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How not to get an oil change

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Scott_Hower

Scott_Hower

Luke Skywalker
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EDIT: just noticed the link title, I've no clue what sex was driving; where's that angel smiley?

[/quote] whadda ya tink? in other wards what would be your guess. i thought theyd outlawed those pits in some states, to bad they dont show how they got the car out!
 
I was driving by the local quick lube one day and saw a wrecker backed onto each end of the drive thru a a car looking a lot like that in the pit. Don't these people know that there is a drain plug in the pan; you don't need to tip the engine over to drain the oil.
 
My favorite is the one that was towed into our shop. The day before it had gone to a quick lube shop, then drove the mile and a half home. the next morning it got started up, and a half mile down the road it was still rattling and the oil light was on.
I wen tout back and started it up, RATTLE, RATTLE,RATTLE! quickly shut it down. layed down under the front, soaked in oil underneath!
NO FILTER TO BE FOUND!!!
nice one.
I have little faith in quickie lube joints.
 
Oil filler plug, oil filter, cross-threading, stripped threads....

I have faith in quickie lube joints,

Faith that they're sure to ruin something on your car for $15 in 15 minutes or less.

Wow, the horror stories I've heard.

JACK
 
Too easy a job to DIY. Why trust a HS drop-out, mechanic wannabe with it? If they can do it wrong, they will find every way possible to do just that!

PS That link wouldn't play for me, all I gat was an audio of the Speedracer theme!
 
I got a Ferrari transaxle refurb outta th' "QuickLube" outfit near us... Th' PitMonkey drained the one marked "OLIO TRANSMISSIONE"... then dumped seven extra quarts of oil inna engine.

PARTS were $3500. The lube joint franchise owner was also a Ferrari owner, so took pity on the IDIOT one who on 'spur of the moment' decided they could do the job. Paid the bill. It was "just" a 308, so no biggie. /bcforum/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif
 
Seen that one on Toyotas too. Our trans pans have drain plugs. We had a Rav4 with a smoked tranny and a smoking engine. Your story reminded me of that one.
OUCH.. wouldent wanna see that one on a Ferrari. Of course a Ferrari owner that would take his car to a quick lube was asking for it.
 
I stopped into one of the quick oil change places with my first car (1984 Toyota Corolla) got the oil changed and drove the 25 miles home. When my husband came home he saw a big spot of oil under the car...turns out the idiot forgot to put the oil plug back in. How it held oil and got me home we will never know. I will never allow one of those idiots to touch another car of mine!
 
I worked for Q-Lube's corporate office in the mid 90s (training and safety). Didn't deal at all with the warranty stuff, but our turnover for employees in the stores averaged close to 100%. I suppose it's telling that I haven't used a quick-lube since I left the company...
 
When I had my shop a customer brought in a 1500 spitfire because it was leaking oil. Some genius put the transmisison plug in the engine crank case and the engine plug in the tranny.

Also, when I had my shop, I was told, though I have no evidence either way, was the one of the key factors the corporate office of a major oil change franchise looked at, when determing how well a franchise was doing, was the number of engines it had to buy. Not enough engines meant the franchise was in trouble.
 
I worked in a fast lube when I was younger. The owner had four shops and the one I worked was the busiest of his four. While I was there we never bought an engine. We also had a very conscientious manager that took training new 'Lube Techs' very seriously. We also had a low turnover rate. Good training, good wages and good camaraderie kept the quality of work high and turnover low. The manager and the owner (not the same person) were also very involved in the day to day operations. It seems I experienced an exception to the norm though. The owner is no longer as involved and that manager has moved. They are still busy but scuttle-but is that they have more problems on average now and have a higher turn over rate as well. Just shows what good management can do.

Even though I had good experiences there, I still won't take my car to one for their services. Way too many bad stories out there and too many unknowns. Still on good terms with the owner of the one I worked at and will sometimes use one of his pit bays to perform some quick fluid checks on my cars. The only thing the employees get to do is direct me in over the pit. Then he usually asks that I show the guy in the pit around the underside of my car so that they don't feel totally snubbed and they can wrack it up as a learning experience.
 
I've got a good, reputable, Valvoline place that I use if I'm pressed for time, or the weather is ugly. Many of the locals use it, and I've never heard of a bad experience there.
Jeff
 
If you can find one with a manager/owner who cares, they can be as good as anywhere else. Always a big emphasis on speed, though, and that can cause troubles and errors.
 
Shawn nailed it: Good management.

In high population density areas you can get away with shoddy work for a while, too. Not so when you see the same folks in the local coffee shop every morning and have to do business with 'em in the afternoon. Screw up in THAT circumstance and see how long you'll keep the doors open! I kinda miss that.
 
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