Confirming your worst suspicions about J-Lube

Oblivion, you flatter me far more than I deserve. I learn from…and am often corrected by… the other members of this forum regularly, yourself included.

The problem too is that it’s not just fast oil change places. The dealer I occasionally take my car to is friendly, reasonably-priced, and of course provides a few services that are hard to obtain elsewhere–like firmware updates for my car. But I have to watch them. So far they’ve put unidirectional tires on wrong, and given me an oil change I didn’t ask for, in the process getting rid of my synthetic oil that I’d just changed a couple hundred miles prior (I made them redo it with synthetic) When it came time to change the oil again (which I did myself), I found that they had apparently tightened my drain plug with an air ratchet and scuffed up the corners of the bolt head too. I could not remove it and ended up using a huge pair of vise grips to get it out, and then had to replace it. I’m sure they didn’t have their best mechanic doing oil changes and putting wheels back on, but some intern or uncertified tech.

So I suppose my point is, once you find a competent, honest shop, give them your business–they could use it more than some big chain. And you’ll have the peace of mind that the job was done right, even if it costs you a little more than a quickie place and takes a little longer.