Oil change

good advice, think I will take pictures of car with date so I can have proof car was not scratched when I took it in.

 

good advice, think I will take pictures of car with date so I can have proof car was not scratched when I took it in.

 

first oil change at local Toyota dealer and, yep 4 Qrt of oil high on the dip stick ... even listed on the bill. the thing is the oil change is free. They get you on the tire rotation $37.00..
So tomorrow I'll call the number that they stick on the bill to call if I'm to totally satisfied.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ Sep 11 2007, 06:06 PM) [snapback]510848[/snapback]</div>

i was quoted 150 for oil change. i asked Wth do u do for that kind of cash. the girl behind the counter "oh u just want the oil changed" me "what else needs to be done" girl "you dont want your tires checked and the hoses inspected?" me "were is the next closest toyota dealer"

10 miles and 30 bucks later i had my oil changed.

 

So your not getting your new car serviced then?
You're happy with basic cheap oil in your car?
You're happy the tech doing the oil change has to work 2 jobs to keep his head above water?
Cool.
I can't buy 5 litres of acceptable oil for $30.00

 

Not sure what you guys are talking about, but mechanics make quite a bit of money. It's a hell of a lot more than minimum wage. I was told not too long ago that there was a mechanic in Texas, where most of our family lives, that makes well over $100,000 a year.

What kind of oil do you think you are getting for $30 to begin with? It sure isn't synthetic. BTW, if I remember correctly, I got 5 quarts of synthetic for either $30 or $40. Wish I could look it up online, but Walmart doesn't list motor oil on their website. I can't look that up online anywhere actually, wonder why?

I'll do all the basic maintenance myself. Rotating tires and changing the oil isn't that big a deal, cept my driveway isn't perfectly flat so I need to watch it. It's things like checking the transmission fluid, alignment, and such that I need a mechanic for. Can't do a lot of that stuff yourself.

 

100k?! yeah, there was that one guy over at the dealership that made over 100k, but he refused all jobs except timing belts and pissed off pretty much all his co-workers and service writers.

he's a selfish pig who turns away all diagnostic jobs and anything that might possibly take him the whole flat-rate time to actually do. all real work gets delegated to his unfortunate team members who are not doing so great and have a high turnover rate.

meanwhile, the average tech, especially an honest one, makes a far cry from 100k a year. get real.

 

I bring 3 bottles of Mobile 1 with me and tell them to use only my oil and NOT to top it off. I will do that at home. They've gotten it right every time. (I pull forward a little, pop the hood and check before I leave.) This is Kearny Mesa Toyota. Since they take direction very well, I only take my car to them and I leave detailed instructions as to exactly what I want.

They deduct the price of the oil from the regular price of an oil change since I supply my own.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(alg @ Sep 11 2007, 03:12 PM) [snapback]510853[/snapback]</div>

I've gotten free tire rotations from Goodyear dealers many times.

 

I change my own oil, using a Mobil 1 double oil filter. I tried using the dealer, but:

1. Charged $10 per quart for oil!
2. Overfilled the oil.
3. Did not know how to read the odometer.
4. One time claimed they changed the oil because "we didn't know if the oil had been changed or not". When in fact, they did not change the oil or the filter I had put on. They obviously don't have clue regarding the maintenance reminder on the dashboard.
5. I purchase Mobil 1 oil and Mobil 1 double filters at a discount (Costco).

 

OK i have so much to say about mechanics as my husband is a FABULOUS mechanic as he works on Ferrari and Maseratis at the dealer that is rated #1 in North America and #2 in the world which is great!

Anyway, if you don't think that the Toyota dealer is putting the right oil in, bring your own that way you ensure that they put the right oil in it.

Second, NEVEr EVER use penzoil sorry if I butchered it but that stuff is bad news and the oil of choice by Jiffy Lube, ez lube and tire stores. My husband has seen many cars with a ton of bills for undoing what Penzoil did to the car.

Third, think about it this way, when you take your car to toyota you are taking a risk that the guy that is doing your oil change is either a) a kid out of tech school or awaiting school for the mechanic training so he does what he can and is trying to work quickly B) the oil guy is underpaid and makes probably somewhere along the lines of minimum wage especially if he is at a tire store. c) if the toyota dealer screws up your car with their oil change, you have recourse through toyota because you serviced it at a toyota dealer and going to goodyear or a lube place doesnt stand behind that stuff like toyota would.

AS for any service, read your book where you get it stamped because it tells you the services you need done. My husband does my tire rotations and if i need alignment i go to the one his work uses for the ferraris. Don't let the service advisor try to strong arm you into getting more stuff done period. The guy is on comission and makes a cut of the upsale in most cases. I also get my book stamped for my other car if someone other than the dealer does the work in case of warranty questions as to whether i got the thing serviced if it takes a crap like my durango is right now. that is another issue in and of itself.


With that being said since i lost my train of thought, I am having it done at the dealer and if they screw my car up they are in trouble because i am married to a mechanic who knows the owner of the dealer i go to. Plus i got some gift certificates towards services when i got the car. User your best judgement and don't assume all mechanics are stupid. Most of the time the oil lube dude is learning the ropes himself which sucks unless its my husband's dealer because they all do oil changes. do your research on the dealer and if you wait for it instead of dropping it off you have a leg up because most dealers you can see what they are doing . I am nosey and i give the guy a look like if y ou screw up my car i can go from 0 to really mad in less than 2 seconds so dont mess my baby up Give the mechanics a break

Oh yea not all mechanics make a ton of money either. some dealers pay crap rates like flat rate being 15 bucks an hour and in california that sucks! or some do salary. My husband does well for himself and is lucky but when he thought it was not great and looked and talked to other people at dealers we found he is lucky because the other places dont pay well.