NOT An Ad: We Got An Oil Change For $19.95....

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
1

…at a car dealership!

We were going to go to one of those express places because D had a coupon for $8.00 off, so when we got there, we asked how much it would be minus the 8 bucks?

“$32.95”, came the answer, so we left. That would have been a total of $40.00 otherwise!

Then I happened to think that there’s a dealership which advertises an oil change for $19.95 and I thought we’d give it a try.

A car dealership, right? One of those places which charges you out the ass for parts and labor which your car may not even need.

We expected that they’d tell us we’d need an air cleaner at the very least and I was prepared to accept that, but here’s what happened:

  1. I called to see if we needed an appointment. “Naw, y’all just come own.”

  2. Drove into the service department, were met by a nice young guy who took some basic information and then invited us into a small waiting area, where we were offered free coffee, soft drinks and snacks. Free, okay?

  3. 35 minutes later, here comes this same young man, says, “Everything’s fine under the hood, and it’s $19.95.” Gave the bill to the cashier, we paid it and left. A bit befuddled, but happy.

It being a car dealership, in addition to additional parts and/or labor, I expected that we’d be taken to the showroom to listen to a sales pitch, but none of that happened.

Now, I admit to being ignorant (wouldn’t be here otherwise), but I’m not so ignorant that I don’t know this was a PR maneuver: If we’re in need of a new or used car, where will we think of first? Those nice folks at _______, of course!

But that’s not really the point. The point is, I could have paid $32.95, gotten it quicker and maybe done correctly, or I could have gone through the minor inconvenience of having to wait 35 minutes, drinking a diet drink and munching on some chips or donuts and being sure the job was done correctly. I’m glad we chose the latter, and yeah, if I can ever afford another car, I’ll think of them first.

$19.95 for the whole thing. NO extra charges and a very pleasant money-saving experience.

Quasi

2

There’s a Chevy dealership in Milwaukee that for the last several years was charging $1 for an oil change. My dad takes his vehicles there (they’ll do it on any model). Same experiences as you. No pressure, they don’t find 18 other things wrong, just do the oil change and charge a dollar. Yes, they do recommend things like cabin air filter, tire rotations etc. But there’s no pressure and the price is reasonable on the other things they do.

I just checked their website and they now charge $18.95. Still a good deal.

3

For the extra five bucks, I’ll stick with the oil change shop at work. They’re very conveniently at the entrance to the parking garage - just go left instead of right at the ramp. No worries about needing to be speedy and maybe miss something since I (and they) are in the building for the next several hours anyway. No snacks in the waiting room, but the cafeteria is not far away.

They do the usual top off the washer fluid, air up the tires and eyeball everything else, and last time, I had them do a transmission fluid change as what should be a light pink was looking more like dark molasses. :eek:

4

We’ve got two dealers in our small city/town that do it for $20. Fast and no pressure. There’s one other lube place with a good deal, $34.00 for all-synthetic (your choice of Penzoil, Mobil 1, or Castrol) that I use for the “good” car.

5

I went to Jiffy Lube a few months ago because my husband was leaving on a trip and asked me to get the oil changed. I had an $8 off coupon in hand.

I left and the total was over $70. With the coupon! There was a CarX next door with a sign that advertised oil changes for $14.95, but I thought it’d take too long with them. I told the lady who stole my money that I wouldn’t be back.

That Jiffy Lube has since gone out of business.

6

What the hell else did they do besides the oil change? They’ll always try to upsell you on air filter, cabin air filter, coolant system flush - you just have to say No to all of those.

7

The filters used for commercial oil changes are as el cheap as you can get. You can save money by changing your own with a high mileage filter and high mileage synthetic oil, you can get a good 10-12,000 miles between oil changes. You’ll still need to monitor oil level, of course.

I went to walmart, bought some heavy-duty plastic ramps designed to drive the front of the vehicle up on, and a catch pan. High end oil is about 25 bucks for a 5 qt jug and high mileage filter can be had for less than 10 dollars.

You’re thinkin’ “you’ve done it yourself and it still costs you 35dollars!”. But you can trust what oil has been put in your car, what filter is in it, and even when getting a good deal on commercial changes, you have to get your oil changed at least 3 times as often, esp with the crap filters they install. (The oil longevity is dependent on the filter) And you can have some satisfaction having done it yourself.

And to dispose of the used oil, you can either return it to one of the places that change oil (they are required to take it off your hands) or sneak into the neighbor’s yard in the middle of the night, pour it on their rose bushes.

8

I haven’t subjected either of my vehicles to the “J Team” in a while, but if she wanted synthetic oil, that could explain the cost alone. I seem to recall it being a good $30 extra.

Regarding the OP and the oil change being done “right”, I wouldn’t necessarily count on it. For $20, they aren’t having their $90/hour certified mechanics doing the oil changes. But then even if you ended up with the same doofus as you would at Jiffy Screw at least you are saving some decent money.

9

We have a dealership here that will do a basic oil/filter change for $4.99 but you have to make an appointment. If you just show up without one then they tell you they’ll get to it when they can. It’ll be before the end of the business day but otherwise, no promises.

10

Wait.

Is $20 a particulary good deal, or only because it was at the dealership?

I get one for $18.95 every single time, no appointment necessary.

I see places everywhere that do it much cheaper if you make an apointment.

Is it more outside Michigan?

11

I bought NOTHING else but the oil change. :mad:

12

Some years ago I went to a local auto-maintenance shop – not a dealership – for an oil change or some other similar routine matter. They advertised the common “free” system check to look for other problems. Knowing that the car I had at the time was not in prime shape, short on time, and not having the budget for that stuff anyway, I said to the guy to please just skip the free check and do the oil change. He INSISTED that I allow them to do it. We went round and round, for several minutes, to the point where, I’m sure, I got visibly annoyed. (Admittedly, I should have walked out right then and there).
Needless to say, when they were done he proceeds to tell me what the car needs. Acts shocked when I give him the nasty face and storm out. This incident has rankled me for years. He displayed such a level of deliberate obtuse as I’ve never seen before, and I’ve no doubt on the ‘deliberate’ part.