Auto oil change

[basscat21]

ya if it wasn’t for the warranty we’d be using the local shop I mentioned in post 28..

I’ve never done my brakes or rotors, but am highly considering it next go around. The local shop would be about $800 for parts and labor.. but my biggest worry is I’ll get in a spot where either a bolt breaks or I get to a point and something happens where it’s out of my limits with no way of getting it back to a shop. I know, gotta turn in my BBC man card

It's 4 bolts on most cars. Some are Torx, but most are 17mm and 14 mm. I have had good luck with powerstop rotors and pads off Amazon, pretty decent quality and good price, used to use only NAPA, sure some will say this and that is better, but the powerstop has served me well on 4 vehicle I own, with many Miles, no warping on the rotors, good stopping with the pads.

[castforcash]

I've had good luck with powerstop as well. Most brake jobs are pretty simple, but the biggest thing novices miss imo is making sure the caliper slide pins are properly lubed and operating as they should.

[fishon!sc]

I get it. We have a mom and pop oil change place locally that’s been very good for us. An oil change for my Subaru typically costs $80 and if you go first thing in the morning it takes about 20-30min. They also check all fluids and top off when needed.

so spend $30 more and its less driving since we don’t have to worry about going to the auto shop to buy the stuff and driving back to drop the oil off. Plus we avoid spilling oil in the driveway.

I usually do a lot of my own smaller maintenance stuff (spark plugs, batteries etc). But with how much labor is costing nowadays I’m more apt to take a chance and wrench on my own stuff. I’m not too mechanically inclined but man We just paid $950 on Wednesday for the front brakes/rotors and a wheel bearing… labor was $600 on $300 worth of parts because our extended warranty covered the cost of the bearing.

I just did all new rotors and pads. New ball joints. Plus I put in new shocks and struts. It took me a Saturday afternoon and it did not cost $950 total.

[fisherman1111]

I do some of my own basic maintenance but I let someone else deal with the oil change. If I had a lift and a place to store/dispose of old oil it may be a different story but I'm not crawling around trying to get to a hard to reach filter and finding some place to get rid of the used oil.

A few years ago I changed the air filter in my car. There was a new quick lube oil place that had just opened their doors in my neighborhood. I thought I would give them a try. I'm waiting in the lobby and the tech comes to me and says the air filter is dirty do you want me to change it...my reply was I just change it last weekend. If it is in that bad of shape in less than a week please change it but save it so I can return it to get my $ back. The look on his face was priceless when I called him out for trying to scam me. After I paid as I was walking out the door I say I'll make sure to let people know about your air filter service work. I jokingly say I was at the quick lube place twice in the same day. My first and last time ...they was out of business in less than 2 years. I suppose bad work is the kiss of death.

Walmart or Autozone or adavanced Auto if you have any of those near you will take old oil and filters. I do mine on my truck because it's easy to get to. my wife takes hers in to a local carfix and they also come back with a list of items that needs to be looked at.

[berudd]

Thats a crime is just a play on speech around here.

And an overused one.

[geodebasser]

I had just changed my plugs in my Tahoe and one was very hard to reach. I put in the best quality which would last for fifty thousand miles or better. Two thousand miles later a Goodyear store told me my valve covers were leaking and that I needed new plugs. I looked at the valve covers and couldn’t find a leak anywhere. Have not been back. Either they are incompetent or they are under a lot of pressure from corporate to up sell.

[200xp]

$59.99 for oil change and tire rotation at the Quick Lane here at the Ford Dealership. They send a driver to my office to pick up my F-150 and bring it back when they are finished. They will do this for any customer in a 25 mile radius of the dealership.

[ProVle]

This may be a good thread for the ASE professional techs to comment on some of the things they have seen done to vehicles by the DIY crowd.

[Highcentered]

This may be a good thread for the ASE professional techs to comment on some of the things they have seen done to vehicles by the DIY crowd.

A smart DIY will realize when they're in over their head before they reach the point of no return. And Youtube makes a lot of stuff look way easier than they really are for someone who's never done it.

[DaveBrabec]

When I started working on trucks in 70s. It was less than 10 bucks to buy oil and filter.

[Mechanic Bob]

When I started working on trucks in 70s. It was less than 10 bucks to buy oil and filter.

And less than $1.00 to reload a box (25) 20 ga. shells.

[omcforever]

So my son goes to a Valvoline oil change place for an over priced change on his 2019 Honda CRV Touring. Guy shows him his power steering fluid, says it is filthy and should be changed. He declines. That car has electronic steering NO power steering fluid or reservoir….NICE.call Goober!

I worked at a large chain here in Dayton years ago and one of the locations had a mechanic that would spray WD40 all over brake wheel cylinders/calipers during inspections and tell people they needed new wheel cylinders/calipers/pads/new shoes...ect,,,,,mgr knew about it until he got caught and then cried no knowledge.....

[Facemelter]

Let me tell you some tales!!!
I used to work for a couple big name places that do car maintenance items like tires, oil changes, exhaust systems, and alignments. We are told from leadership to upsell. If you're not upselling you're not making any money. If one brake caliper is sticking, both need replaced and you can't put new calipers and pads on an old rotor. Move as much as you can, sell sell sell. Power steering flushes, radiator flushes, trans flushes, brake fluid flushes, whatever you can flush from a car they want you to sell it. Don't care if the customer needs it. Techs at the places I worked are paid hourly plus commission. The commission part isn't paid till you hit XXX amount of dollars to the business, then you get a percentage of that amount above XXX. So the incentive to upsell is there, and they watch your numbers very very closely. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings to go over your numbers and to see where you could sell more product.

What sent me over the edge was the 350 gallon container of radiator fluid we kept in the back that was pulled from vehicles. Every other month or so, some guy would pull up in a unmarked box truck and run this used radiator fluid through a pool filter system and put it back into another container for us to use as "good coolant" for flushes that we sold. They would get so mad because I refused to use that crap and I would order rad fluid from KOI or Oreilly's.

[Highcentered]

Let me tell you some tales!!!
I used to work for a couple big name places that do car maintenance items like tires, oil changes, exhaust systems, and alignments. We are told from leadership to upsell. If you're not upselling you're not making any money. If one brake caliper is sticking, both need replaced and you can't put new calipers and pads on an old rotor. Move as much as you can, sell sell sell. Power steering flushes, radiator flushes, trans flushes, brake fluid flushes, whatever you can flush from a car they want you to sell it. Don't care if the customer needs it. Techs at the places I worked are paid hourly plus commission. The commission part isn't paid till you hit XXX amount of dollars to the business, then you get a percentage of that amount above XXX. So the incentive to upsell is there, and they watch your numbers very very closely. Weekly or bi-weekly meetings to go over your numbers and to see where you could sell more product.

What sent me over the edge was the 350 gallon container of radiator fluid we kept in the back that was pulled from vehicles. Every other month or so, some guy would pull up in a unmarked box truck and run this used radiator fluid through a pool filter system and put it back into another container for us to use as "good coolant" for flushes that we sold. They would get so mad because I refused to use that crap and I would order rad fluid from KOI or Oreilly's.

I hope that place isn't still in business. Probably is though. I know I'm too honest to work for a place like that.