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Oil change idiot

PaintChips97

PaintChips97

New member
Stepbrother has a 2000 Bonneville, 90k miles and pretty much perfect, extremely well kept. Took it in to get an oil change about a week and a half ago, and he goes to pick up our brothers from school this morning. The oil pressure light comes on, so he comes and gets me. The oil didn't even show on the dipstick when we checked it. I jack it up and look for a leak, and behold - it's dripping from the filter. I tightened it up, got almost a full turn out of it. We took it back to the oil change place to see what the deal was, and we ended up with 2 free oil changes, and it turns out the guy has done it multiple times to other cars!
 


Just had the opposite yesterday. Brother in law had to crush the filter on his Regal to get it off. This is not rocket science.
 
PaintChips97 said:
Stepbrother has a 2000 Bonneville, 90k miles and pretty much perfect, extremely well kept. Took it in to get an oil change about a week and a half ago, and he goes to pick up our brothers from school this morning. The oil pressure light comes on, so he comes and gets me. The oil didn't even show on the dipstick when we checked it. I jack it up and look for a leak, and behold - it's dripping from the filter. I tightened it up, got almost a full turn out of it. We took it back to the oil change place to see what the deal was, and we ended up with 2 free oil changes, and it turns out the guy has done it multiple times to other cars!
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Lol 2 fee oil changes? Like I would ever set foot in that place again.
 
Slick2500 said:
Lol 2 fee oil changes? Like I would ever set foot in that place again.
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^^^ Screw quick lube places. Sorry to anyone here who works at an oil change shop, I'm sure you do your job well, but I've been hosed too. Once took a bolt extractor to get plug off. Another time the pan threads came off with plug. 3rd time oil cap was left sitting on engine. I only went when I didn't have a garage and the weather was nasty. Never again.
 
I totally stopped having my oil changed by anyone other than myself after having the flu and taking my 78' Diablo to Walmart to have the oil changed. I noticed the car rocking but was tapking to someone else and when I backed out the next day there was a puddle under the car. I hate a leaking car and looked to find the drain plug was touching on one side and 1/16" on the other side it was so cross threaded that they couldn't get the bolt out without using brute force. I went down in the pit to watch and they kept telling me that he was going to get in trouble and the manager told me I needed to come out. I told him to get his ass down here and look at this! They said they would put in an oversized drain plug which would cut new threads, and I informed him that it was going to leave shavings in the oil pan and explained that not all the oil goes through the filter and I wasn't having it. Put the old one back and I was going to take it to a mechanic to have the whole pan replaced. He told me he couldn't let me leave and I asked who's going to stop me and snatched my keys from him. I was pissed! We went round and round for almost 3 weeks. All the while I had a rental car. On them, and I made it a truck to boot, for the first week. They couldn't find a pan for it since GM switched the side the dipstick was on. So I let them look, they wanted to use a used pan I said no go, mechanic wouldn't warranty it. Then the insurance guy got frustrated and said that they were going to have to make a decision soon and said they didn't make a pan and asked if he wanted to bet, he agreed and I picked up my Summit catalog and gave him the PN for a plain orange SBC pan. Then he pulls this We can't order it and I would have to order it and I made the deal that as soon as it was in that I would take the packing slip to the local Walmart and they would give me cash on the spot. Well I remember the shipping was over twice the price of the part. It was $71 shipping overnight, I got paid and the mechanic that put the pan in crossthreaded 2 of the bolts. After that I said never again will I let someon else work on my car. That was 20 years ago. Sometimes it just pays to do it yourself even if disposal and all that is a hassle. At least if you screw up you only have yourself to blame and a pretty good idea of how you're going to get out of it. Sometimes you need help and the boards are the best place for info because they have had the problems and know the solution.

Jeff
 


I'll run it overdue for a while before ever taking my car in to get it changed somewhere, especially walmart. Hell, last week I changed the oil on my suburban in the rain, started coming down just when I finished draining it. Nobody is going to care about your car as much as you, that's just how it is.
 
You gotta be more selective about where you go. Avoid chain shops at ALL COSTS. Remember their number 1 goal is to make quota. They don't give a **** about you or your car.
 
J57ltr said:
I totally stopped having my oil changed by anyone other than myself after having the flu and taking my 78' Diablo to Walmart to have the oil changed. I noticed the car rocking but was tapking to someone else and when I backed out the next day there was a puddle under the car. I hate a leaking car and looked to find the drain plug was touching on one side and 1/16" on the other side it was so cross threaded that they couldn't get the bolt out without using brute force. I went down in the pit to watch and they kept telling me that he was going to get in trouble and the manager told me I needed to come out. I told him to get his ass down here and look at this! They said they would put in an oversized drain plug which would cut new threads, and I informed him that it was going to leave shavings in the oil pan and explained that not all the oil goes through the filter and I wasn't having it. Put the old one back and I was going to take it to a mechanic to have the whole pan replaced. He told me he couldn't let me leave and I asked who's going to stop me and snatched my keys from him. I was pissed! We went round and round for almost 3 weeks. All the while I had a rental car. On them, and I made it a truck to boot, for the first week. They couldn't find a pan for it since GM switched the side the dipstick was on. So I let them look, they wanted to use a used pan I said no go, mechanic wouldn't warranty it. Then the insurance guy got frustrated and said that they were going to have to make a decision soon and said they didn't make a pan and asked if he wanted to bet, he agreed and I picked up my Summit catalog and gave him the PN for a plain orange SBC pan. Then he pulls this We can't order it and I would have to order it and I made the deal that as soon as it was in that I would take the packing slip to the local Walmart and they would give me cash on the spot. Well I remember the shipping was over twice the price of the part. It was $71 shipping overnight, I got paid and the mechanic that put the pan in crossthreaded 2 of the bolts. After that I said never again will I let someon else work on my car. That was 20 years ago. Sometimes it just pays to do it yourself even if disposal and all that is a hassle. At least if you screw up you only have yourself to blame and a pretty good idea of how you're going to get out of it. Sometimes you need help and the boards are the best place for info because they have had the problems and know the solution.

Jeff
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F*cking Wal-Mart. I started changing my oil and doing my own work because I want to learn, save money, and mostly because I can see what I'm doing. Whereas in an oil change shop you have no idea what they're doing to your car. They could be jacking off in it, who knows. Also, the last place I got my oil changed put 5W-30 in it. I know it's such a slight difference it barely matters, but the cap clearly said 10W-30. After seeing the people who work in store at my Wal-Mart, I'd rather just run my car with no oil because their mechanics are probably gonna do it before me.
 
I go to a "chain" when needed. The key is to go to the same location. The one I go to knows that I am there for an oil change, and that is it. They advise me if they see issues, but they know not to try and upsell me.
 


I treated every car well while working at the quick lube chain as my first job. I never tried to upsell something someone didn't need. Even turned down. Some unnecessary sales gimmicks a couple shadier coworkers had used on customers. We didn't work on commission, we didn't have quotas. Most of us actually liked our customers and cared enough that we did unusual things to gain repeat customers. Where you are a local business you can screw everyone over. Eventually you'll have screwed enough people that they will all talk to everyone around them about your horrible service. Repeat customers are where it's at.

This being said I would never bring my rides in for any work unless I was not equipped with the time or tools to do the job right. Which isn't common. I like specific oils and filters.

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The only people besides myself or a family member that touch my cars are the dealerships. This is mainly only for my VW because its a 2015. I get free oil changes, and they track them so if they **** it up, VW gets to pay to fix it.
 
CrazyGuy03 said:
^ well said sir
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Thanks! Supposedly I have my head on pretty straight according to many people that have talked to me a few times. I just don't see the reasoning for the way some people do things. I'm not shortsighted. I try and look as far ahead as I can when making decisions no matter how serious. One little misstep and you can make a world of problems for yourself down the road. And that applies to just about anything in life. Even how you talk to people.
BrandonHall10 said:
I've heard about those kinds of movies. :th_lightsaber:
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Hahaha! Only for the pretty ones.



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