Valvoline Instant Oil Change Pricing???!!!

[hattaresguy]

Originally Posted By: Nickdfresh
I used to work for them in the 90's as well after they bought out the shop I worked for. I too was shocked by the prices when I thought of just having them do a winter change with MaxLife. I just waited for a decent day and did it myself.

Many of the shops have shuttered or sold out to local shops here and they've cut their hours to basically 9-5 M-Sat. They made us work on Sundays! I think dealerships have become much more competitive in the last 15 years or so and has hit the quick lube market quite a bit...


Dealers have to be killing quick lube places. Their prices are typically better and the oil they use is better as well, plus you get that nice OE filter.

Our local Ford dealer seems to be getting into the tire business, there prices are hard to beat.

Its a good business model, if people keep coming back for regular service when the time comes to buy a new car they will probably buy it from that dealer.

 

[raytseng]

The thing is not to forget the "Quick" or "instant". That is the selling point.

Even dealers who advertise "express" service usually only promise done within an Hour.


The quick/instant still have a place in the market as long as they can keep their times under 20minutes.

 

[cptbarkey]

Originally Posted By: stchman


$33 more for synthetic oil vs. convention oil, absolutely ABSURD.


If someone agrees to the price, who's fault is it again?

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: stchman

Really, I have been changing the oil for YEARS on my own vehicles and never stripped out a drain plug.


My local Subie dealer was nice enough to "deform" my drain plug and crush washer enough to cause a huge mess in my garage...I guess it wasn't completely stripped since it didn't totally fall out. This is why I started changing my own!

 

[Branson304]

The 2012 F-250 in my description there is my dad's & that's exactly why he won't have the Pennzoil place he uses put full synthetic in his truck. They overcharge out & still recommend the same interval. But he won't listen to what I have to say. I took the Taurus there on the last change, 6 quarts & filter of Pennzoil synthetic blend was about $65. It's a ridiculous cost for run of the mill oil. A local tire place charged $75 for a synthetic oil change of 4.5 quarts on my Fiesta. Had I known they would charge that much I wouldn't have done it but the car needed it & it was there for new tires & inspection anyway. You're all correct, synthetic has a poor reputation to the general uneducated populace because they overcharge for it & still recommend a 3,000-5,000 mile OCI. I've already learned my lesson, all oil changes for me from here on out will be done by me for half the cost.

 

[Merkava_4]

Originally Posted By: stchman
$33 more for synthetic oil vs. convention oil, absolutely ABSURD.


That's why with all the money I'm saving by changing the oil myself, I can afford to change the oil 3 times more often than those normal people do at quick lubes.

 

[CHARLIEBRONSON21]

Some people are just lazy. Some don't know how, others don't have time to do it themselves or just go for the whole package thing. My dad is a doctor but still will climb under his car on a Saturday to change the oil.

 

[Nate1979]

Anyone here who thinks these charges are absurd are welcome to open their own shop, charge DIY type prices, and force competition on the market. Good luck with that.

 

[JustinH]

My dad takes his beater cars to Valvoline Instant oil change and has been doing so for years.

They give him coupons and he brings the car back over and over again.

Here is the thing, they offer free top offs. His cars are all junk, and burn everything. He takes it by once a month and lets them top off all the fluids in his beater vehicles.

His latest beater is a 2001 Caravan with 240k miles on it, and rust up to the door handles.

 

[raytseng]

Originally Posted By: CHARLIEBRONSON21
Some people are just lazy. Some don't know how, others don't have time to do it themselves or just go for the whole package thing. My dad is a doctor but still will climb under his car on a Saturday to change the oil.


Well, there's also the guy who lives in an apartment without a garage or driveway and tools to do it...

 

[Kruse]

Several years ago, the foreman at the local Ford dealer told us that their normal oil change pricing, using a Motorcraft filter and Motorcraft oil, was about a third cheaper than the local Valvoline quickie-change shop, who is using a Valvoline filter (probably Purolator) and generic oil.
Both places with get your car past 200K miles, but it's an illusion that the quickie-lube is doing cheaper.

 

[Ursatdx]

.50/quart for bulk.
Please. I pay $8-10 per gallon for my Sopus bulk oils.
Try $30/Gal for certain Euro formula synthetics in Qt containers.
I use a torque wrench on each drain plug.
Hard to believe some may do a good job?
I learn a lot about lubricants here and more about people.


Originally Posted By: raytseng
yea, the right math to do is the MSRP for quarts which is $7 to $9/qt
versus about .50/quart" for the bulk.

When i go to an oil change place and bring my own oil, they only give me a -$3 off for 6qts of my own oil. That is how much they value the bulk if you want to analyze the pricing.
So you're basically paying mostly for the service and convenience not the materials.



Otherwise, you can make the same complaints. Restaurant pricing is whack why does a softdrink cost $2. it costs 35cents/can at costco. Beef patty, bun lettuce etc= $1 worth of materials why is it $7.

 

[Virtus_Probi]

Originally Posted By: raytseng

Well, there's also the guy who lives in an apartment without a garage or driveway and tools to do it...


Exactly...I don't think I'd ever have done my own oil in an apartment, not that plenty of neighbors didn't do that over the years. Storing the oil, ramps/jacks, other equipment, not appealing in a small space with no utility room. There was one guy at the condo complex we lived in while building our present house, always out there under his car in the parking lot making a huge racket and leaving immense oil slicks...we hated that guy! Of course, he would also blast his terrible music the whole time he was messing with his junker...
Even worse, I used to work in a TI building in TX that had a parking garage with offset floors. People who had nothing to do with TI would show up on the weekends and work on their cars from 1/2 a level down (sort of a free car lift), making immense messes and even leaving their containers and old oil sitting there!!! I once caught a whole crew of Deliverance types working on some giant old pickup when I went in on a Sunday, called TI security and they couldn't even bother to send somebody over from the main site to shoo them away.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: turtlevette
The conventional is in 55 gal drums and probably cost about 75 cents a quart.


You really think that? Well you would be wrong. Bulk oil isn't any cheaper than you or I can buy oil at Wal-Mart for.

Bulk oil is delivered by an oil company, that has to deliver it, pay it's employees, insurance, and fuel cost. You know, basic business expenses.

My father in law ran an oil change quick lube shop and his run of the mill, non name brand conventional SN bulk oils were more expensive than Wal-Mart SuperTech oils but less expensive than name brand oils purchased at Wal-Mart.

 

[CKN]

Originally Posted By: bubbatime
Originally Posted By: turtlevette
The conventional is in 55 gal drums and probably cost about 75 cents a quart.


You really think that? Well you would be wrong. Bulk oil isn't any cheaper than you or I can buy oil at Wal-Mart for.

Bulk oil is delivered by an oil company, that has to deliver it, pay it's employees, insurance, and fuel cost. You know, basic business expenses.

My father in law ran an oil change quick lube shop and his run of the mill, non name brand conventional SN bulk oils were more expensive than Wal-Mart SuperTech oils but less expensive than name brand oils purchased at Wal-Mart.



There are several shops that I know of that buy SuperTech synthetic and conventional oil at Walmart because they can't buy bulk any cheaper.

 

[Shrubitup]

Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28


They must pay a living wage for someone



What compels anyone to pay unskilled labor a "living wage"? Are these humans just simply charity cases that deserve a wage that will allow them to live on the economy locally? Why not keep the wage low to hopefully encourage them to attain higher employment via training, certifications, or education?

 

[CKN]

This thread will really head South now......caution-thread closing ahead!

 

[Hootbro]

Originally Posted By: stchman
I used to work at Valvoline Instant Oil Change in the 90s when I was in college.

I recently went to their store and saw their prices.

Conventional Motor Oil $41.99
Synthetic Blend Motor Oil $56.99
Synthetic Motor Oil $74.99

$33 more for synthetic oil vs. convention oil, absolutely ABSURD.

Their oil change is for 5 quarts. Just to put it into perspective a 5 quart jug of Valvoline conventional oil is $14.97 at Walmart while a 5 quart jug of Valvoline SynPower is $22.97. My math says that is an $8 difference.

You know darn well they are using the same filter, so $25 extra is why?

People on here wonder WHY synthetic is a negative word to the general public.


Since you got it all figured, maybe you should open up a oil change business and try to make a run at it with cheaper prices?

Report back and let us know how it works out for you.

 

[AlienBug]

Originally Posted By: Kruse
Several years ago, the foreman at the local Ford dealer told us that their normal oil change pricing, using a Motorcraft filter and Motorcraft oil, was about a third cheaper than the local Valvoline quickie-change shop, who is using a Valvoline filter (probably Purolator) and generic oil.
Both places with get your car past 200K miles, but it's an illusion that the quickie-lube is doing cheaper.


Ford can afford to have oil changes as a loss-leader, a product priced artificially low to get customers in the door so that in the future when they need repairs, there is already a relationship with the dealer.

Also Ford can sell oil changes as an add-on, where they can boost their ticket by $40. If a car is already going to be in the shop for a day, tack on an oil change.

Valvoline has a different business model. They need to make money on oil changes, and the benefit to the customer is quick service. There are pros and cons to each but Ford and VIOC are not really direct competitors.

 

[pezzy669]

I have been able to get dealer conventional oil changes at Mazda and Fiat/Chrysler for cheaper than this quick lube non-sense (~$25 all in). Synthetic I can still get it cheaper at the Mazda or Fiat/Chrysler dealership, Volkswagen is a little bit more than Valvoline. While it is more of a pain to go to the dealership than just driving around the corner to the quick lube at least you know you have documented oil changes with factory 'trained' staff using approved products.

While I would love to be able to change my own oil I am one of the aforementioned apartment dwellers. The communities (mid-high end) I live in make it very clear that automotive work is NOT to occur on property. I do simple non-dirty things like changing cabin/air filters but I am not going to risk [censored] off the property manager to save a buck or two on a 1x annual oil change.