Did Jiffy Lube try to rip me off?

[Qacer]

I went to a local Jiffy Lube today to get my oil changed. They told me it would take about 2 hours. Since it was next to the mall, I decided to shop around and come back. When I came back, they told me that my car was ready and even pointed out that my car had a transmission fluid leak and excessive oil leak. They even said that they replaced my filters and window wipers. I agreed to the charges and paid for it. After five minutes, the cashier comes back and tells me that my car hasn't been serviced, yet.

"No offense to you, but this really looks sketchy. You already told me that my car had a transmission leak and oil leak, yet your mechanics still haven't checked it. Please give me a refund. I'll take my business somewhere else," I said to the cashier.

While walking out, one of the mechanics told me that they had a hard time looking for my car because I had said it was blue and to them it looked more like green. I originally told them that the car looks bluish-green. They did not even had the face to apologize to me for the "bogus" charges that they were going to give me without inspecting my car. The sad fact is that I've been a customer their since 6 years ago. I took the same car without any problems.

 

[chuckywang]

This is why I change my own oil, or at least watch my oil get changed.

 

[KLin]

They tried to tell you your car had oil/transmission fluid leaks without even looking at the car? Definitely stay away from that place in the future. :thumbsdown:

 

[biggestmuff]

without having to read the OP; Yes, they tried to rip you off. Stay the hell away from Jiffy Lube.

 

[Vic]

Uhh... you went to Jiffy Lube. It's a given you got ripped off.

If you don't want to change your own oil (and I can understand that), then at least take your car to the dealer or a reputable mechanic.

 

[Balt]

Unless it's something I knew about it prior to my arrival, I generally don't trust 'quicky' oil change places. I tell them "hmmm, I'll have to take care of that at a later time" and then I'll check later to see if it's actually needed.

 

[wetcat007]

Jiffy Lube is trouble, I've actually had a pretty positive experience with Valvoline instant oil changes though, the one near me changes the oil in under 15 minutes most of the time, and doesn't bug me about additional services too much.

 

[kindest]

wow what a scam....
stays away from jiffylube.

 

[Freejack2]

This is why I gladly pay my mechanic $35 to change my oil. I know he won't pull stunts like that. If he points out my car has a problem during an oil change it really has a problem.

 

[jpeyton]

If Jiffy Lube ever did replace your wipers and filters without your authorization, tell them "Thanks for the free bonus."

 

[Shadowknight]

I usually get mine done at the dealer; if something's wrong, they'll tell me and not rip me off. They're a bit pricey, but honest. Generally an oil change only takes 30 minutes. I've found Tire King to be a waste of time. I was there TWO HOURS for a simple oil change. I went to the bathroom and apparently missed the mechanic coming out (I was in there two minutes, at most). Instead of passing on the message to the cashier, who was FIVE FEET AWAY from the bathroom. He wanted to tell me to change an air filter after he came back out 45 minutes later after doing the oil change. I was about to okay it, but they had already reassembled everything and I wasn't going to wait another two hours. :|

 

[mjrpes3]

The internet really needs a place where you can post comments/questions/reviews for a specific place of business.

 

[cubby1223]

Where's the problem? They diagnose the vehicle, tell you what they recommend, then service the vehicle *after* you agree or disagree to the extra services.

 

[j00fek]

doing your own car work

FTW

 

[Pacfanweb]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
Where's the problem? They diagnose the vehicle, tell you what they recommend, then service the vehicle *after* you agree or disagree to the extra services.

It's Jiffy Lube. What are they doing diagnosing anything?

 

[FallenHero]

My favorite was when I took my NEW car to the oil change place near me. They told me the transmission fluid was a nasty color and I should get it changed via their powerpurge...

I asked them to look at the mileage on the car and repeat said statement again. Haven't been back since.

 

[Qacer]

I need to find a reputable mechanic in the area. I'm sure there are many out there. I'm afraid to take my car to the dealer because they've been hounding me about selling my car to them. They might do more damage than good.

 

[CrackRabbit]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
without having to read the OP; Yes, they tried to rip you off. Stay the hell away from Jiffy Lube.

 

[AnyMal]

I usually go to Pennzoil and never had a problem there.

 

[theGlove]

my last oil change was at walmart

 

[MrPickins]

My wife took her '99 Corolla to JiffyLube for an oil change, and they recommended she let them change her timing belt (the car just rolled over 100k), and quoted her a price on it. Since I'm the one who makes auto maintenance decisions, she told them she'd wait, and asked me about it that night.

The suggestion sounded ok to me, I'd hate to have the belt break and bend some valves. But, when I started researching I found that the car has a timing chain, and should last the life of the engine.

Needless to say, we don't go there anymore.

 

[Xyclone]

Stay away from Jiffy Lube. Find a reliable, trustworthy, local mechanic and go to him from now on. Our local mechanic doesn't charge us for small things like taking nails out of tires and patching them, checking for wheel alignment, replacing all the other fluids when we take it for an oil change, switching the tires, etc.

 

[mugs]

They could have tried to rip you off.

Or there could have been a micommunication or confusion. Maybe the person was talking about a different car.

Given the circumstances (that they told you they already replaced stuff, then they later said that they hadn't started working on your car), I'd lean toward it being a mistake. If they were trying to rip you off, they probably would have lied the second time.

Not all Jiffy Lubes are shady. I took my father-in-law's car to one after borrowing it, because I didn't feel like changing it myself. When I saw the guy bringing the air filter into the waiting area, I figured they were going to try to pull something. But no, he just wanted to show me that it was clean and didn't need to be replaced - and he also mentioned that the wiper blades didn't need to be replaced. I paid a price that was surprisingly reasonable, and drove away shocked.

 

[Compton]

Search the archived threads for jiffy lube. You will find pages of threads about people getting ripped off or getting their engine fubared. Check out this thread.

I can't find it, but somewhere in the archives is a hidden camera investigation done by a Florida TV station. JL repeatedly charged for services on cars that they never even looked at.

 

[George P Burdell]

Originally posted by: biggestmuff
without having to read the OP; Yes, they tried to rip you off. Stay the hell away from Jiffy Lube.