Reason enough to change your own oil

[The Haymaker]

When our '04 Lesabre was new my wife would take it back to selling dealer for free oil changes but after warranty expired there was a charge. I looked at invoices for oil changes, like most GM shops they charge for oil by the half quart (1/2 quart is one "unit") and invoices said they were putting 10 units, or 5 quarts, into an engine GM listed the capacity for as 4.5 quarts.

Took three most recent invoices to service manager and asked him: "Either you are overfilling the engine by a half quart or billing us for oil not put in the engine, which is it here"?

HE WOULD NOT GIVE ME A RESPONSE !!!! Went to dealership main office and raised all kinds of h--- and they finally gave me a cash refund for the oil they never added to the engine and also gave me a certificate for two free oil changes well I took the certificate and in front of the manager wiped it on my rear end and balled it up and threw it on the floor in front of him. Told him Mr. Monkeywrench would NEVER get any business from us again either in service dept. or new car dealership area.

Have never been back either, and that was several years ago. I wrote to both GM and Attorney General's office telling them it should be investigated. Makes me wonder just how many customers they scammed selling them a phantom half quart of oil. Frooking CROOKS !!!!!!

Yup, had customers like you when I worked lube. Put in what "The Book" said and come shy of the line and you were there yelling at me. Fill it to the line, and you were there yelling at me. Too much torque on the plug (You obviously have torque eyeballs) and you are yelling at me. Too little, you yell at me. Hand you the wrench and say, "I'm just gonna let you do it, lift rental will save you money in the long run", and yup, you guessed it, you yell at me.

Thank you for again reminding me why I will never work with the general(ly obnoxious) public again.

 

[Skyco]

Man, you need a low stress job like truck driving:laughing:

 

[JDgreen227]

Man, you need a low stress job like truck driving:laughing:

You insult me there, Skyco...I drove commercial straight trucks for 31 years, it wasn't just driving, but pick up and delivery work of heavy, bulky freight all day long. My record work day was 587 miles of driving and delivery work in 15 hours. And on top of that, sometimes I had to deal with those ignorant "GREASE MONKEYS" in the shop at MR. MONKEYWRENCH.


BTW, Haymaker, when I change the oil and filter on our Lesabre, 4 1/2 quarts fills to the line on the dipstick AFTER I run the engine to fill the oil filter and let the engine drain down. EVERYBODY GOT THAT!!!!????

 

[jonyyuma]

Hats Off to both of you. I too have worked the Lube bays, it was a thankless job. I drove military 5 ton trucks but did not want to drive in the commercial type.I don't have the nerves for it nor the bladder?.Whats up about the half quart? I know they charge for it, but it is better than 1/2 quart low?I can not figure out why it is not an even amount, then you go Imperial Quarts and???

 

[JDgreen227]

Hats Off to both of you. I too have worked the Lube bays, it was a thankless job. I drove military 5 ton trucks but did not want to drive in the commercial type.I don't have the nerves for it nor the bladder?.Whats up about the half quart? I know they charge for it, but it is better than 1/2 quart low?I can not figure out why it is not an even amount, then you go Imperial Quarts and???

Have a hard time understanding why a customer would be griping at a lube tech for reasons like oil level or drain plug torque, they have NO BUSINESS being in the service area or UNDER THE VEHICLE anyhow. Another thing, anybody who is smart enough to know his oil capacity and drain plug torque should be changing his own oil anyway!!!

Take my 2004 Saturn L-300, I can rattle off the hp, torque, tire size, tow and load capacity, what other GM models use the 181 ci, 3.0 liter V6, etc. Have a girl cousin with same car, SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW IF HER CAR HAS A FOUR OR V6.....!!!!!

She is the kind of person to go to Mr. Monkeywrench, and if they tell her that her Saturn needs turn signal fluid, or air cleaner grease, she will just say "go ahead, fix it".....:laughing:

 

[jonyyuma]

Reminds me of working at {Dixiemart} auto center. The college girl I was working with asked" did her VW have motor oil like we sold"?.She said Dad gave her the car to drive, never said anything about having it worked on?She had been driving it for a year and a half. After I stopped laughing, we put it on the rack. We got a bout a quart of tar-like stuff to run out...Those VW's must have been pretty tough back then...

 

[JDgreen227]

Reminds me of working at {Dixiemart} auto center. The college girl I was working with asked" did her VW have motor oil like we sold"?.She said Dad gave her the car to drive, never said anything about having it worked on?She had been driving it for a year and a half. After I stopped laughing, we put it on the rack. We got a bout a quart of tar-like stuff to run out...Those VW's must have been pretty tough back then...

Worked with a guy during the middle 70's, he had a '72 Bug, changed his own oil one time, didn't put the drain plug back in, he added new oil and then never checked the level or for leaks. Backed out to go to work, missed the huge pool of new oil, got two blocks....:laughing:

 

[jonyyuma]

Leaving the plug out? never did myself. But had a customer leaning over me the whole time. I punched the can and the spout cutter was dull, so it did not seal completely. I popped the bottom of the can and it squirted a few drops onto his white shirt.He looked at me with an astonished look and i was afraid i was losing my job? then he said he should have not been so close? I did not do it on purpose, and it only happened that time. we begged them to stay out of the shop?

 

[ultrarunner]

Have a hard time understanding why a customer would be griping at a lube tech for reasons like oil level or drain plug torque, they have NO BUSINESS being in the service area or UNDER THE VEHICLE anyhow. Another thing, anybody who is smart enough to know his oil capacity and drain plug torque should be changing his own oil anyway!!!

Take my 2004 Saturn L-300, I can rattle off the hp, torque, tire size, tow and load capacity, what other GM models use the 181 ci, 3.0 liter V6, etc. Have a girl cousin with same car, SHE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW IF HER CAR HAS A FOUR OR V6.....!!!!!

She is the kind of person to go to Mr. Monkeywrench, and if they tell her that her Saturn needs turn signal fluid, or air cleaner grease, she will just say "go ahead, fix it".....:laughing:

There is a family owned garage near me... two brothers opened it when they got home from WWII... the shop has a great reputation... the waiting room has a huge window along side the service bays... and customers are always asked to come into the service area to see issues uncovered during servicing the vehicle...

Hey, they even have their home addresses and phone numbers on the business card... just like my Grandfather did for the 50 years he was in the auto business.

 

[The Haymaker]

Man, you need a low stress job like truck driving:laughing:

I think I just pee'd a little.:laughing: