One More Reason To Not Change Your Own Oil

[ChrisD46]

Try taking your own oil & oil filter into Firestone and see how they respond ) As long as I'm physically capable to do my own oil changes , I like knowing exactly what was put into my vehicle and that the entire process was done properly .

 

[JDD]

If you can withstand the upsell tactics for other services, these kind of service specials are a super deal. $15 OC's are a loss leader for the shop to get you in. But I have used the shops from time to time on good deals like Critic found. I just watch to see that they are doing what they advertise. About once a year, I take my Yukon to the quickie lube to get the 10 or so zerks greased. They do it for free when I go in for an emission and inspection (which I get on their periodic discounts).

 

[FowVay]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
The techs get paid 0.3 to change the oil regardless of which coupon you use, AFAIK. Not sure about the tire rotation though.


Wow, so someone is paid for 18 minutes of work to change oil. That's pitiful at best. Lifting vehicle, situating drain pan apparatus, removal of belly pan and upper engine cover, removal of drain plug, removal of filter, thorough time allowed for drainage, reinstallation of a new drain plug washer and drain plug, setting torque wrench to correct torque specification AFTER getting this information from technical publication such as Alldata, cleaning area around filter (or filter housing if equipped with a cartridge filter), replacing o-rings on filter cap if equipped with a cartridge filter, lowering vehicle and refilling with proper amount of oil, starting engine and checking for leaks, lifting vehicle to reinstall belly pan while ensuring that ALL fasteners are installed, lowering vehicle once again and checking oil level, reinstalling upper engine cover, resetting service interval reminder in computer, and finally the vehicle is done assuming no leaks were noticed.

That's a heck of a lot of work to do for 18 minutes of pay and I'm certain that this quicky reply overlooked something obvious such as having the proper filter or even having the correctly specified lubricant for the particular vehicle. You can forget any other component inspections in that length of time.

I'll continue to set a saturday afternoon aside to do my own vehicle maintenance. This way I KNOW what has been done has been done properly by the book.

 

[opus1]

As I stated somewhere else on the board, I get more satisfaction out of doing an oil change on a Saturday afternoon than I do from a whole week at work. You can't put a price on that sort of "therapy".

My Hyundai dealer has me signed up for $19.95 "lifetime" oil changes and every 5th one is free, so that works out to about the same price -- and I'm getting a Hyundai OEM filter for that price. When it's convenient, I'll do my own, but will stick with the dealer if I feel I can't wait for a change and can't get to it myself.

 

[SLCraig]

Originally Posted By: The Critic

But I don't have to get under the car. I'd much rather stand outside the service bay and watch them like a hawk (and chat with the tech).


You are not a true BITOGer... No one is changing my oil but me

 

[demarpaint]

I have $8 oil changes for life for my 08 Jeep. It was 3 years old December. It hasn't been back to the dealer and I have no intentions to bring it back to the dealer until it is 4.5 years old for the so called inspection [upsell opportunity for the dealer to sell service] for the LT powertrain warranty. That should be very interesting.

 

[KrisZ]

Unless you "watch them as a hawk" there are plenty of things they can screw up or try to up sell. Cheap price, cheap service, simple.

If I have to watch their every move and then double check all the work, I'd rather do it myself and save the head ache.

Also, I just don't understand the cheap oil change mentality, why is it that people refuse to pay a fair price for an oil change, yet have no problems paying through the nose if the place up sells services to them?

I know that Critic will never fall for their tactics, but the average clueless soccer mom or dad will.

So what gives?

 

[440Magnum]

Yay. I can pay $15 bucks to have some overworked, underpaid, always pressured to hurry guy forget to drain the old oil before adding new, put ATF in the crankcase, PS fluid in the brake reservoir, washer fluid in the radiator, put a used oil filter back on, strip oil drain plug threads....

No thanks. I don't mind washing a little oil out from under my fingernails once or twice a year.

 

[lexus114]

thanks for posting. unbelievably low price though.

 

[daves87rs]

Good if you need it.

 

[Virtuoso]

That's a great price for a service change! Last time I had it done for me, it was like $35 for a dino OC after all was said and done (this was in Michigan, two years ago).

 

[webfors]

Definitely a great price for an OC. But I agree with others, I like the convenience of doing it myself in 20 minutes, probably the time it takes to drive to the garage. AND, I don't have someone pressure selling me into anything and it's done right each and every time

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: ToyotaNSaturn
don't count on anything but an oil filter that lacks an ADBV. After talking with a guy who managed a local Goodyear repair shop, cheap is king. They would buy the cheapest sub $1.00 filters they could find by the pallet.

Bring your own filter for more peace of mind.

Ah come on, you've been around too long to say something like that.

Firestone uses generic Champion Labs or Purolator filters-- I've seen them before (used) and they looked similar to the Proline filters you get from Pep Boys.

I'd try to bring your own filter, but the newest management at the local Firestone does not want any customer-supplied parts.

 

[dsmdriver2588]

My stepdad has been a mechanic for over 31 years and he is ASE certified. He once worked at a Firestone, but only for three months. Over there, all of his coworkers would purposely scare women who came into the shop alone into getting all kinds of services done that they didn't need, like transmission fluids changes and radiator flushes, etc. Now, I know that pretty much every mechanic does this (due to flat rate pay), but, these guys would put the car up on the lift for a couple of hours and NOT do any of the services that they were charged! My stepdad quickly found another place to work at after that.

Also, he worked at another place called All Tune and Lube. They offered Amsoil oil changes for $59.95. The service manager memorized the people who would come and get these AMsoil changes every 3,000 miles. So, whenever these people came in and my stepdad would be the one performing the oil change, he'd tell my stepdad to put in the conventional oil! Again, my stepdad quickly left this job and is now working in a more honest place.

But, after all these stories he has told me over the years, I will Never Ever trust anybody with my car and prefer to do the work myself.

 

[raytseng]

Around me, whenever any shop has a deals like this, the main gripe is it does not include the 4hours you have to leave your car there.

At Jiffy lube or other quickie places, what you are paying the most for is convenience and speed.

 

[NightRiderQ45]

great price, but I'll pass and do this work myself. don't have to worry about some idiot over-tightening the drain bolt.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: NightRiderQ45
great price, but I'll pass and do this work myself. don't have to worry about some idiot over-tightening the drain bolt.



or the filter. that sucks bad when that happens.

 

[JeremyInMT]

Originally Posted By: NightRiderQ45
great price, but I'll pass and do this work myself. don't have to worry about some idiot over-tightening the drain bolt.


Sometimes that idiot is me when I change my oil! hehe

 

[jim302]

$15 is a good deal for an oil change, but they are doing this just to get you in the door. They are hoping to sell you something else like a coolant or transmission flush. If they don't try to sell something like that, they are hoping that you will remember the good deal and come back for something else like tires.

As stated earlier, it is a loss leader. It is a marketing tactic that works. The inevitable service upsells may not work on anyone in this forum since we all know what our cars need and when, but it will work on a lot of people. Even the most knowledgeable customers will remember a good deal and consider returning in the future for other services that are more profitable for the shop (and some will assume they are getting a good deal on everything, so they won't comparison shop).

I'm not going to say anything bad about Firestone service centers. I have used them for things that I either couldn't do myself or didn't have time to deal with. I had good experiences. Your experiences will vary depending on how well your location is managed.

I'll stick with changing my own oil when possible. I don't change my own oil to save money; I do it myself because I enjoy it and know it is done right with the oil and filter that I want to use, not the one that was cheapest in bulk a week ago.

 

[Kuato]

Originally Posted By: The Critic
Originally Posted By: Kuato
At that price they're probably not paying the technician enough to do a good job....I'd change the title to read, "One more reason to change your own oil"....!!

The techs get paid 0.3 to change the oil regardless of which coupon you use, AFAIK. Not sure about the tire rotation though.


With that kind of pressure to hurry up, my confidence in their doing it correctly would be shot. Plus, it only takes 15 minutes to change my own and I've done both our vehicles in under 25; ....