Fraud at Jiffy Lube (1 Viewer)

[CT Saints Fan]

convenience.

Its an oil change. Top notch service should not be necessary. So, because its a chain tire and oil place its okay to be fine with poor business practices?

No. You are just more likely to find it at that kind of place - with less-trained, less-skilled staff, and no incentive to deliver outstanding service. You get what you pay for.

 

[hammernnails]

The sales pitch at these places are extradorinary!! "You have the wrong color coolant"... "if you dont know when it replaced it better to just go ahead and do it better safe than sorry"......" the viscosity of (insert vehicle fluid) doesnt seem right better get it replaced"....." your battery is low on (bla bla) we can add some if you like"...." I'd highly recommend blah blah blah....it will add years to the life of the engine and increase your MPG"........

and my favorite of all..... after getting raked over the coals for unnecessary BS....... "We topped off your wiper fluid free of charge....please come back and let us rape you again.."

 

[Saint77]

good thing there wasn't any engine damage. (did they offer another free oil change?)

Nope.

I told the guy I worked at another shop, and I will be sure and tell everyone I know not to do business with them, or work for them. It has an effect. In the auto biz, word travels very fast.

 

[SaintsBrazil]

Not to mention wanting to change every filter on every oil change.

 

[Saint77]

The sales pitch at these places are extradorinary!! "You have the wrong color coolant"... "if you dont know when it replaced it better to just go ahead and do it better safe than sorry"......" the viscosity of (insert vehicle fluid) doesnt seem right better get it replaced"....." your battery is low on (bla bla) we can add some if you like"...." I'd highly recommend blah blah blah....it will add years to the life of the engine and increase your MPG"........

and my favorite of all..... after getting raked over the coals for unnecessary BS....... "We topped off your wiper fluid free of charge....please come back and let us rape you again.."

Sadly, for every 1 person who catches the act, theres a few who dont, and go for it.

 

[hammernnails]

Sadly, for every 1 person who catches the act, theres a few who dont, and go for it.

Yea.. my wife took our GMC Safari to one of these places and they gave her the pitch.. she bit hook line and sinker... $199 later .... we recieved a free topping off of wiper fluid.. a $0.43 thank you...

I was mad as you get... I went back there and blew a fuse on the manager..... they almost called the police on me....


They flushed the brand new green anti-freez I had just put in a few week ago because they convinced my wife it was the wrong COLOR coolant!!! "GM recommends RED coolant " they told her ... and because this high school dropout had a " Lube'n'go " hat on she assumed he was some kind of expert..... same scene with the trans fluid.... "this fluid is dirty and looks like it has never been changed".... It was changed about a year prior and the truck had about 7000 miles since that change.....PURE 100% bull!!!

moral of the story...... take the little sticker that reminds you of your next oil service off your windsheild so your wife doesnt try to take it Lube'n'go because your 3 weeks past the date on the sticker...

 

[St. Reginald]

The thing is, at these cheap-o "quick lube" places, you're really only saving 10-20 bucks at most. The few extra dollars to take it to a reputable shop will be well worth it in the long run. Getting your oil changed at Wal-Mart? Really, really bad idea.

 

[threexcharm]

Tire Kingdom........ .[/QUOTE]

This is one operation that I do not trust....at all. They offer you a cheap oil change but don't tell you that they rape you on "shop and disposal fees". They offer you cheap prices on tires but don't tell you that they rape you for mounting and balancing. I took my truck there for a wheel alignment and they refused to do it unless they changed my lower ball joints. They wanted 300 dollars. I told them to forget about it. I took my truck to a buddy that is a real good mechanic. He inspected the whole front end. Bottom line.....nothing wrong with the ball joints, or anything else in the front end. Took the truck to a Nissan dealer. They did the wheel alignment and never said a word about the ball joints.

Joe

 

[TDH]

I guess this is a problem in a nation obsessed with bargains. You pay in the front end or you pay in the back end. This is exactly why people are willing to pay more for a Honda or Toyota than an American car.

 

[SaintsBrazil]

Here in Brazil, they still have service stations. I actually got out of the car once and started to take off the gas cap and pick up the nozzel an two attendents and the manager came running over to me like I was robbing them. Honest mistake after 12 years of filling the car up myself in the US.

Anyhow, back to the point. At many small town filling stations, if you buy the oil, they will change it for you, no charge, as you watch. They don't even try to make you buy the expensive oil. (Don't try this in the city though, just go in for a fill-up and they'll try to jiffy-lube you)

 

[Goatman Saint]

Funny you would say that. I replaced my entire suspension on my GTO from the steering wheel to the ground with custom top dollar road racing pieces. I even painted the frame as i did this. Since i spent so much money on the parts, I even left the stickers on. I drove it down to get it aligned at the local station and the guy proceeded to tell me that my car needed new ball joints. I asked him why. He said on a car that old with that kind of milage it wears out the ball joints. I asked him if he checked them. He said yes. I asked him if he noticed anything different about that car. He said no. Then I went off on him. Asked him how many people he had screwed over with that. He got all defensive.I ended up turning him into the better business bureau just out of spite.

 

[Optimusaint]

considering i work in this industry, i feel i have to validate all of your bad experiences and back up my own operation at the same time.

They flushed the brand new green anti-freez I had just put in a few week ago because they convinced my wife it was the wrong COLOR coolant!!! "GM recommends RED coolant " they told her ... and because this high school dropout had a " Lube'n'go " hat on she assumed he was some kind of expert..... same scene with the trans fluid.... "this fluid is dirty and looks like it has never been changed".... It was changed about a year prior and the truck had about 7000 miles since that change.....PURE 100% bull!!!

in this situation, 2 people are wrong. GM uses a red coolant called DEXCOOL. its a 100,000 mile coolant, and should only require top offs to keep the level full. if you had the service done prior, then whoever did your initial service used the wrong type of coolant. regular green coolant is rated for 30,000 miles, and if the first service was done with it, it can actually be hurting the coolant system since the two dont mix well. putting green coolant into a DEXCOOL system can cause sludging, which can clog up the passages in the radiator, and clog up the thermostat.

the tech should have explained all of that and suggested that it be taken back to the initial service location, or offered to do the service if that was more convienent. granted, i cant vouch for the knowledge or training level of anyone outside of my own employees. as far as saying that trans fluid looks dirty and should be changed, he was completely incorrect and is just trying to make a sale. our policy is to inform the customer of manufacturers recommended service intervals, and let the customer know that we can perform the service when the time comes. most of the time people just tell us to go ahead and do it, and some customers wait and come back at exactly the interval.

Not to mention wanting to change every filter on every oil change.

we inform the customer of the manufacturers recommend interval, and then show the customer their air filter. we allow the customer to decide, based on that info. our computer system keeps track of how long ago the filter was changed, so there's no chance of us trying to sell it at every oil change.

at my shop, the customer stays in their car the entire time, and can see and hear everything that is going on (except for the guy who is under the car, obviously). there are no sales pushes, and no hidden shop fees. the price on our sign is the price you pay (plus tax of course).

My brother in law went to walmart to get his oil changed (back when they first started this). They drained his oil and removed the oil filter. Thinking they were done, they closed the hood and and got in the car to return it to the parking spot. It started and then stopped. (as you can imagine). Long story short, Walmart had to pay to replace the engine.

The thing is, at these cheap-o "quick lube" places, you're really only saving 10-20 bucks at most. The few extra dollars to take it to a reputable shop will be well worth it in the long run. Getting your oil changed at Wal-Mart? Really, really bad idea.

i spend about 80 bucks a week on drain plugs that i have to replace on customer's cars that previously were serviced at walmart, jiffy lube, or even by the customers themselves. i see firsthand, and have to repair a lot of shoddy work by other fast lube places. my shop is not infallable, and i have had to fix a few of our own screwups too, but we are honest and upfront, and dont pass the problem on to the next service tech.

then again, my shop is not a jiffy lube.

(but ill give antipop a job if he's ever down on his luck )

 

[antipop]

(but ill give antipop a job if he's ever down on his luck )

you wouldn't be able to afford me

as for GM's dexcool, my water pump went out on my old buick and my mechanic saw that it was a dexcool system......he promptly drained and flushed all dexcool from the system and replaced it with regular old green antifreeze......he said dexcool was nothing but problems

 

[SaintsBrazil]

I find, too, that it's good to find a place you trust and someone you trust and keep bringing it back to that same place. They will value you as a repeat customer and actually try to do the especially well for you, and you will end up finding a way to make this routine much more convienient than shopping at Wal-Mart while you wait for your oil-change.

 

[Optimusaint]

you wouldn't be able to afford me

as for GM's dexcool, my water pump went out on my old buick and my mechanic saw that it was a dexcool system......he promptly drained and flushed all dexcool from the system and replaced it with regular old green antifreeze......he said dexcool was nothing but problems

that's why i said down on your luck.

if the system is flushed, going to green coolant is acceptible. there may be long term issues with gaskets and seals, depending on how long the system had dexcool in it. dexcool is a lot of trouble if people arent informed about it, or its used improperly. GM was actually installing it improperly at the factory for a while, which was causing it to sludge up the system. apparently they have changed their installation method, which was previously mixing air into it and causing it to sludge. the biggest problem with dexcool is people topping it off with regular green coolant. id be interested to know of any specific problems your mechanic has encountered with dexcool, because personally im not a fan of 100,000 mile intervals on ANYTHING, but professionally i have to do what the manufacturer recommends.

I find, too, that it's good to find a place you trust and someone you trust and keep bringing it back to that same place. They will value you as a repeat customer and actually try to do the especially well for you, and you will end up finding a way to make this routine much more convienient than shopping at Wal-Mart while you wait for your oil-change.

thats why walmart has the automotive dept. just so you spend an hour walking around walmart buying other stuff you dont need.