Oil lube rant

[kenstrac]

My wife wanted the oil changed in her car and my garage is being used for woodworking right now and have everything set up and did not want to move everything to get the car in.
Went to a lube place pulled in shut off engine popped the hood and the guy immediately pulls the dipstick out and says I'm down a quart I checked the oil before I left and it was right on the full mark STRIKE ONE
Next they said they had to take the skid plate off to drain the oil and the bolts were rusty and they might break off I told them I never removed the skid plate to change the oil.STRIKE TWO
Then the MNG comes up to me and tells me he was going to charge me $10 extra to remove the skid plate STRIKE THREE I just left and went down the street to a service station and they changed the oil without removing the skid plate.
About a month earlier I took my Wrangler down to another lube place same thing down a quart,I asked them to check the differentials and the std tranny and transfer case came back and said differentials were ok but would have to remove skid plate to check the level and that would cost more$$ told them to forget it something wasn't right here.
Got it home checked the level in tranny and transfer case and looked at the differentials while I was under there and found that they never removed the plugs to check the oil.
Then a few years earlier in the winter my wife was in the hospital and between working OT plus taking care of the hay burners and all of the other things that were going on I did not have enough time to change the oil in my Dodge diesel. So I stopped by a lube place on the way home I got greeted by an employee outside and asked what year the truck was and the engine told him it was a 5.9 diesel, he says OK thats 5 quarts of 10W 30 I told him it took 15W 40 so he pulls it in I could see pretty much of what was going on from the waiting room.
It took forever for the guy to drain the oil,then I see the other guy with the new filter on the other side of the truck struggling.Then he puts it on the the ground gasket on the concrete for the guy underneath.
I walked over to him and told him he had the wrong filter reached in the truck and gave him the filter I had.
Next the guy on top grabs the hose marked 10W40 I ran out and told him it took 15W40 10 qts of course the Mng says again I can not go in the service area,as I'm watching he puts in 5 qts then checks the dipstick holding the handle down so the oil runs up the dipstick, he put more oil in and than again,starts truck checks oil pressure ,He turns in the paperwork and I pay them but I take my time the truck is still in the bay I walk out pop the hood check the oil level and its down I call the mng out and showed him it was down they put in another 2 1/2 qts,he apologized and gave me a coupon for a free oil change.
When I changed the oil in the truck myself the next time I found they had stripped the drain plug I had to take it off with a chisel and $22 for a new plug.
Am I the only one this happens to.
Sorry about the long post but I just had to vent.

 

[jinman]

No, you are not the only one. I'm just gonna tell one story.

My '96 Dodge Cummins has a drain plug that screws out most of the way with slits in the plug to drain the oil through. It's not supposed to come all the way out, but stays in the oil pan. It has interference for the last few threads so you can clearly feel it is not supposed to come out.

I pull into an oil change place and tell the guy what I want and that I use only Rotella T 15W40. I also tell him that the oil drain plug does not come all the way out. He goes down into the pit and in a few seconds calls me over and proudly shows me the plug that he "managed" to get out for me. Sheesh! I told him to finish the job and that I'd pay but never be back. I don't think he ever understood why I was so angry.

 

[tallyho8]

I wish I could find someone I trust to do oil changes for me. I am tired of doing them myself. The last one I had done at a lube shop was in 1982 when I had the transmission oil changed on my 1978 F100.

When they dropped the pan, a little valve fell out that they reinstalled upside down and my transmission slipped after that. They claimed they did nothing wrong but when it quit a couple of days later I brought it to a transmission shop and they told me what happened before they even saw my truck because it was such a common problem.

I had the transmission rebuilt and finally collected from the lube shop in small claims court 2 years later.

 

[Soundguy]

naa... I pretty much won't let anybody servince my stuff except one mechanic I know.. everything else is my wrench time.. just can't trust minimum wage workers that yesterday had no job, and now today they are a 'service tech'.

I don't want anyone with less uh.. capability or intellegence than me touching my engines...

soundguy

 

[charlz]

Last time I had someone else do an oil change was early to mid 90's when we lived in SoCal. Got the oil changed and drove a few miles to my FIL's work. Not too long after we left from there the oil light came on and we immediately pulled over... nothing on the dipstick Paid way too much for oil at a 7/11 to get it moving again. Apparently when we left the FIL's place he saw a puddle of oil where the car had been parked and was trying to flag us down but we never saw him (no cell phone in those days).

Turns out there was a _huge_ tear/slice/defect in the seal on the filter.... have no idea how it happened but I guess they put it on anyway. I didn't want to risk engine damage trying to get it back to the oil change place so I took care of it in the parking lot of an auto parts store.

 

[Phils]

You are not the only one kenstrac.

About the same time as tallyho8, I needed the rear axle oil changed in a class 8 truck I owned (and got to see this whole wonderful country with). I do my own maintenance even down to pulling cylinder liners (no, I've never done an 'out-of-frame' on my own) but this seemed simple and I was {insert adjective here}.

Anyway, he drained the old oil. Then I catch him filling the rear end through the temp sender hole, which is about half-way down from the fill hole to the drain hole. I mentioned something and got "... the top one is stuck, but this is an alternate fill hole...".

He DID then get the fill plug 'unstuck', maybe fearing for his health and well being.

The key here is: you GOTTA watch 'em every second, as you did.

Phil

 

[bp fick]

Horror stories abound.

I had one "service center" oil change in the last 30 years, I suppose. WalMart. Got the truck back home and it was high on the stick. Had to drain, and drain and drain. Lost count at something like 9 or 10 quarts in a 4.5 quart system. I don't enjoy it anymore either, not at my age, but I cannot find it within me to let anyone else do it. Except my son, who works at a Ford dealership, but he's 3 1/2 hours away.

 

[dave1949]

I've had similar experiences at auto service franchise places. It's like the Marx Brothers are working on your car Everybody is smiling and polite, but not much good is happening.

There is only one local place I trust and have had no drama - the Ford dealership in Farmington. I think the major difference is you need some education and training, some certification to be a mechanic at most regular dealers. Although I can say the local GM dealer never fixed anything of mine correctly the first time.

The franchise/service center places have constant turnover, your satisfaction and doing the job right is a not a major part of their business plan.

I think the options are do it yourself, or find a local independant mechanic or auto dealer that gets it right everytime and stick with them.
Dave.

 

[ToadHill]

I take the wife's car to my cousin's garage for oil changes. Oil Filter and vaccuum the interior $23. My youngest son does my truck. He knows he'll get it when I'm done so he's very careful how he handles it.

 

[20 20]

I just turned in the local HUGE!!! advertisers in our area to the BBB. They were trying to scam us out of 4 tires alignment and some other crap. Went to another place and did just fine.

 

[20 20]

Oh yeh some time back I also paid 90+ $ for a trans change just to find out the garage never did it.

 

[dooleysm]

This is another area where I think the average Joe is not willing to pay what it takes to make it worthwhile for an experienced person to do it right. I change the oil in our 3 vehicles. It takes me about an hour and a half by the time I drive to the inlaw's shop (to take advantage of their vehicle lift, air compressor, tools, etc.), change the oil, check and top off fluids, air and rotate tires, cleanup, and come back home. I could do it in about the same amount of time, but with more effort, if I did it at home.

Now, if I was doing it every day I could probably get it all done in 30-45 minutes. Sound reasonable? What would you be willing to pay for something like that? I've got a certain amount just in consumables (filter, oil, assorted fluids, hand cleaner, shop towels, etc.). Then there's the 'rental' of my tools and shop. Then I have to make a decent wage. And I guess I need insurance in case I forget and leave a rag in your engine compartment and it catches your car on fire.

I don't see how a guy could be in business changing oil and do a good job of it.

 

[Soundguy]

most garages that change oil do it at nearly cost.. just as a way to get you in.. those free safety checks are there to sell you things you -may- need.. like.. "gee.. this belt looks a lil cracked'.. etc.. that's where they start getting some money and shop charges. A friend owns a garage.. his oil changes just pay for the service.. no extra profit...

soundguy

 

[tallyho8]

The last time I checked with someone who had a lube shop, they paid 15 cents per quart for oil in a drum. Their bulk prices are much less than the average person's.

 

[Wayne County Hose]

Only time I pay to have any work done on a vehicle is alignment or computer troubleshooting. But, took a company Chevy 1 ton van back to the dealer, had a gear oil leak in the rear. Told the service manager the pinion seal in the rear was leaking. He asked me, and I'm not joking, "which side?"

 

[RobertN]

We have a local place that does a good job. Hard to find out there though.

About 8 years ago, my Grandmother had the oild changed in her Nova, at one of the natioanl chains. She gou about two miles down the road when the oil light came on. She stopped right away. When she gout out of the car there was oil running from under it.

They had not tightened the oil drain plug; it had fallen out.

They did right by her; paid to tow it, new plug, oil, a couple free oil changes. I don't think she went back there after the incident though...

 

[DANOCHEESE]

The local ford garage actualy will come to your work and pick up your vehicle for any scheduled maintenacne. The wife just calls and tell's Tony Time for oil change. In the next few days he comes by and grabs the truck.

Small town if they do poor work, word of mouth would shortly kill them.

 

[Zick]

Yeah they pulled that crap on my wife. She drives a Trailblazer and there is a small plastic access panel on the skid plate that you have to remove to gain access to the oil filter.
It only takes a flatblade screwdriver a 1/4 turn and the plate pops open. Seriously 10 seconds worth and they said they were going to charge her extra for having to remove the skid plate.

 

[MikeD74T]

The last time I checked with someone who had a lube shop, they paid 15 cents per quart for oil in a drum. Their bulk prices are much less than the average person's.

60 cents per gallon, was that near the beginning or the end of the 1950's ??? MikeD74T

 

[Cat_Driver]

After going through most everything I heard here I came up with some solutions that have worked for me.

I bring in all my own oil and filters where ever I go that includes dealer and quick lube.

I have had over fill at dealerships along with not checking fluids and greasing the vehicle as evidenced by mud still being on the zerks, and dust still on call the caps proof no one touched them.

Last time I did all my vehicles at a quick lube I brought in all my stuff and stood at the front of the vehicle ( I was still OUTSIDE the bay ) and watched every move. As I stood there they showed me as proof the tranny dipstick levels and I watched as they uncapped washer fluid, power steering etc. I also watched exactly how much they put in of MY OIL and showed me the dip stick at full.

Total cost for them to change the oil check the air pressure on the tires including spare, wash the windows and vacuum the vehicle, check all fluids - $19.00.

Well worth it to me, but the key is bringing in your own stuff and watching them like a hawk and verify, verify, verify.