Undercover Investigation - Oil Change Scams

[53' Stude]

+1000 alarmguy. what boils my blood is when say a RAM truck hemi or not comes back with a 14670 filter on when it says in parts catalog and owners manual a PF 48 is called for!! Saw a lot of this "downsizing b.s." and "if it fits [censored]". Maybe when few engines blow up these places should/will learn.

 

[4wheeldog]

My '12 Outback was delivered with a drain plug and filter installed by Man Mountain Mike with a cheater bar. It took me considerable effort (And a BFH) to remove both.

Makes me wonder what the procedure at the engine factory might be......And why?

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Use a Denso oil filter. They are very well made and have a torque stop feature that prevents over tightening. You turn them on till they stop and that is satisfactory. Never had one leak.

 

[mickey_g]

I have been doing my own oil changes for around 10 years now, and doing it on my current vehicle Nissan Rogue is super easy, don't even have to put it up on ramps etc., the suv is high enough that I can just crawl under and change the oil very easily, takes me like 20 minutes total, and that too because I wait a bit extra long to have the oil completely drip out. I did have two free oil changes from the stealership which I took advantage of, however, after that I've done the ocis myself and plan to as well in the future as well, it's one of the easiest things you can do to maintain your vehicle.

 

[jimbrewer]

I wonder what the error rate is? By that I mean wrong grade on up to fraud.

I'm guessing 10%. The vast majority coming from relatively few shops, of course.

That's actually a huge number. Enough to disrupt the market by seriously disadvantaging the honest shops.

It would be pretty easy for the state AG to spot check. You get a "hit" and you close in for the kill with multiple visits.Lots of good publicity.

 

[camperbob]

my guess is that the Mega Muffler shop buys so much oil they can order what they want. If its subpar, the supplier doesn't want to be mentioned.

 

[AdRock]

If you see a dealership or oil change place with an oil gun and hose hooked to a tank out back then every vehicle that doesnt buy a synthetic oil change is getting whatever grade is in the tank regardless of whats called for.

I worked at a Mopar dealer as a tech and the bulk oil in the oil gun lines was 10w30. Thats what went in every vehicle unless specified otherwise on the ticket. Any other grade had to be specified on the ticket because we needed to get it from parts, and had to show them the ticket to get it.

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: alarmguy


The rain falls equally upon the just and the unjust.
I'd doubt that more than a small minority of these shops are dishonest ...
Caveat emptor. [/quote]

Respectfully disagree. For all others reading this, if you have friends, family who do not change their own oil AND filter, do them a favor. TEACH THEM how to be assertive at the oil change place, make the place show them the changing of the oil AND filter.
If it is not possible, do your friends and family a favor, scratch a mark in the oil filter for them, next time you see them, check the filter that it was changed.
Even if it was changed, you never know if it came off another car just before their oil change but most likely not as frequent.

Ill go out on a limb and tell you all right now, if you think your oil change place is honest, chances are slim you will be right. I say you have a 50/50 (at best) chance of getting an honest one. The more proactive you are, the MORE THE HONEST ONES will prosper, because they are honest.
Also, skip the expensive synthetic, chances are your not getting it anyway.

It WOULD BE GREAT if some people started doing this for friends and family (including your own mothers and fathers), then post the results. [/quote]

I know I worked with some lazy workers when I used to change oil but we never DIDNT change the oil and filter. If we COULDNT(for whatever the reason may be) we told the customer. The would be super [censored] about hald the time but we NEVER lied about changing somebody's oil. We also NEVER used a different oil than what the customer asked for, without talking to them first. I completely understand other places doing this(not that I condone ripping ANYBODY off) but I'm glad my shop was not apart of this.

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: AdRock
If you see a dealership or oil change place with an oil gun and hose hooked to a tank out back then every vehicle that doesnt buy a synthetic oil change is getting whatever grade is in the tank regardless of whats called for.

I worked at a Mopar dealer as a tech and the bulk oil in the oil gun lines was 10w30. Thats what went in every vehicle unless specified otherwise on the ticket. Any other grade had to be specified on the ticket because we needed to get it from parts, and had to show them the ticket to get it.


I worked at a Walmart TLE and we didn't do shady things like this. We had bulk cases(20gallon boxes with a dispenser on the bottom) for oil that wasn't conventional. If we wrote something up for oil that we ran out of bulk and forgot we went and got the right stuff or talked to the customer. Just because there is a bulk gun SHOULDN'T mean you jus put it in everything.

 

[B320i]

A previous "trusted" Indy of ours put 15w50 oil in our 2003 Toyota Corolla.

When I saw the service receipt, I about packed it in. Good heavens!

 

[Mar57]

Some years ago I took my car to Walmart for an oil change because I just didn't have the time to do it myself. After waiting for about 15 minutes they called my name. The tech said they could change the oil but not the filter because the correct filter for my car had been discontinued. I said no thanks for the oil change. I went about a mile away to a car parts store; told the guy what car I had and asked if they had an oil filter for it. I told the guy what they said a Walmart and he started laughing. If asked me if I knew how many cars used the same filter and said there was a long list. He had a couple of cases of the correct filter and as I left the store he was still laughing. I went back to Walmart and confronted the service manager. He didn't have anything to say. I watched as they changed the oil and installed my filter. When it came time to write up the bill they added an extra dollar to the bill. I asked what the extra charge was for and was told it was because I supplied the filter. I told them to call the store manager and I would explain how the tech had lied to me because he didn't want to admit they were simply out of the correct filter.
They couldn't take the extra dollar off the bill fast enough. I paid the bill and have never gone back to Walmart for another oil change, and I never will.

 

[AdRock]

Originally Posted By: ccap41
Originally Posted By: AdRock
If you see a dealership or oil change place with an oil gun and hose hooked to a tank out back then every vehicle that doesnt buy a synthetic oil change is getting whatever grade is in the tank regardless of whats called for.

I worked at a Mopar dealer as a tech and the bulk oil in the oil gun lines was 10w30. Thats what went in every vehicle unless specified otherwise on the ticket. Any other grade had to be specified on the ticket because we needed to get it from parts, and had to show them the ticket to get it.


I worked at a Walmart TLE and we didn't do shady things like this. We had bulk cases(20gallon boxes with a dispenser on the bottom) for oil that wasn't conventional. If we wrote something up for oil that we ran out of bulk and forgot we went and got the right stuff or talked to the customer. Just because there is a bulk gun SHOULDN'T mean you jus put it in everything.


I definitely didnt agree with the process, however, I had to bite my tongue until something better came up. The public utilities dont seem to accept moral conscience as a valid reason for not being able to pay the bills.

 

[Eddie]

What doesn't the law go after shops proven to be cheats? Ed

 

[ccap41]

Originally Posted By: AdRock
Originally Posted By: ccap41
Originally Posted By: AdRock
If you see a dealership or oil change place with an oil gun and hose hooked to a tank out back then every vehicle that doesnt buy a synthetic oil change is getting whatever grade is in the tank regardless of whats called for.

I worked at a Mopar dealer as a tech and the bulk oil in the oil gun lines was 10w30. Thats what went in every vehicle unless specified otherwise on the ticket. Any other grade had to be specified on the ticket because we needed to get it from parts, and had to show them the ticket to get it.


I worked at a Walmart TLE and we didn't do shady things like this. We had bulk cases(20gallon boxes with a dispenser on the bottom) for oil that wasn't conventional. If we wrote something up for oil that we ran out of bulk and forgot we went and got the right stuff or talked to the customer. Just because there is a bulk gun SHOULDN'T mean you jus put it in everything.


I definitely didnt agree with the process, however, I had to bite my tongue until something better came up. The public utilities dont seem to accept moral conscience as a valid reason for not being able to pay the bills.



Yeah, I understand.. It sucks the first time you see that as the brand new guy you can't basically talk back and tell everybody they are wrong.

 

[4wheeldog]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
What doesn't the law go after shops proven to be cheats? Ed


It is more of a case of civil fraud, not criminal. We just see it as "Criminal" because we take oil changes a bit more seriously, than the general public.

 

[Nickdfresh]

Originally Posted By: 4wheeldog
Originally Posted By: Eddie
What doesn't the law go after shops proven to be cheats? Ed


It is more of a case of civil fraud, not criminal. We just see it as "Criminal" because we take oil changes a bit more seriously, than the general public.


Oh that depends. The owner of a local quickie oil change chain called Mr. Oil Change (that has long since folded) did in fact face both criminal and civil penalties for false advertising for leaving his "Castrol" signs up after switching to a local cheapie refiner that may or may not have met the API certs...