Home Forums Gear Hunting Trucks and Four-Wheel Drives oil/filter changes - besides the dealer

EdM,
None of mine cause I don't go there.
Some of our company trucks were stripped and my neighbors car was.

My buddy bought a used BMW X7 a few months ago with about 5k miles on it. Took it to BMW dealership for oil change at 10k miles. They called and said the plug was stripped and wanted $5k to replace the oil pan. Turns out the dealer he bought it from had sent it to one of the quick lube places for the oil change and they stripped it. He ended up having an independent shop tap the threads and put in a bigger plug.

I use to do my own, but getting burned getting at the oil filter and the draining drips and clean up were not worth the $24.99 that the local full service place charges to change out the oil, filter and check everything under the hood and tire pressure. I buy the 6 quarts of Castrol synthetic at Walmart and the dealership sends a $15.00 thank you thing every year to buy anything (like oil filters) from them. Just drop the vehicle off and pick it up later.

5k for an oil pan....Damn

Major repair. All wheel drive, differential bolts to the side of the pan and one axle goes through it. Easier to support the engine and drop the subframe to disassemble it from underneath. Plus the cost of the parts, although $5k is on the high side...........

Labor will kill you for sure.

My 2 trucks sit high enough for me to crawl under them and do it myself. I can do the oil change faster than I could drive into town and pay someone else to do it. And I know it's done right.

I can't do that with our Ford Explorer. The independent mechanic I use will do it for $10 if I bring the oil and filter. I always give him $20.

THIS.
While I have had good luck with Valvoline, I will never go to Jiffylube again after they cross threaded my drain plug. After that I do my own oil changes at a friends that has a lift. Now I'm the only dumbass I have to worry about.

I'm getting back to changing my own again after quite a long hiatus due to lower back issues.

50-75% of the down time, my changes were at the dealership (i.e. $$$$$). But, the other 25-50% were at (gasp !!) Walmart. I may be the exception......or just lucky...... But I never had a single issue there.

I actually enjoy changing my own. It gives me a chance to look around underneath. If I didn't have a lift to use I might feel a bit different. I'm too old and fat to crawl around on the ground.

I have a set of those $30 ramps you drive up on, they get even the lowest car to a comfortable height to crawl under. It's far easier, quicker, and cheaper for me to drive my vehicles up on the ramps & change the oil myself, plus I know it's done right instead of letting whatever crackhead they hired this week at the dealership/oil change place do it.

Never has there been such an easy, mundane task that has the potential to do so much damage when done by an idiot.

I got a set of ramps for the wife's Altima when a dealer oil change hit $80 bucks. I always put jack stands under it also. I ain't letting no car fall on me.

Recently watched a dealer put conventional oil in when I paid for synthetic. I made them drain it and do it again. Luckily they have video cameras in their lube bay. They argued until I said let's watch the video together.

I didn't want to put the extra miles I do on synthetic when it wasn't actually synthetic. Now I bring in my own mobile 1 and watch the new place put it in.

Bb

Friend changed his own and had receipt’s. Engine let loose and Ford wouldn’t cover the repair.

After going back and forth, they said buy a new Ford and we will make it as easy as possible. He still took a bigger hit than having them do it under warranty.

I am not surprised at these dealers and their shenanigans. Even if they put in synthetic it would be a cheap synthetic . Yet they expect people to go 10k intervals .

There is no car company that cares as little about their customers as FORD. Engine let loose because it is a POS design not because of maintenance and their engineers could have torn that engine down to see what caused what.

Kinda down in the back, so I bought my oil & filter (the best) & went to jiffy lube & sat so I could watch the work. Went OK on my old Ranger PU. (250,000 miles) I had my wife explorer (now traded) done several times at the Ford dealer. OK, but they use their (semi-synthetic) ?? Now the Explorer is traded away & we have two Subarus with free oil changes & state inspections for life. Now those jokers do try to jiggle me for extra cost services (brake fluid changes & fuel injection cleaning, I just smile & say no !! Well hell, my wife says I DON'T SMILE

Everyone thinks they are getting over on the car dealers. While most of them are living in the big house on the hill. I know three of them, and them losing out on an oil change is the same as most losing out on a cup of homemade coffee.



Was shooting with one today. He mentioned he makes 150K in financing….after he pays the finance manager 100k. And another 100k plus a little on selling warranties. Which doesn’t include car sales and service and warranty work.

You beat them out if an oil change. What a hooooot!!!

We needed to buy a car on short notice a few years ago and had to finance part of it. I did my homework and had a credit union lined up for the loan. The dealer trotted out their favorite loan papers at something like 7%. I just told him to give me the papers and I'd be back the next day with my own financing which happened to be 4% at that time. He fiddled with his papers and came out with this 'special deal' at 3%. He wasn't about to let me out the door until the deal was nailed down. His cut of 3% was still better than no cut at all.
It turned out that his 'deal' was through Capital One 360. We have an account and a CD there anyway. They have some of the best paying CD's around.