Family owned vs dealership for oil change

[ArcticDriver]

Originally Posted By: rollinpete


Side note: I know it would be quickest to do the oil change myself but I’m not interested..I’m in graduate school and we have a 2 year old. I’d rather spend my free time with my wife and son

It takes like a whole half hour to do the job right... [/quote]

Changing oil should be considered "quality" time for the entire family.

 

[copcarguy]

I've had my kids in their stroller out next to me changing the oil, etc. since they were around 2. Like gathermewool said let them hold the flashlight or a wrench or something that they can't get hurt with or make your wife nervous about.

My daughter is now 8 and is asking ME when one of our vehicles is due because she wants to get out there and work on stuff.

My 5 year old asks to wash the cars... He wants them to know "we care about them" lol.

I don't think they'd be interested in this stuff if they sat next to me in the waiting room of a service dept.

 

[Rolla07]

Recommended service intervals=useless. Change the oil and ur good. Give them a shot, will b cheaper too. Nothing complicated about Toyotas. I use dealer and an indy though mostly indy lately.

 

[Lolvoguy]

Originally Posted By: Merkava_4
Originally Posted By: Nick1994
I'm not sure I understand. It's quicker to do it yourself, but you'd rather a shop take longer and you have to drive to them, then wait in the waiting room for them to do it for you, then you have less time with the family...


That's right! You're a smart dude Nick.

I agree Nick, you stole the words from me before I could post this!

As a side note, the great thing about doing it yourself is you can do it whenever suits you best.
That could be in the wee hours of the morning, or late at night when everyone is asleep.
Or on a public holiday when all the businesses are closed (here in Canada that's very common).

Either works great and you'll have the added peace of mind that it was done correctly

 

[Falcon_LS]

I'm all for supporting local businesses, particularly if they're family owned for generations and have built a solid reputation.

I'm not against using dealerships, as they often have access to up to date TSBs, equipment, etc. but that's not to say a local shop is incompetent. I think it would work well in your favor to build a good relationship with either one. Go with whatever makes you sleep better at night.

 

[aquariuscsm]

Advantage with dealerships is they will always use oem filters.

 

[aquariuscsm]

As to the discussion of upselling,ALL commissioned employee based businesses upsell,not just car dealerships. That's how they keep their jobs and earn a paycheck,by making commission via upselling. Me,I would NEVER work a commission job,because I feel "talking someone" into spending money is unethical.

Mom and pop shops also have a habit of calling dealerships to figure out how to fix things and diagnose problems. They will also buy parts from dealerships to diagnose customers' cars and then return the now used parts to the dealership claiming they never installed them.

 

[Johnny2Bad]

The Mopar dealership here offers a $35 oil change with 15 minutes (to get it in) or it's free. Never took a vehicle there (do it myself) but I would, other service there has been excellent.

 

[Audios]

I always say support the local shops, as long as theyre competent and know about the vehicles theyre working on. You can also build a relationship with the receptionist, or tech when they see you often. At my shop its me, another tech and my receptionist up front, so we often get to know people over time, even if its just walking out to the waiting room to go over what we found. At the dealer it may be the same advisor, but theres a very small chance that its going to the same tech everytime, and you wont get a first person explanation of the notes, its usually just what the advisor regurgitates to you.

 

[HerrStig]

I use an indy I trust and bring my own oil and filter. That way I'm sure my Mobil 1 doesn't end up in some "lube techs" trunk. I pay what the indy asks, it's always reasonable, and he's entitles to make a bit on what he didn't make on the oil and filter. This is a new development for me, I now have two cars with cartridge filters mounted underneath. It's worth it to avoid the crawling around. If I had a lift I'd still be doing it myself. There's about a half quart of M1 left when they do my V6, they always return it to me.

 

[mehullica]

Do only what the owners manual says is required at 60,000 miles. Probably oil change, brake fluid, air & cabin filters, tire rotation.

 

[Anduril]

I wouldn't do either. We have 3 years of free maintenance on our Versa so we take it to the dealership, but I could have it done at home just in the time it takes to drive it there.