I knew a guy who went to the local Jiffy Lube I believe it was. It’s been awhile, so I forget the whole story.
He asked for them to grease up his shocks/springs on his Avalanche. He paid them and left. Checked his truck(can’t remember if he checked before or after he left their lot) and found that they didn’t even put any grease on them. Went back and had them do it again. He checked again and there was a huge glob of grease just sitting there on one of his springs. He grabbed an envelope and put the excess grease in it and took it back to them and complained again.
The scary thing is the general public thinks these guys are mechanics.
“Greasing the shocks and springs”
???
How does putting grease on coil springs or on the outside of shock absorbers actually lubricate anything? Was it the bushings that he wanted to have lubricated?
I have stories of my own. I stopped at one of these places for a state inspection once. Yeah, I know, I should know better…but I figured I’d try it anyway.
With each car that drive into the line they placed and orange cone behind it so it couldn’t drive off.
Anyway, as I was sitting in line watching them do inspections I observed things like checking for oil leaks and checking the fanbelts. I saw them check the trunk light on a sedan to see if it was working. It was a big Caddy, so perhaps they thought someone might someday have to ride in the trunk. When I saw them reject a car because there was oil on the engine, I backed over their orange cone and took off.
Maybe that was it. It’s been while since he told me that story and I’ve forgotten a few details. Haven’t seen the guy for a year or so either. Think the last time I seen him was shortly after I got rid of the Chevelle last year.
All I really remember him saying was he had almost a handful of grease that he put into an envelope and took back to them.
well…one place I went to, the oil change and tire rotation “expert” thought rotating the tires meant spinning them…so be careful out there.
I had to laugh when I saw this topic, it reminded me of something that happend to me several years ago…I had an older GMC Sonoma pick up that I took to a chain that also offered a free car wash with an oil change. As I had been out on a muddy road I thought it couldn’t hurt. After the oil was changed (they also tried to tell me I needed a transmission flush (it was a 5 speed manual))which I politely declined they sent it through the car wash where they tore off the drivers side mirror, then when they were wiping down the interior they wiped the steering colum and broke off the emergency flasher switch causing the e-lights to be on constantly. I brought these problems to the attention of the manager who assured me that they would take care of all the problems.
To make a long story short, the mirror was $120.00 wholesale and the emergency blinker switch was $900.00 (it also controlled the air bags, lane change blinkers, cruise control and winshield wiper system) so the $35.00 oil change was one of the most expensive projects I ever heard of…at least I wasn’t paying for it.
So it’s clear that I should stay clear of “Iffy Lube” and “P Boys” for my oil changes. Riddle me this, CarTalkers, is there a best quick lube place that I can go to?
There are probably some local examples of quick lube places that are “safe”, relatively speaking, but unless you know for sure that a local quick lube place has a well-earned reputation, it is better to avoid these places.
Most people in this forum would recommend an independent mechanic’s shop, and that is a good idea. An alternate idea is to use the dealership, particularly if they charge competitive prices, as mine does.
For the same price that I would be charged at a quick lube place or an independent mechanic, I get an OEM oil filter, and the person doing the oil change is experienced in my particular make of vehicle, rather than having to deal with a myriad of makes and models all day long. Trust me–familiarity with a specific make and model will drastically reduce the possibility of a mistake when changing fluids and filters.
And, by making an appointment ahead of time, I can bring my car in at a time that is convenient to me, and get it back within 20 minutes, just like a quicky lube place, but without the attempts to “upsell” me on a better oil filter, or various flushes that are not needed.
Make some calls to compare prices, and if you are lucky, you will find that the local dealership charges the same price–or, more likely, less–as compared to the quicky lube places that employ only teenagers with little or no automotive experience or training. If the dealership in your area is not price competitive, then look for a well-reputed independent in your area.
I used to get my oil changed done at a dealership when I lived in a condo. It only cost $25 and they always did a good job. Now that I live in a house, I do my own oil changes. For maintenance I don’t do at home, I have found a trustworthy local Goodyear shop. Some people have had negative experiences with Goodyear, and you can count me among them. However, I have found those negative experiences were at privately owned Goodyear franchises. My trusted mechanic works at a company owned store. Tire retailers who do more than just sell tires can be a good place to go, as can other national chains, like RPM Automotive, although they tend to be more expensive. Go to a few independent shops and national chains in your area and see if you like them and find them trustworthy.
my local honda dealership charges $25 for oil change. I get coupons in the mail for the local Jiffy lube for $10 off, and their price is $29.99 WITH COUPON.
In 1994 I had a job in a nursing home while going to high school. I worked with a man with special needs who bought a new 94 Chevy Cavalier. He took it to Iffy Lube for its first oil change.
He was told if he didn’t change ALL of the fluids (transmission, brake, antifreeze etc.) and filters, his car would break down.
Thankfully our boss found out about this and got all of his money back for him.
I thought that too, when I was 10 years old
Those are the kind of people they pray upon…Great way to do business…
My story from several years ago.
Went to National Tire and Battery for a tire rotation and alignment (they were offering a special). The tech came out about 20 minutes later saying they couldn’t do the alignment because I the front ball-joints were bad (which I knew for a fact wasn’t true). I said…show me…He mumbles something about how ball joints aren’t suppose to have any play in them…Which I told him…yes…the spec on this truck calls for about .5" vertical play and 0" lateral play…He then said that it was the alignment machine that told him the ball joints were bad…Again I said show me…He couldn’t…I said give me my keys I’m taking my truck elsewhere. Now the manager gets involved…He wanted to know why I wouldn’t let them replace the ball-joints (at a cost of $800)…I said because I know they aren’t bad…“give me my keys”. I finally got my keys…went to a trusted alignment shop…This all happened when I had about 40k miles on my truck…I sold that truck with over 300k miles on it with the original ball joints which were still fine when I sold it.
This other one was with a local Nissan Dealer (Team Nissan in Manchester NH). I had a exhaust leak. Took it to a mechanic I trust…and he said it’s the gasket between the manifold and the pipe. Said it’s a dealer item only. Said he could get one from the dealer and install it in a couple days. I had the day off and didn’t feel like taking more time off just for a simple gasket…So I drove over to the dealer to see if they could fit me in and if they had the part…I checked with parts department and they had the part. So I checked with the service dept and they said the could fit me in within the hour…I said great…
They drove my truck in the bay in 20 minutes…then 20 minutes later the service writer came out and handed me an estimate of $2500. There was a list of items that included new exhaust manifolds, timing belt, drive belts, radiator hoses, thermostat…and new radiator. I asked how they determined the timing belt needed changing…Their response was that they had no record of my truck and it had 110k miles on it (past the mileage for a timing belt). I took my keys and went back to my mechanic who ordered the part and scheduled me for the following monday.
The timing belt I had just spent the previous Sunday afternoon replacing…along with the drive belts, radiator hoses and thermostat. I knew the exhaust manifolds were fine…just the gasket needed replacing…When I bought my 98 Pathfinder I drove 20 miles past this dealer to Concord NH and bought it there…I’ll NEVER do business with those crooks.
one could also argue that they might have been trying to be thorough in telling you those parts needed replaced. Coulda been worse, they coulda done just that one job, then 5 miles away your belt snaps, though you said you changed all those, but they didn’t know that. How many stories like that do we have on this board?
one could also argue that they might have been trying to be thorough in telling you those parts needed replaced.
Re-Read what I wrote…MOST of the parts they were trying to sell me were replaced just DAYS before I took it into them.
One thing I forgot to mention…Their lead mechanic also said that I needed new cam seals…I asked how he determined that…Mechanic - “Oil on the lower radiator hose. Only way oil can get there is if the cam seal is leaking.” If you want me to explain to you how BOGUS a response that is…and how oil on the lower radiator hose could NOT be coming from a cam seal…let me know.
Some years ago, I had a female colleague take her car to a well known chain muffler shop for a muffler replacement. She just happened to observe a mechanic squirting oil on the shock absorbers. Sure enough, the technician advised her that her shock absorbers were bad. “If they are bad, then why did you go through the trouble of oiling them?” she asked. The technician didn’t say another word.
OK, y’all have coinvinced me that the chain quickie places aren’t a good idea. But I’m a single gal, too old to have a boyfriend looking out for me, Dad’s gone now, etc. I know not to go to my dealer because they rip me off, and now I know not to go to the National Chain places. So hwere do I go? I haven’t lived in my current town but a couple of years, how can I (having no knowledge or experience) find out whether the “word of mouth” recommendations about local mechanics that I’m getting are real/valid? So far, two people I’ve asked have mentioned the same place twice yet…