZman]

Great for people that can't change oil or don't like to.
Not a place to go for a Syn oil change (cost too high).
They don't use the best filters.
They don't always use the best oil.
Not needed as much as the old days when suspensions had to be lubed also.
Nice because they will check and fill all fluids.
They can have other parts you might need like wipers, ait filters, etc.
They can do other services too like coolant and trans flushes.
Sometimes they crank the filters on too tight.

But I have used them many times in the past.

 

[deven]

I work for Wally(not in the lube joint) and I would not let them touch my car let alone change the oil. The worse part is everytime they make a mistake of any sort they buy the customer off with giftcards and guess what those chumps come back for more oil changes!! Money talks and makes the world go around for some.

 

[zulu]

There might be an exception to the rule, but in general their concern for the care of your vehcile is at the bottom of the list. They are trained to go as fast as possible and upsell as many extra services/parts as possible. The stories of wrong oil, skipped filters, stripped plugs, etc etc etc are merely a by-product of training somebody to rush as service in the name of profit. Even dealership lube techs are iffy. I've watched them put oil filters on with wrenches and impact guns to re-install drain plugs.

 

[tomcat27]

it completely depends on the skill and care of the employees.
Our local Midas store advertises $20.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: aquariuscsm
Changing oil is too much fun to let someone else do it :^)
You mean some people actually go to places and let other people do their oil changes?

Not I, I trust me and my dad, and no one else!

 

[TLMjared]

I used to work for wally (as a tech and manager in the Tire and Lube Area) and I think it really depends on the employees - I used to go there all the time, but I prefer to do it myself.

Quick lubes serve their purpose even though I think I rather do it myself - BITOG made me OCD enough to really only trust myself...

 

[river_rat]

When I was having an episode with my back and couldn't do it, I went to the dealer with a coupon...but no quicky places for me.

 

[nfs480]

I am currently employed as a tech at a valvoline instant oil change and I will second what TLMjared said, it really does depend on the employees. We have some very good ones who do a great job, and a few who I wouldn't trust to change a wiper blade.

 

[sicko]

They serve a necessary purpose. A lot of people (maybe most) don't like to work on their cars themselves, and might not even know how to change their own oil.

Quick lube places get a bad rap, but if you really look into how many vehicles are serviced and how often a mishap occurs, I don't think its as often as people make it out to be. I very well could be wrong though. Though as we all know, one mishap can ruin a vehicle.

If for one reason or another you need to take your vehicle to one, find a good one. You may need to ask around or go to different ones till you find one to your liking, but if you live in a well populated area you should be able to eventually find one. I've heard some are completely okay with you watching over them as they work on your car but I don't know for sure because I don't go to them.

Either way, don't forget to check out local coupons like the ones you get in your mail. I know around here I keep getting coupons for $20 oil changes with Motorcraft semi-synthetic and a Motorcraft filter. Assuming it's done right and they don't then try to charge you for things you don't need (blinker fluid anyone?), then in my opinion that's a completely reasonable price for a great oil/filter combination.

Also, you can often find local garage shops which will let you bring your own oil and filter and they'll change it for you for a few bucks ($5-$15). This can be a real savings if you want to use synthetic but don't want to pay the exorbitant fees that most shops charge for it

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted By: river_rat
When I was having an episode with my back and couldn't do it, I went to the dealer with a coupon...but no quicky places for me.
I went to a Mr.Lube a couple of times when I was dealing with flare-ups in my back. I would pay them the labour and provide my Amsoil and filter. Was worth it for me...

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted By: sicko
They serve a necessary purpose. A lot of people (maybe most) don't like to work on their cars themselves, and might not even know how to change their own oil.

Quick lube places get a bad rap, but if you really look into how many vehicles are serviced and how often a mishap occurs, I don't think its as often as people make it out to be. I very well could be wrong though. Though as we all know, one mishap can ruin a vehicle.
What he said. Theres a lot of cars running around that have been serviced by a quickie lube place and nothing went wrong.

Next time your driving look around and try to guess who takes the car in and who does it themselves.

 

[gonzo]

I took a work truck to a quick lube place,not going to mention the name but it rhymes with Valvoline Instant Oil Change.Oil change took about 4 minutes.Kind of scary!!

 

[sunfire]

Most people here change their oil themselves. I started to change my own oil because I don't like being ripped from my money at the quick noob places.

 

[nfs480]

Originally Posted By: gonzo
I took a work truck to a quick lube place,not going to mention the name but it rhymes with Valvoline Instant Oil Change.Oil change took about 4 minutes.Kind of scary!!


If it's a Chevy truck then I can say that my record on one of those is less than 3 minutes, when you have a pit to work in and all of the tools and filters right at hand, those are the easiest vehicles to change the oil on. I can have the plug out, and change the filter, and I still have to wait for the oil to finish draining before I put the plug back in, and with an air powered pump to pump new oil, it only takes about 20 seconds to put in six quarts.

 

[sciphi]

They're all right if you don't have anywhere else to go, or you can't do it yourself for whatever reason. I went to a Firestone when I got my current car a few Decembers ago in western NY state since I didn't want to mess around with an unfamiliar car during the winter. They tried selling me a brake flush, transmission flush, and coolant flush along with the $15 oil change. Declined and did all that stuff, which was needed anyhow, myself in the spring.

 

[ajchien]

I think I might want to own one of the quickie lube places. Except that I'd probably insist on something that would probably ruin any chance of profitability... like no upselling to customers.