Quick oil change shop Poll: (places like JiffyLube)

Always change your own oil. I worked at a Walmart TLE when i was 18. I didnt really know shit about cars back then, and neither did most of the guys who worked there, and half of them were on parol from Arizona state prison.
I have seen them start cars to check for leaks, when there was no oil added to the car do to miscommunication. makes a real horrible noise Drain plug gaskets, no way. Stripped/overtightened drain plugs, hundred or so, and I only worked there 6 months. Overfills common, and I never saw anyone wipe off a grease zert while lubing or being careful not to get dirt in the diffs/manual trans when checking or adding gear oil.
After working here, and seeing the lack of respect to peoples nice rides, I would never trust a quick lube. They dont get paid enough to give a shit IMO.

 

i do all my own work. back in the days when i didn't do all my own work i had too many problems from the oil change folks....rounded/stripped bolts, incorrect fluid levels, oil pan plug not tightened. buy a manual and do it yourself. if you can read and follow directions it is all easy.

 

I wish I had the time to change my own oil. I will tell you this, I trust no one but my private mechanic who unfortunately is too far away now or the dealer.

I use to change my oil at Monro. Because it was attached to BJ's and I could shop while they changed the oil. I always did the oil change/tire rotation. One day, I decide to mark one of the tires and the filter, just for fun. Guess what, tire was not rotated but the filter was changed, complained and they rotated the tires. I went back a second time, same thing. Never went again.

Then I decided to go to Mavis, and bring my own oil and filter. They changed it and rotated the tires every time. I was able to see what they were doing and I was happy. Until, one day. I pull my old 08 out of the garage and see oil on the floor. I open the hood and guess what, no oil cap and oil all over the place. Went back to the shop and they cleaned the mess, rechanged the oil. But I never went back.

Luckily, I have a great service dept at my dealer. They have always been great and the price difference is negligible. So now, I just take it to the dealer and forget about it.

 

I went for the "lifetime" oil change program from the dealer. I'll stick with that at least until it's paid for itself ($400) and the warranty has run out.

 

No effin way i will ever go to one of these places.

When i was a lot younger and didn't know shite about much,
i took my MR2 by JL for a quick oil change.

I watched as one guy drained the oil then watched
another guy get in the car and try to start it.
Lucky i got there in time to yell at him before he turned the key over.

That car got me in a lot of trouble, but sure was a fun drive.

 

I would be more concerned that they would cross thread the drain plug, and unless your in a severe service, changeing oil every 3k is a waste of money.

 

It takes more time to drive to (and wait) at one of those god-awful places, then it does to just change it yourself. Not to mention more expensive. I seriously see no advantage of going to a quick-change place.

 

It depends on the people working in these place. Some are honest, some are not, look at corporate executives some are honest, and some are not. As for me I change my own oil, takes me a total of 35 minutes, sure I do get my hands dirty, but I do know the job is done right. Look for specials from auto part stores on filters and buy the oil in cases from Walmart or target.

 

i just changed my oil last week, before that i was lazy and had jiffy lube do it. I barley had 3,000 miles on it since jiffy lube changed it and the oil was pitch black. couldnt see through it with a spot light. My truck is not that old.

 

You cannot determine anything from the color of the oil. Oil gets black pretty quick...that means it's doing it's job. Diesels will turn 16 qts. of oil black in a few hundred miles.

 

just change your own damn oil...

 

Umm, I dont agree. After changing oil on all types of motors and equipment i have a difference of experience. First of all we dont have diesel engines in out trucks so it hard to compare apples to a kiwi. The motors just dont work the same. And, on my old Pajero w/ a 2.8L TD (120,000miles), I changed the oil many times and it wasnt ever pitch black. Now, old diesel tractors, you bet the oil goes black quick. B/c its very old with lots of hours. If your oil turns black in a few hundred miles you have some other motor problems.

The color of your oil tells you a lot about whats going on with your motor. Assuming you do a regular oil change. I might be wrong but I will stick with my experiences. For example, when you go to buy a used car most people look at the dipstick. B/c it tells you a quick story about the car. Is it pitch black, does the oil have water in it, or rubber chunks from gaskets.

I started this tread b/c I was under the impression that oil tells you lots about your car. If im wrong feel free to let me know. Im not trying to be an all knowing TW god, just get my own facts straight.

 

We used to take our work trucks to Jiffy Lube when we didn't have the time to change it ourselves. They suck. There were a couple times when we questioned if they actually changed it or not. This past year we had to take one of the trucks to the dealer to have the drain plug removed because Jiffy Lube had stripped it so bad we couldn't get it out. So from then on we MADE time to change our own oil. It's much more comforting to know you did it yourself and that you did it correctly.
Screw Jiffy Lube!

 

I have to take my company truck to Jiffy Lube. Every time I get it back it drips dirty oil for a couple of days since they never cleaned up under the filter. They always smear the windows and mirrors that they are supposed to be cleaning as a "courtesy". When I get back in the truck I have to readjust the seat and mirrors back to where they were, and there is always motor oil on the steering wheel and gear shift knob.

The other day I noticed I was missing a valve cap from one of the tires. Went to the store to buy a new one.....99 cents for four of them. So I walk out to the truck cussing the dirtbag that stole one of my caps, replaced the cap, then decided to check and make sure all of them were tight. Turns out the other three were about to fall off. Guess who checked the tire pressures last?

Yesterday my boss noticed that they left a hose clamp loose on his air intake hose after they checked his air filter. So I go over to my truck to check it......sure enough the lid's not all the way seated and there is dirt on the "clean side" of the filter element.

Mentioned to them that the brake fluid was a little low and asked them to top it off for me. They refused and then told me my brakes were going to go out and they didn't want the liability. I topped the fluid off myself and the brakes are fine, duh!

 

I'd never go to one though. Easier to just do it myself.

RZ Rob

 

Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, top off brake fluid. Never. "Oh no, it's low, I'll just top it off"....it's low for a reason, duh!.

 

I took my first gen to the sears auto center once a couple of years ago... they didn't replace the oil cap so oil went everywhere.

I just do it myself now.

 

Agree 100%. Too many people freak out when their oil is black when they change it. It's going to get black and dirty to the eye very, very quickly. The question is whether or not it still has its viscosity and lubricating qualities. Often oil with 5k on it still works perfectly.

Water in the oil, or chunks of rubber tell a story, yes, but color doesn't really. And I'm not sure I'd take what most people do when used car shopping as a good idea of how to look at a car. Most people are idiots when buying used cars and just want something pretty for a good price.

EDIT: I always do as much of my own maintenance or repair work as possible. But, I do think that the majority of these places are run by hard-working people who strive to provide the services their customers pay for. Are there bad apples? Sure.

 

Took my Corolla to Sears 2 winters ago for an oil change. They drained the trans fluid by mistake. Only had 20,000 miles on it. Fews years back took my Jeep to a Jiffy Lube, they broke my oil pressure switch when they took the filter off. My wife took her car for an oil change, they never put the cap on, oil all over the engine. My friend took his car to the dealer for an oil change,they forgot to put oil in in. Drove out of the dealer and his engine seized. They did make good for it. Now I change my own oil. Not sure what to do with the new Tacoma.

 

LOL do a search for how many owners on this website have done this exact same thing with their 2nd gens. People get in a hurry and don't double check what they're doing.