Worst Oil Change Ever? Oh Boy!

[Harrod]

My brothers wife drove down one weekend in her carolla and said that the oil light came on when she went around a corner. I checked the oil and it was low, then proceeded to top it off so she could go and get it changed. She said that if it wasn't synthetic oil that it would mess the engine up. I told her that any oil is better than no oil in the engine. She then started to yack, and I filled it up anyways and told her to call my brother and tell him what I was doing, he pretty much told her to quit acting stupid and that I probably saved her engine.

 

[Safeway]

Synthetic in a Toyota Corolla? LOL?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Enjoy your FRAM "Val-U" filter and bottom-of-the-barrel oil.

But by all means, continue to broadcast your ignorance and play Russian Roulette with your car..
Some people like doing the job right.

171,000 miles and counting. You might want to look in the mirror before calling someone ignorant.

 

[Vdubchaos]

Change your own oil > Dealer > shitty oil place like Jiffy Lube/quick lube or Walmart

I've had a dealership mess up on this simple procedure.

I do my own oil changes on all 3 of my cars (always have and always will)

 

[mvbighead]

Change your own oil > Dealer > shitty oil place like Jiffy Lube/quick lube or Walmart

I've had a dealership mess up on this simple procedure.

I do my own oil changes on all 3 of my cars (always have and always will)

Sorry but this statement:

I've had a dealership mess up on this simple procedure.

Conflicts with this statement:

I do my own oil changes on all 3 of my cars (always have and always will)

 

[Howard]

Sorry but this statement:

I've had a dealership mess up on this simple procedure.

Conflicts with this statement:

I do my own oil changes on all 3 of my cars (always have and always will)

Maybe he was taking in a friend's car for an oil change.

 

[mvbighead]

Maybe he was taking in a friend's car for an oil change.

You may have a point there.

 

[mvbighead]

171,000 miles and counting. You might want to look in the mirror before calling someone ignorant.

I'd have to say that cheaper oil changes are probably fine, so long as you are comfortable with the guy doing the work.

New oil >>> old oil.

New filter >>> old filter.

I find it surprising that a guy could make anything on a $12 oil change. But, if he's replacing used oil with new, and replacing a used filter with a new, chances are the car will be in much better shape than one serviced by a guy who forgets to add oil, or doesn't actually change it.

I won't say I'd be comfortable with it, but if he's doing the work, getting the miles out of the engine shouldn't be a problem nearly regardless of what he is putting in there, so long as it is new.

 

[Eos]

Maybe he was taking in a friend's car for an oil change.

You may have a point there.

Maybe... 😛

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I'd have to say that cheaper oil changes are probably fine, so long as you are comfortable with the guy doing the work.

New oil >>> old oil.

New filter >>> old filter.

I find it surprising that a guy could make anything on a $12 oil change. But, if he's replacing used oil with new, and replacing a used filter with a new, chances are the car will be in much better shape than one serviced by a guy who forgets to add oil, or doesn't actually change it.

I won't say I'd be comfortable with it, but if he's doing the work, getting the miles out of the engine shouldn't be a problem nearly regardless of what he is putting in there, so long as it is new.

Its a family owned business that's been going since 1988. No complaints about them online, I checked before trying them out. They even offer $99 timing belt replacement deals.

 

[Harrod]

Synthetic in a Toyota Corolla? LOL?

Yep, the car has over 300k on it and is still running around today.

 

[jagec]

Its a family owned business that's been going since 1988. No complaints about them online, I checked before trying them out. They even offer $99 timing belt replacement deals.

Bullshit, that is NOT a $99 job, and changing the oil+filter is NOT a $12 job.

Unless by "family owned" you mean THE Family, and they are using their money-losing car shop to launder drug money.

 

[jlee]

Bullshit, that is NOT a $99 job, and changing the oil+filter is NOT a $12 job.

Unless by "family owned" you mean THE Family, and they are using their money-losing car shop to launder drug money.

I wouldn't be surprised....quick search pulled up this. "Some restrictions apply" likely means there are only a few cars that they'll do for that price, though. And I probably wouldn't want them touching my car at all.

 

[Eos]

I wouldn't be surprised....quick search pulled up this. "Some restrictions apply" likely means there are only a few cars that they'll do for that price, though. And I probably wouldn't want them touching my car at all.

I like the image of the model with the foreign license plate in the background. :hmm:

 

[WaTaGuMp]

Bullshit, that is NOT a $99 job, and changing the oil+filter is NOT a $12 job.

Unless by "family owned" you mean THE Family, and they are using their money-losing car shop to launder drug money.

Bullshit? You are clueless, they offer those prices, I don't give a flying fuck what you think is the price. My 4 cylinder truck is $12 out the door, 6 cylinder was $15.

 

[LTC8K6]

I'm trying to figure out how you put engine oil into the transmission. You'd have to put it in through a dipstick hole, wouldn't you? It would take forever too, because the flow rate is going to be slow down the dipstick tube, plus the trans is already full of fluid.

 

[Ferzerp]

I'm trying to figure out how you put engine oil into the transmission. You'd have to put it in through a dipstick hole, wouldn't you? It would take forever too, because the flow rate is going to be slow down the dipstick tube, plus the trans is already full of fluid.

If you even have a dipstick tube these days....

 

[WaTaGuMp]

I'm trying to figure out how you put engine oil into the transmission. You'd have to put it in through a dipstick hole, wouldn't you? It would take forever too, because the flow rate is going to be slow down the dipstick tube, plus the trans is already full of fluid.

In my case there is a fill hole on the side of the transmission. The deal with it is you add fluid till it runs out of that fill hole, which means its full.

 

[LTC8K6]

I think he drained the engine and trans, filled the trans with engine oil, and left the engine empty...

 

[jagec]

Bullshit? You are clueless, they offer those prices, I don't give a flying fuck what you think is the price. My 4 cylinder truck is $12 out the door, 6 cylinder was $15.

And you're not the LEAST bit suspicious that their supply costs are higher than what they charge for the job?

 

[WaTaGuMp]

And you're not the LEAST bit suspicious that their supply costs are higher than what they charge for the job?

Nope, I checked the dipstick after they did the job, everything looked okay to me. When I took the other car in for the $15 oil change, they did try and sell me on doing the serpentine belt for $99. Thats a 5 minute job at most, maybe they get enough up selling to make up the costs for the cheap oil changes. It took me longer to get the belt than it did to put it on.

 

[mvbighead]

And you're not the LEAST bit suspicious that their supply costs are higher than what they charge for the job?

I dunno that that is necessarily true. I'd have to be willing to be that a shop has vendors where it can get bulk quantity at a discount price. Suppose it's roughly $1 per quart of generic oil, plus $2 for a generic filter.

For his four cylinder, which likely has a 4 qt capacity, that's $6 in parts. The other $6 for labor. There is plenty of room there to up the prices.

Top it off with the fact that it's an oil change place that likely finds things that need fixing and tries to get business that way, it's a great way to get customers through your door.

Granted, I am not endorsing it. I am just saying that it could be a standup place that is just getting more customers through the door to generate more revenue.

 

[kalrith]

Stories like these are why I do it myself, not just to get the oil I want and the filter I want, but for the safety of my vehicle.

Same here. Except I don't only not trust the minimum-wage employee changing the oil, I don't trust most mechanics either. I have one mechanic in town that I trust to do work I'm not comfortable with, but that's only happened two times in that past 10 years.

Edit: It should be obvious, but I have to go to the shop for new tires and wheel alignments, but I watch them do the work to make sure nothing screwy happens.

 

[CraigRT]

Sucks.
I can honestly say I've never gone there. I just wouldn't have a good feeling about them touching my car. I do my OC's myself and I will continue to do so. It's nice to get your hands dirty sometimes anyways.

 

[OS]

I've actually driven around my car with no oil before and oddly the engine didn't suffer any problems afterward. It was on a 2003 Accord I4. I was doing my own oil change, but I forgot to tighten the drain bolt. It was really cold, I was in a hurry and it somehow slipped my mind.

Anyways I started driving it and I noticed the oil pressure light came on. I should have stopped the car right there, but I drove it another block back to my garage. When I got underneath the car, I saw there was no drain bolt and whatever drops of oil were left were still trickling out. 😵

After I got over my "oh sh-t" moment, I bought a new drain bolt and filled it back up. The car still ran smooth immediately after. I got an oil analysis after a couple thousand miles and the lab couldn't find any evidence anything bad had happened at all.
The car lasted another couple years until it was stolen and wrecked. 😵


As for shops, yeah they messed up my cars too. I had walmart mount tires from tirerack for me, two out of four they mounted the unidirectional tires in the wrong direction. After I complained and got that fixed, I got on the freeway and the car started rattling. I got back off and most of the lugnuts were not torqued at all. 😵
I was fortunate the wheels did not come off on the freeway. I went back to complain and they gave me a refund, but I had to sign a waiver that I couldn't claim any more damages.


The dealer also smashed my car once, after just an oil change. I was basically living out of hotels on business relocation so I didn't do it myself. After I picked up my car, I noticed a ton of scrapes on the rear fender of my car. 😵
I drove immediately back and complained and the guys were like, uhhh, oops. Then they figured out who did it, but they took responsibility. Fortunately most of it polished out and they gave me a rental car while they did the touch up.


I think the lesson for me anyways was regardless who does the work, someone can still screw up, even yourself. So I don't buy cars I can't afford to blow up. 😵