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Oil Change - Dealership vs DIY

royalkangaroo

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KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

Every business has a way to advance. I’ve seen oil changers be master tecs. I hired more than one high school kid for grunt work who are tecs now. These are large diesel eq to 1000Hp. I was hired in my 20s to be a back up driver. Six months later GM. One year my own company. Sold 18 months later to start a family business Im retired from. Scores of high schoolers even drop outs end up running companies they started at minimum wage at. Like most people say here anyone can change oil. Personal pride and ethics come at every profession, no matter the degree.


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Doublebase Enthusiast

Doublebase

Posted
Posted

I won't even use my free oil changes that I received when I bought the truck, the dealer is the last place I'd consider. I worked for dealers when I was younger, I'm sure there's plenty of high quality techs working at most, but unfortunately I've seen some real shady stuff go on there. Worked next to a guy who literally wouldn't even bother to change the oil filters, he'd just spray some brake clean on the old one and put the new filter in his tool box...bottom drawer was loaded with them. He wouldn't put all of the new oil in either, he'd always pump a little bit into a container for himself - and he wasn't the only one - more than a few had their own stash going once the dealer started limiting the amount of oil you could pump...it started to get scimmed. 

 

The oil quality at the dealer is also something ive always worried about. I remember those trucks coming in and pumping that oil into the containers out back. Where I worked it sure wasn't name brand oil in those tanks out back. There is a thread on bobs the oil guy right now about dealer oil contamination, I found it interesting.

 

https://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbthreads.php/topics/5114556/how-clean-is-the-new-oil-you-use#Post5114556

 

In the end I just think it's best to change it myself, I know what's going in and I know I'm taking the old stuff out. I know I'm not putting the lift arms under the frame taking off the frame wax. I know I'm not spilling it all over my intake. I know the funnel is clean. I know it's the right oil, the right, level...I know it's a name brand in the right viscosity. And I don't know...I find it relaxing to change it and kind of take inventory of what's going on under my truck every 5,000 miles. I can check and see if I need undercoating in a few spots. Take a look at the brakes...check for tranny or engine pan leaks. It's piece of mind really.

diyer2 Senior Enthusiast

diyer2

Posted
Posted
26 minutes ago, Doublebase said:

In the end I just think it's best to change it myself, I know what's going in and I know I'm taking the old stuff out. I know I'm not putting the lift arms under the frame taking off the frame wax. I know I'm not spilling it all over my intake. I know the funnel is clean. I know it's the right oil, the right, level...I know it's a name brand in the right viscosity. And I don't know...I find it relaxing to change it and kind of take inventory of what's going on under my truck every 5,000 miles. I can check and see if I need undercoating in a few spots. Take a look at the brakes...check for tranny or engine pan leaks. It's piece of mind really.

Well said.

Do my own maintenance/repairs and will until I no longer can.

 

:)

Farmer_2 Enthusiast

Farmer_2

Posted
Posted

Last time I took my 2004 Silverado to the dealer for routine maintenance/oil change I got a small ding in my front bumper out of the deal. Didn't notice it till a few days later and figured it wasn't worth the hassle to confront them about it. 

 

I too have found it worth the convenience to have a trusted, competent quicky-lube business to do the oil changes and tire rotations. Sometimes I take a notion to do it myself, but I agree that getting dirty or oil on my cloths (that never comes out) and then worry about where to dispose of the old oil is not worth what little you might save. 

 

I just bought a new 2018 Silverado CC LT (in late December 2018) that I'll get the dealer to service while under warranty. They gave me the impression the first couple of oil changes is free.. not 100% sure about that. 

 

I do change the oil in my farm tractor and lawn mowers... :-) 

bovineplane Enthusiast

bovineplane

Posted
Posted

The dealer does the best 4 hour oil change ever. 

 

In all seriousness, the dealer is the most inconvenient place to get the oil changed. I really need an appointment for two weeks from now just to leave my truck all day? For something that takes 20 minutes tops of you actually let the oil drain out? 

 

I used my two free oil changes. Second one they brought my truck up front with a rub/scratch on the door. I had done the walk around with the service advisor when I dropped it off and again when I picked it up. Dealer still wouldn't fix it. 

 

If it is minor or isn't a warranty repair I simply do it myself. 

16LT4 Enthusiast

16LT4

Posted
Posted
14 hours ago, KARNUT said:


That doesn’t make sense. Everything is inventoried, not using filters would be noticed. That would suggest a conspiracy. Ridiculous. The quality of person your suggesting would be unable to be silent. Amusing.


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Take it for what you will; I scribed the filter on my '17 and noticed the same mark after the oil change.  Inventory only works if the dealer wants to see the drop in filter inventory.  My captain, as mentioned, was directed by the service manager.  Trust no one, or everyone.  I don't really care.

16LT4 Enthusiast

16LT4

Posted
Posted
12 hours ago, Donstar said:

Sounds like you've had a bad experience with your dealer!  I don't ask to see their high school diplomas but my local dealerships employ pretty impressive technicians.  The shop where I bought my truck has a picture window onto the service bay.  You can watch them all work if you have such trust issues.  When I worked in the trades, and now in retirement,  I take as much pride in the unseen work as I did in what the customer sees.  I find that most workers are like this and are honest and decent human beings.  If you find yourself scribing your oil filter to confirm it was changed  then you may want to find ways to deal with your cerebral filters.  There is always the potential to be scammed, cheated, ripped off, or violated in some manner when purchasing any type of service.  Such incidents provide terrific fodder for internet forums but don't let them make you believe such behaviour is widespread.  99.99% of us have uneventful oil changes providing us with nothing to post on the internet!

If you want to live naively, go for it.  I've never met a tech, in decades of shops and dealers, who could completely finish a job to my satisfaction of "competency."

16LT4 Enthusiast

16LT4

Posted
Posted
22 hours ago, Grumpy Bear said:

Okay this one I have to agree with. Maybe not the filter part but.....

 

 

I'm not saying every dealer neglects filters, but it is a known thing.  Mark every filter you ever have changed, and I guarantee at least 10% will stil have the mark the day after you pick it up.  Never, ever, trust someone to do the right thing when their time is your money.  Saw it myself with my '17, from one of the biggest dealers in the lower NY area.  And knowing that my friend was directed to never change a filter because doing so would take too much time and therefore affect the bottom line... need I remind everyone how the dealer added 8 quarts to my truck without draining the pan, and then asked "what do you want us to do about it" when I called them on it?  If you trust any one other than yourself to do the right thing, you do so on a gamble.

16LT4 Enthusiast

16LT4

Posted
Posted
10 hours ago, diyer2 said:

Well said.

Do my own maintenance/repairs and will until I no longer can.

 

:)

I've yet to find a single mechanic, dealer tech, anyone, who can do the job better than I can.  When that day comes, I'll farm it out.

Doublebase Enthusiast

Doublebase

Posted
Posted
8 hours ago, dukedkt442 said:

Take it for what you will; I scribed the filter on my '17 and noticed the same mark after the oil change.  Inventory only works if the dealer wants to see the drop in filter inventory.  My captain, as mentioned, was directed by the service manager.  Trust no one, or everyone.  I don't really care.

This absolutely does happen. I worked for dealers when I was younger, I still work in the industry. Now most techs are honest hard working guys, they're making a living and believe me this is a very competitive industry to be successful in...you're hustling, you're working, you're selling repairs, you're going fast as hell. And yes, some are cutting corners. Those oil filters are being "inventoried" when they leave that parts counter, only because they need to order more. Where they go after they are given to the tech? Well no one cares about that. Usually they would go on the car, but yeah sometimes some techs would just throw them into the bottom of their box. Its quicker. It's easier. It's cleaner. A little brake clean on that old filter? Looks brand new. Meanwhile there's 30 oil filters in the bottom of the guy's box.

 

Most techs are honest and very talented people, however I have no respect for what dealerships have done to techs over the last 20 years. They've cut their labor times. They have made it hard for these guys to make a living. Chevy pays around 11 hours to replace the rings in the 5.3. That's taking the engine out, replace the rings, and reinstalling the whole damn thing. Think about that. If a car comes in with some weird electrical problem, you can spend hours trying to figure it out, but they'll only pay you a fraction of that time. They give these guys lousy benefits, they have no retirement, they have almost no sick days, minimal paid vacation and they have to spend thousands every year on their own tools. Techs are jumping ship...dealers are desperate ...yet they still don't want to pay. I have no sympathy for car dealerships. 

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

I can change my oil filter before the oil quits draining, especially on a lift. Did you here about the last UFO landing? It was in Alaska they like it cold. I saw it on CNN.


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diyer2 Senior Enthusiast

diyer2

Posted
Posted

Doublebase Is right.

My son was a tech.

Couldn't work at dealerships.

Worked for private shops.

After 20 + years got out of the business.

 

:)

 

KARNUT Senior Enthusiast

KARNUT

Posted
Posted

There may be exceptions. I can’t imagine a dealership risking their reputation over an oil filter. I was in the business of repairing and selling equipment. My tecs would send their wife’s cars to the dealership for oil changes. They would check them. Several dealerships have windows you can watch. Even my local pep boys and quick lube places do. One of my long time friends has a ten bay shop. He would say if he came across such a thing. If there’re gonna steal there’s more lucrative parts that are easier to hide than a filter. They try to up sell all the time it’s legal. Scamming a filter, please.


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duquephart Enthusiast

duquephart

Posted
Posted
34 minutes ago, KARNUT said:

There may be exceptions. I can’t imagine a dealership risking their reputation over an oil filter. I was in the business of repairing and selling equipment. My tecs would send their wife’s cars to the dealership for oil changes. They would check them. Several dealerships have windows you can watch. Even my local pep boys and quick lube places do. One of my long time friends has a ten bay shop. He would say if he came across such a thing. If there’re gonna steal there’s more lucrative parts that are easier to hide than a filter. They try to up sell all the time it’s legal. Scamming a filter, please.


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The point, I think, is the tech is not interested in stealing the filter. Rather, he is interested in saving the time it takes to install and then must do something with it.

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