I always throw in a little extra. Who's gonna fix my mistakes?
When you don't feel like DIY oil changes anymore
- Thread starter Oillover
- Start date
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- Nov 9, 2024
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- 15
I’m right there with you on the "hassle" factor. Despite owning a high-riding 4x4 Toyota product, I’ve officially retired from DIY oil changes. The oil filter on these KD engines is a massive pain to reach, and frankly, my time is better spent elsewhere.
My "lazy" strategy is purely opportunistic: when my service interval hits, I keep an eye on a massive Shell "mega-station" complex in my city. This place is a 3.72-acre lifestyle hub—gym, pharmacy, steakhouse, the works. If there’s no line at the service pit and my engine is hot, I pull in.
Why I trust this over a typical quick lube:
--Forgot to picture my vehicle but did catch a local GM product being worked at. Seemingly a Chevrolet Onix hatchback that came with the very last iteration of the Opel-sourced Family I engines. Theese were iron-block, High-compression, flex-fuel, coil near plug, 8 valve 1/1.4/1.8 liter engines that are now sorely missed. Seems its being fed a Valvoline Dexos 1 0W-20 oil bottle right next to me.
--Also included an older picture from their website that shows an earlier setup where the 55 gallon drums were on the same room as the elevators on simpler, drum mounted pumps.
My "lazy" strategy is purely opportunistic: when my service interval hits, I keep an eye on a massive Shell "mega-station" complex in my city. This place is a 3.72-acre lifestyle hub—gym, pharmacy, steakhouse, the works. If there’s no line at the service pit and my engine is hot, I pull in.
Why I trust this over a typical quick lube:
- The Deep Pocket Factor: The legal entity. This facility has been around since 1990 and has massive physical assets. If they screw up my engine, I have a solvent defendant to sue. A small independent shop would just disappear.
- Staff Longevity: The technician who did my service yesterday has been a "Shell Specialist" award winner at this exact location since at least 2019. Having a 6+ year veteran in the pit mitigates the newbie mistake risk you see at franchises like Mr. Lube.
- Transparency: The waiting room is right next to the service bay. I can keep an eye on the entire process while I drink a complimentary cappuccino or espresso.
- The Bulk Setup (55-Gallon Context):Someone mentioned being wary of 55-gallon drums. At this scale, they don't even use drums in the bay; it's all overhead pneumatic reels with digital meters. The turnover seems so high at this station that the "bulk" oil is likely fresher than bottles sitting on a dusty shelf at an oil shop.
- Oil: 7L of Bulk Shell Helix HX7 10W-40 Semi-Synthetic (API SN/CF-ACEA A3/B3/B4, VW 502.00/505.00)
- Filters: Full set of Wega filters (Oil, Air, Primary and Secondary Diesel Fuel filters).
- Cost: 660.90 BRL (~$115 USD) out the door.
--Forgot to picture my vehicle but did catch a local GM product being worked at. Seemingly a Chevrolet Onix hatchback that came with the very last iteration of the Opel-sourced Family I engines. Theese were iron-block, High-compression, flex-fuel, coil near plug, 8 valve 1/1.4/1.8 liter engines that are now sorely missed. Seems its being fed a Valvoline Dexos 1 0W-20 oil bottle right next to me.
--Also included an older picture from their website that shows an earlier setup where the 55 gallon drums were on the same room as the elevators on simpler, drum mounted pumps.
CleanSump
Site Donor 2026
@oil_for_my_doo Are these megacenters common in Brazil?
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- 823
Now that I am getting older I always do at least the first oil change on a new car / truck as #1 I want to see how hard or EZ it is and I always do early oil changes to get break-in oil out on everything from my cars to a lawn mower but doing my fist oil change on my then new Ram truck made me question the future of my DIY oil change...
You see the older I get bigger I get! I found my ram trucks front air dam worked like Chinese Handcuffs as I could slide under with no problem but as soon as I tried to slide back out the air dam would dig into my belly but good!
Yes, I somehow got out but made me question every thing from that RAM oil change coupon I didn't use to my eating habits! LOL, Getting older kinda stinks!
You see the older I get bigger I get! I found my ram trucks front air dam worked like Chinese Handcuffs as I could slide under with no problem but as soon as I tried to slide back out the air dam would dig into my belly but good!
Yes, I somehow got out but made me question every thing from that RAM oil change coupon I didn't use to my eating habits! LOL, Getting older kinda stinks!
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2024
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- 15
Honestly, it’s hard to say if these are common because I’ve never seen another one quite like this in any other town. It isn't a "Shell corporate" facility though, as the owner has a contract to operate the Shell Station. The property is an outdoor mini-mall deal where the owner also acts as the landlord for the gym, pharmacy, pub, shoe store, and pet store. The only thing he runs besides the pumps is a somewhat mediocre steakhouse. The "Shell-branded" convenience store is unusual too as it has a winery inside.
Other oddities of this place: even though it’s an in-town property, they have a service pit and often service full-size trailer trucks. The pumps and convenience store are 24/7, while the wash and oil bays have regular hours. They are supposed to provide full "lubrication and grease services," yet they wouldn't touch my transmission (I asked). They say it’s not worth the risk. It's also rare to find a single place that stocks bulk oil for cars, trucks and motorcycles.
The place has long been regarded as a "hangout" place, particularly for a bit of a trashy "spirits and energy drink out of the convenience store" crowd. It must have improved at some point, as it has had a poshy pub for some time now, and it's a good coffee place during the day. We have big road stops with food courts and franchises, either car or truck centric, but they don't usually have gyms or shoe stores, making this place a real outlier.
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- May 16, 2022
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Its so hard to find a shop one can trust to do fluid changes IMO.
About 15 years ago my town had a Mobil branded quick lube. The older owner was your contact guy, he was the one in the office when you walk in and the last one you see when you car was finished as he would personally walk out with every customer after the customer paid him and pull your dip stick, show you the oil level and ask you "are you okay with this oil level " and only after a YES would he close the hood, shake your hand and say "Thank You, Come Back Soon"...
What a no-brainer as it reduces the Shop liability to almost nothing, and every customer knows his oil is at the proper level and all is right with the world...
Then my guy retired and sold his shop to a Jiffy Lube...
About 15 years ago my town had a Mobil branded quick lube. The older owner was your contact guy, he was the one in the office when you walk in and the last one you see when you car was finished as he would personally walk out with every customer after the customer paid him and pull your dip stick, show you the oil level and ask you "are you okay with this oil level " and only after a YES would he close the hood, shake your hand and say "Thank You, Come Back Soon"...
What a no-brainer as it reduces the Shop liability to almost nothing, and every customer knows his oil is at the proper level and all is right with the world...
Then my guy retired and sold his shop to a Jiffy Lube...
- Joined
- Nov 9, 2024
- Messages
- 15
"pull your dip stick, show you the oil level and ask you "are you okay with this oil level " " That's exacly what the guys at that Shell station do here. Probably one of the reasons I never had a problem! How come that "Jiffy Lube" (a large franchise I suppose) can be so awful?
MBAs and various senior management that have zero idea of their industry/client and chase money instead of fulfillments of the client.
Not all are bad though. Store management is the biggest buffer between the corporate BS and workers so good leadership can help a store thrive.
Does quick lube places deserve that much hatred I am not sure. I have taken my car to one of those chain quick lube places twice with me providing the oil. Both times were during a road trip when I did not want the car to extend the OCI for a another 1k mile or so.
Dealer for me. I like how oil changes show up on things like carfax for when I sell the vehicle.
Patman
Staff member
Fast lube places do get a bad reputation and there are some scary mistakes being made for sure. But a large % of the driving public uses them and it’s not like engines are failing everywhere. I was using a couple of different fast lube places for a couple of years after I moved into my apartment, and then my father moved closer to me and I was able to start using his driveway for my oil changes. But I had no issues at all with the oil changes that I had done by those other places
When I purchase a used car, I definitely do appreciate those csrfsx histories. Also gives me a peace of mind about the odometer.
Makes perfect sense
Much respect, sir. I aspire to do similarly if I’m still around.
Yep. And Quickie Lube joints aren't the only place that makes mistakes.