Last few times I stopped for oil change at the local Jiffy Lube they said i need the oil ‘upgrade’, $15 extra, because my 2002 corolla has high mileage. The car runs smooth, no problems ever, gets 32 city m/g, do i really need to upgrade the oil?
No. You really need to stop going to any “quick change” lube shop. They don’t have a good reputation in the automotive world because they underfill, overfill and sometimes don’t fill at all. Find a good mechanic that does oil changes and stick with them. You could also learn to do it yourself and save money.
Last few times I stopped for oil change at the local Jiffy Lube ?.. That is far enough. Stop going to any of those quick lube places. The tend to try to sell unneeded, and sometimes bad for your car, services. They also have a bad reputation for not doing even a simple job like an oil change right.
My advice is to find a local independent mechanic. Ask some friends, neighbors etc.
Don’t even go there for directions
BTW you did well, you were wise to question their sales pitch. Your owner’s manual has a list of all the stuff you need to do. Be very weary of anyone who wants to do more or different.
Nope.
Thanks. Good idea. I’ll definitely try to do the next oil change myself.
Yes, that seems to be the consensus - the quick lube places are not good, although the one here in south Austin, Texas seems cleaner and possibly better than most. Anyway I resolved to do the next oil change myself. Thanks for your reply.
Thx.
Agree; I’ve only run into one quick lube place that I can really trust. The owner is really fastidious, and trains his staff well.
I use them in the winter when I don’t want to crawl under my messy car to do the job myself.
I do agree with other’s low opinion, and have had my car damaged by them, as well as filter not turned tight, causing a fire, and had a relative see his engine ruined because the oil was not put in.
You didn’t mention how many miles the car has. That might affect the type of oil you need.
On the other hand, I wouldn’t let anyone at Jiffy Lube make that determination for you. They, along with the parts installers at Pep Boys, are the biggest scumbags in the automotive industry, and that covers a lot of scumbags.
Find a good local mechanic, or better yet, learn to change your own oil. I still go to Jiffy Lube every 5000 miles - to make them dispose of my used oil. It reminds me of the 20 bucks I save every time I do it myself.
“High Mileage” oil is just a marketing tactic. All of them are certified by the American Petroleum Institute.
Quote:
The attraction of the high-mileage segment is about more than just volume. With quarts of high-mileage oils typically priced a dollar or more higher than conventional oils, it also offers suppliers a chance to improve margins.
?High-mileage oils give people a mid-tier option between your basic motor oil and synthetics,? said Thomas F. Glenn, president of market research and consulting firm Petroleum Trends International Inc. ?That appeals to a large group of customers who say, ?I may not understand the ILSAC starburst, and I don?t understand API-SL, but I understand price; I don?t want to buy the product that is the very cheapest because I think there is usually some relationship between cost and quality, but I don?t want to spend the money for the most expensive.?
?Bridging that gap between conventional oils and synthetics has been very important for the market because it gives companies a chance to bump up the price without having to make that huge leap that you have for synthetics.?
For a modern car, any nationally recognized oil brand that meets the requirements given in the vehicle’s Owner’s Manual will work fine. I’ve never seen an engine problem that didn’t relate to either the wrong grade of oil, longer oil change interval than specified, or wrong oil level (generally low, but overfull is potentially damaging too).
No. You should save your money and buy a quart of oil and keep it in the car or your garage. Your older car might burn, or leak, a bit more oil than a newer car. Check your oil level every couple of weeks and add some of your “top off oil” if needed.
I would stay away from any “high mileage” oil that tends to swell rubber gaskets and soften other (cork?) gaskets. I read on this forum once that some of these products soften the gaskets to a point where they actually deteriorate. Makes sense . . . if you introduce a product into your engine which will soften and swell the gaskets and seals to curb oil use . . . that this will promote deterioration of those gaskets. Why not just change your oil on schedule and check it more often, adding when needed? Just my two cents. Rocketman
I use a local Jiffy Lube for my oil changes. This particular one is a good shop, though others I’ve tried are not. Like any auto service shop, it is up to the owner to determine how it is run. You will know the job is done right if you do it yourself, and done to your complete satisfaction.
Don’t go to oil change only shops like the one you mentioned. It’s impossible for them to make money just on oil change. They can’t even pay rent on the place, if all the customers only got oil change. That’s why they try to get you to do all kinds of stuff to spend more money. They offer unnecessary services at extremely high cost, and they hire minimum wage people to save cost.
Seek an independent garage that charges reasonable amount of money for oil change.
They are all trying to sell things that nobody needs these days. I went to get a state inspection and a synthetic oil change with an upgraded Fram filter and they pulled that oil cleaning trick out of the hat. I had better not need extras with synthetic oil or I’ll be forced to get a smaller, more sensible vehicle when my current engine quits. I don’t look forward to better fuel economy, more comfortable seats, etc.
Oh, I forgot; maybe the extras will ruin the engine and the shop can help pay for my newer truck. I don’t trust funny products that polarize fuel either. The stupid fuel molecules would try to fit through the injectors sideways and really clog things up.