Yesterday I called Pep Boys, because I saw that they had a bunch of Castrol Startup on their discontinued rack along with Havoline 40HD, Valvoline 5w40 etc, All the oil was still priced at its shelf price, so I called and asked if they could work me a price and Id buy all the Castrol they had for one price, I talked to the assistant manager, to my surprise this is what he said, NO, we never do that we will leave the oil there and if it doent sell then we will give it to our service dept to use in the cars that come in for oil changes, but I said dont you all advertise "specialty Pennzoil" changes. He said we can exchange for "comparable " brands, and I said what about the straight 40HD, you got cases of that, and no cars really call for that. He said We'll mix it in or use it for top off, our customers dont care. We never put the oil on discount, our service dept can always find some way to get rid of it. I know th qiuckie oil change places are evil, but this guy was straight up with it. The dealerships are no better, from experience. My wifes car was under service agreement to 40,000 m and when I took it in for the 30000 m service which was trans. fluid change when I got it back it was still dark red and still smelt used, I called them and said you guys didnt change this, no way. They told me they did, fluid and filter and they had records so dont worry if you have any trouble come see us, will back you up, gee thanks. I changed it in 50000 and the filter was black, there is no way they did it. One more story, A good friend of mine works at a Chevy dealer in Pennsylvania, he told me they use 10w30 in all their oil changes, regardless. He also said When he worked for Ford they did record work they never did, and he laughed when I asked him if they ever check oil anlysis over a blown engine for correct vis. when its under warranty, he said why. Ford pays them big bucks for warranty work. Tell the customer its not covered they go someplace cheaper.
Why to change your own oil.
- Thread starter Panzerman
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i used to work at a gm stealer we use to have a truck called xenon oil/lubes come along and fill up a 1000L barrel of oil. one day i asked the guy what oil is in there he said the cheapest stuff he could find and it was always 10w-30 in everything except the vettes they got 5w-20, then i went to the service manager and asked him why he used that he said if a customer asked they would put in what ever viscosity ac delco which comes in bottles. but he said no one ever bothered asking. and the oil was recycled oil
5w-20 in Vettes???
I have added SAE40, 20w-50 etc to a customers car when it was very low on oil. Better than no oil.
I never did like goin to PepPunks. I do my own changes and leave the heavy or too complex things to my trusted shop. No chainstores for me.
I only go to one chain store NTB for tire rotations and wheel alignments & balancing. I get the 3 year alignment for $189 and they rotate the tire & check the balance & alignment every 5000 miles which is 4 times a year for me.
I have one indy shop that I let wrench on my cars...except dealer warranty work.
I have one indy shop that I let wrench on my cars...except dealer warranty work.
That’s awful…I can’t believe it. I change my own oil because I drive trucks, but I take my wife’s Honda Accord to a “fastlube” because I don’t have a jack. Fortunately, I know all of the guys there, and they let me come downstairs with them why they change it and then I follow them back up when they put in the oil. That way I can ensure that they actually use the M1 EP filter I bring, and fill er’ up with the Amsoil 5W-20 I bring.
I have heard the same thing about quick lube places and even dealerships using 10W-30 oil instead of the 5W30, 5W20, or whatever viscosity they are supposed to be using. As long as the car or truck makes it through the warranty period nobody really cares.
I always did my own oil changes when I owned used cars and a used truck and when I had my new Toyota Tercel. I could lift the Toyota Tercel in my dirt driveway using my floor jack and put railroad ties under the wheels.
But when I started to buy Saturn cars there was no central jacking point. And ramps did not work very well in my dirt driveway. So I tried some quick lube places and new car dealerships. I decided pretty quickly that while I am not a mechanic I have a PhD in car maintenance compared to a lot of these quick lube places. After I got my new home with a nice concrete floor in the garage I went back to changing my own oil using ramps.
At a JL I went to for a oil change they stole some of the small change I had in my car. At a G/M they tried to switch my Mobil 1 oil that I had brought in with 10W40 Mystik oil. Some of these people go beyond incompetent-some of them are crooks. I would recommend never getting a synthetic oil change at a quick lube place-how do you know they will actually put in synthetic oil?
Best thing is buy some ramps and change your own oil. I am older now and I do not especially care about getting under a car or truck like I used to. But the only way to go is to change your own oil. And change the oil in your wife's/girlfriend's/sister's car also.
I always did my own oil changes when I owned used cars and a used truck and when I had my new Toyota Tercel. I could lift the Toyota Tercel in my dirt driveway using my floor jack and put railroad ties under the wheels.
But when I started to buy Saturn cars there was no central jacking point. And ramps did not work very well in my dirt driveway. So I tried some quick lube places and new car dealerships. I decided pretty quickly that while I am not a mechanic I have a PhD in car maintenance compared to a lot of these quick lube places. After I got my new home with a nice concrete floor in the garage I went back to changing my own oil using ramps.
At a JL I went to for a oil change they stole some of the small change I had in my car. At a G/M they tried to switch my Mobil 1 oil that I had brought in with 10W40 Mystik oil. Some of these people go beyond incompetent-some of them are crooks. I would recommend never getting a synthetic oil change at a quick lube place-how do you know they will actually put in synthetic oil?
Best thing is buy some ramps and change your own oil. I am older now and I do not especially care about getting under a car or truck like I used to. But the only way to go is to change your own oil. And change the oil in your wife's/girlfriend's/sister's car also.
wow thats #@$%!, where i used to work we put in whatever the customer wanted, well usually we did, if it was a newer vehicle that required 5w20 we normally went by what was on the cap/owner's manual.
usually the customer just said well go with what's recommended, so we did.
there was a rare case every once in awhile where a guy wanted 5w40 syn in his gas truck or once there was a guy that insisted on putting 10w40 in his grand-am, doesn't bother me what you wanna run, just don't come back complaining about it when you wanted it.
usually the customer just said well go with what's recommended, so we did.
there was a rare case every once in awhile where a guy wanted 5w40 syn in his gas truck or once there was a guy that insisted on putting 10w40 in his grand-am, doesn't bother me what you wanna run, just don't come back complaining about it when you wanted it.
Must be up to the manager...the Pepboys here has marked down oil. I bought some and there has been some there for months marked down.
John
John
Well my friend who works at a Chevrolet Dealer puts 10w-30 in everything, except the Corvettes. They get Mobil 1, the diesels also get Delo. But they do save extra M1 for their own vehicles. I did get a chance to go inside the shop of a Ford Dealership, they stuck their 5w-20 in everything, nothing got higher grades, even older cars, and even though they stocked higher grades.
We offer an $18.95 4qt oil and filter change with Tropartic. No wash or vac though.
Why Tropartic? It's the only oil I've found that's good enough, cheap enough.
Bob
Why Tropartic? It's the only oil I've found that's good enough, cheap enough.
Bob
I take both my cars to the $ealership with my own oil and filter. The service manager is kind enough to let me watch and the old filter is returned along with the used oil containers, which I drain to make sure they're empty. They only charge me for the labor since I usually have a coupon with me. So it's about $10-$12.
I try to bring my own oil and filter to Valvoline Instant Oil change to get the oil change on my Handa Accord since I don't have any car ramps or jacks to raise the car. Their normal price for a dino oil change is $29.99 plus tax. They will only gave me $5.00 off if I bring my own oil and filter. So if I use M1 and an OEM Honda filter. The oil change will cost me over $58.00 (25+24+5+tax)if I bring my own oil and filter to Valvoline.
I can change the oil in the following cars without using a jack or ramps:
88 Ford Mustang GT
96 Ford Contour
04 Chevrolet Malibu
06 Saab 93
Key to this is that none of these vehicles have an oil filter that is inaccessible from the top or the front bottom.
88 Ford Mustang GT
96 Ford Contour
04 Chevrolet Malibu
06 Saab 93
Key to this is that none of these vehicles have an oil filter that is inaccessible from the top or the front bottom.
Quote:
I try to bring my own oil and filter to Valvoline Instant Oil change to get the oil change on my Handa Accord since I don't have any car ramps or jacks to raise the car. Their normal price for a dino oil change is $29.99 plus tax. They will only gave me $5.00 off if I bring my own oil and filter. So if I use M1 and an OEM Honda filter. The oil change will cost me over $58.00 (25+24+5+tax)if I bring my own oil and filter to Valvoline.
That's why I wait for my $ealership coupons for the oil changes. I understand the region people are in plays a role also. OOps, just checked my records and the Mercury place charged $15 and the Inifinity charged $17. They want my $$$ so I help out. NY must have a high cost of living.
The only problem I have is I must check my own fluids and top them off. Does your lube place top fluids off?
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