What is an "upcharge" on an oil change?

[sfloggie]

Amen here as this guy lost my business.
But I learned, or have been reminded, to ask (as is my norm) what the price is and why whereever I do go.

 

[buickanddeere]

could be quart upcharge.. IE.. standard oil change might be 4 quarts.. and then yours might be 5.5 qts.. etc..

I know the quick change place near me lost me (my wife) as a customer permanently.

I used to let my wife get her oil changed at the texaco place by our house ( 5 mins away ).. last time they 'upgraded her' to the hi milage oil.

normal oil change is 25$.. ok... I let that slide... they are paying for the oil, a filter and having someone put it on and getting rid of the oil for me. I know I can do that same job myself for 15$ for plain walmart oil, and 4$ for the filter.. .. that's 19$.. so i didn't mind the 6$ to pay the service monkey and let them deal with the drainings. this last time, though, the oil change jumped to 65$.. I freaked out when she bough the bill home.. I looked all over to see if they used some kind of synthetic or soemthing. I finally called them.. the maganger de'jour said that was conventional oil, but a high milage type. I explained that in the store you can buy the high milage version of many of the regular oils for only a small premium difference. IE.. 12$ vs 14$ for walmart valvolene is 16$ vs 18$.. etc.. I know there is another brand ont he shelf at wally mart that has a hi milage version.. perhaps penzoil or something? anyway.. on the gallon or 5qt jugs.. it's usually a couple bucks more per JUG.. that's like 50 cents a quart. They charged nearly 2.5X as much at the texaco place.

I told the guy i could do 2 full synthetic name brand oil changes for that price. I even mentioned that my 7.3 diesel using name brand motorcraft oil and 15 qts plus a filter was only 55$.... He mumbled a bit.. had no answer.. I asked him what he wanted to do about that.. he said nothing... so i told him.. that before this.. he had a customer he got 25 bucks from about every 9-10 weeks ( 3000 mile change ).. not satisifed wht that you screwed me for 65$ one time only, and now will never get another dime... I told him I can do a full synthetic oil change on that yukon..with fitler( gm delco name brand fitler ) be done in 15 minutes, pay myself a full hours wage from my engineering job and skate in under his 65$ conventional hi milage oil price... and drop the oil at the collection facility at work for free.. or if I had to.. re bottle it and drop at walmart for free.

he still mumbled.

I think for the next oil change interval, everone should change their own oil, and put a sticking to these oil change places..

1st problem is you are wasting 2/3 of your time and money by currently changing the oil 3 times too often. Unless the vehicle has a carburator and it's burning leaded fuel.

 

[brucew44guns]

I try not to be a "Cheap Skate" with anything. My fellow man needs to feed his kids too. But on oil changes, I can honestly say at 67 years old, I have never paid for an oil change at a dealer or fast lube or anywhere else. I've always changed oil at home. I know it was changed, the drain plug tightened up right, filter not leaking, and the oil I like was put in. Stories I read here and other places make me cringe, and that story of all stories a few years back about Jiffy Lube doing nothing to your car, then charging full bore for oil change service---wow. I hope my bones stay nimble enough to let me get down and just do it myself.

 

[rsewill]

hope my bones stay nimble enough to let me get down and just do it myself.

I change mine without getting on the floor using a PELA Oil Extractor and my filters are canisters changeable from above.

 

[doall]

I try not to be a "Cheap Skate" with anything. My fellow man needs to feed his kids too. But on oil changes, I can honestly say at 67 years old, I have never paid for an oil change at a dealer or fast lube or anywhere else. I've always changed oil at home. I know it was changed, the drain plug tightened up right, filter not leaking, and the oil I like was put in. Stories I read here and other places make me cringe, and that story of all stories a few years back about Jiffy Lube doing nothing to your car, then charging full bore for oil change service---wow. I hope my bones stay nimble enough to let me get down and just do it myself.

I've never paid for an oil change either Bruce. Kindred souls. lol or cheap, I don't know. but I like doing it myself.

 

[varmint]

Just like the other 67 year old guy, I too have never paid for an oil change. I will admit that when we had a new VW Passat, the dealer's oil changes were included for the first 2 years of ownership. After that, I changed the oil, and I always use Mobil One. By the way, Wally world sells Mobil One (including the 0-20w my wife's hybrid requires) in 5 quart containers for about $26+, which makes it easy to use it in all my gas powered vehicles. I use Rotella syn. in my Kubota.

 

[Soundguy]

1st problem is you are wasting 2/3 of your time and money by currently changing the oil 3 times too often. Unless the vehicle has a carburator and it's burning leaded fuel.

going be sever schedule in manual, as we are on a farm, there is alot of idling, city miles and dirt roads.

soundguy

 

[buickanddeere]

going be sever schedule in manual, as we are on a farm, there is alot of idling, city miles and dirt roads.

soundguy

Doesn't matter as much with fuel injected vehicles burning unleaded. The computer on our vehicles calculates when the oil needs changed. Considering temperature, type of driving etc. 16,000 miles on the Terrain and it still has 32% left on it's first oil change. I put 296,000 miles on a souped TI Buick changing the oil every 10,000 miles.

 

[Soundguy]

are you expressing or implying a warranty on my vehicle for those milage intervals?

 

[buickanddeere]

are you expressing or implying a warranty on my vehicle for those milage intervals?

I'm asking why you are throwing money away by changing the oil three times too often. Then complain about an up charge.