Hello,
My question is, the speedy lube guy said it was ok to use regular oil instead of synthetic once my car reaches ten years. He also said I can use regular gas instead of super gas once it reaches ten years. Is this true?
I drive a 2002 four door S40 Volvo sedan that is over 87000 miles.
You can follow his advice, but like nearly all employees at any quick lube place, they know absolutely nothing about cars. If the manufacturer thought it was OK to do it that way, it would be listed in the owner's manual. Nothing changes in the car that would make either of those suggestions true.
Keep away from the quick change places. We hear far too many horror stories about them. Some may be fine, but many pay the help little, demand fast changes and that results in a high percentage of errors. Too many live by selling you something you don't need at inflated prices.
Find a good local mechanic and stick with them for your needs.
Don't go to the quick lube places, even for directions.What does your car’s owner’s manual say?
This is a perfect example of why you should never to go to a speedy lube business. The employees know absolutely nothing about anything. Yet they speak as though they do. I call it stubborn ignorance.
Tonight, when you get home, take the owner?s manual out of the glove compartment and read it from cover to cover. This will give you an edge the next time.
First off if your owners manual says to use high-octane then NOT doing so could seriously damage your car. So if you don’t plan on keeping your car volvo past 10 years go ahead.
Second…If your owners manual says to use synthetic then I would NOT switch to regular…unless you want to destroy your engine. If the manual doesn’t say you MUST use synthetic then there is no reason you can’t switch when ever you want to.
Third…TAKING ADVICE FROM THE QUICK CHANGE OIL GUY??? These are the guys who dropped out of high-school and have a GED…Actually the manager has a GED…the guys doing the oil change are still working on the GED. Their automotive knowledge is limited to unscrewing the drain plug/adding oil/and changing the filter. Not much beyond that.
I would agree with the above observations. Many engines have been ruined by these guys.
There are a few cars that call for synthetic oil from day one, but I doubt your Volvo is one of them. Check your ownwer’s manual as the previous poster said.
Switching back from synthetic to regular is no big problem, if the car could use regular as per the manual. What the lube guy was probably trying to tell you was that if you were planning to selll a 10 year old car soon, why waste money on expensive synthetic, which is designed to make the engine last longer.
getting advise from from a jiffy lube guy is like going to a grocery store butcher for brain surgery.
The “speedy lube” guy has no clue. Keep using the synthetic. Your car will appreciate it! If the manual says you can use conventional oil, you can, but synthetic is a better oil. Re. gasoline: If anything, your car will need the higher octane gas more as it ages and carbon builds up in the cylinders.
The others threw out some wild accusations concerning quick lube employees but didn’t explain anything. This is where a lot of auto techs get their first job, so they don’t know much. Did you know a lot about your chosen field when you first started out?
There are a lot more of these types of independently formed crackpot theories where that one came from. If these “professors” had an apple fall on their heads, they wouldn’t have all come up with the theory of gravity. Some would have had brain damage or would have sued the owner of the tree.
If these socalled auto techs. were any good at what they do,they would be working at auto dealers,or independent shops.
I don’t want some one learning how to service a vehicle using my car as a test bed.
As has been said, the quality of advice that you get at quick lube places varies almost as widely as the advice that you can expect from the Internet. 
My nephew started at a quick lube place and then moved to a car dealership to further his education. Remeber, they still have to start somewhere. Then they have to learn enough to be valuable to a car dealer or indy, and be able to show it. Then there have to be jobs available.
If you don’t want people learning on your car, you are probably out of luck. Everyone can learn more; no one knows everything.
These accusations are not so wild. They are based on personal experience, personal relationships with friends who have managed quick lube places, stories on the evening news about cars they have ruined, and stories by folks here who have had their engines damaged by sloppy work at quick lube businesses.
Quick lube places are not just where auto techs get their first jobs, it is also where a lot of people land in their careers. Perhaps it is a bad idea to hire employees who don’t know much? How about training them so they know what they are doing BEFORE they ruin somebody’s engine?
I didn’t know a lot when I first started out, but I did receive training and testing before I was unleashed on customers. What an idea!