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Just to head off the questions----I live in an apartment that that doesn't allow you to do it on property and I work 60-80 hours a week. This is why I don't just change my own oil.
I recently got my oil changed at once of those basic car care places down the street from me. Usually they do the whole, "You need this, this, and this done to your car. We'll do all of it for $XXX if you'd like," thing after they're done. They didn't this time, which I thought was weird, especially since I hadn't taken care of a couple things they mentioned last time I was there. Oh well, I think, they won't try to up-sale me. That's good, right? Ha. I think they knew they were ripping me off and were trying to get me out as soon as possible.
The rest of that day, I drove all over and around the city, going no less than 65 mph for most of it. I only stopped on a red light a couple times that day, and every time it felt like the car was shaking a little, but I thought maybe I'm imagining it. The next day, I had a friend in a car behind me and he told me that my car was letting out a lot of excess exhaust. Uh oh. So we check the oil level (after the car was cool, of course) and it was 3-4 inches past the max fill line. I saw red.
So the next day (since they were closed the previous one), I called and talked to the manager on the phone.
(Manager and I exchange pleasantries and I explain the situation)
Manager: Well, you see, your make does weird things with their dipsticks and it actually pulls oil up it. So it's just marked it wrong.
Me: Then explain to be the exhaust and the shaking of the car.
Manager: Well, did the 'check engine' light come on your dash? Because nowadays the computers are so advanced that as soon as anything is wrong, it'll tell you right away.
Me: No, but that's not neither true nor the point. I got my oil changed. My car started having problems. Cause and effect.
Manager: Well, that's actually impossible. You see, we have a computer that does the work for us. We just put the VIN in and the computer puts the oil in the car. So we really can't mess up, see?
Me: Are you refusing to even look at my car?
Manager: No, just trying to point out there probably wasn't a mistake. Let me send a guy out to you now to look at it.
Me: You can't now. I am at work and the car is at home. I had to get a coworker to take me in because of this problem you caused.
Manager: Well, I guess you made it so I can't fix it yet, huh? Can you just call me on the way home? (emphasis mine)
I agree to, tell him a tentative time, we give our byes.
On the way home (about 10 minutes away), I call:
Manager: Well, call me when you get home.
Me: You told me to call you in the way home. We are driving there now.
Manager: Just call me when you get home.
Me: I've already passed your shop. If you leave now, we'll still beat you there.
Manager: Good. Call me when you get home.
About three minutes later, I'm home. I call again. I give his worker directions. It took him 15 minutes to make it to my place. The shop is about 1.5 miles away. I could've walked there in that time. The guy looked at it, told me the manager told him the oil was leaking. I told him I never said that and that I only told him that there was a lot of exhaust. The guy starts the car and makes it vibrate like I told him it did. He called it a "racket" and said that it sounded awful and we had to get it to the shop right away because it didn't sound good. We called the manager, who asked me to just let the guy drive it over so they can fix it and get it back to me. Haha. I will stay with my car, thank you.
Ok, since my post is already long, I will just briefly summarize the adventures in the shop.
(1) As soon as I show up, the manager again starts emphasizing the badly made dipstick and told me it was probably nothing.
(2) He also again starts trying to tell me that since the "check engine" light never came on, there wasn't any damage.
After he took my car and brought it back:
(3) He told me he didn't see any excess exhaust or feel any shaking (even though your worker did, bud?).
(4) He told me that one of his workers put in the computer that I had a different car (what about the VIN?), so they thought I needed 5 quarts instead of 4 quarts and they put in 4.25 quarts (so you rip off owners of those other vehicles by not putting enough in?). So, "it was only a little more."
(5) Tells me to call if the check engine light comes on, since that will tell him there's actually been damage done.
(6) When I asked for my money back, he said the best he can do is give me a coupon to get my next oil change free. Ha!
So, we drive around, it seems to be better, so I go home...
....and go on Facebook to warn everyone about this. Get about 20 comments from friends also ripped off by them. Now we have a saying, "Friends don't let friends go to <shop>."
I recently got my oil changed at once of those basic car care places down the street from me. Usually they do the whole, "You need this, this, and this done to your car. We'll do all of it for $XXX if you'd like," thing after they're done. They didn't this time, which I thought was weird, especially since I hadn't taken care of a couple things they mentioned last time I was there. Oh well, I think, they won't try to up-sale me. That's good, right? Ha. I think they knew they were ripping me off and were trying to get me out as soon as possible.
The rest of that day, I drove all over and around the city, going no less than 65 mph for most of it. I only stopped on a red light a couple times that day, and every time it felt like the car was shaking a little, but I thought maybe I'm imagining it. The next day, I had a friend in a car behind me and he told me that my car was letting out a lot of excess exhaust. Uh oh. So we check the oil level (after the car was cool, of course) and it was 3-4 inches past the max fill line. I saw red.
So the next day (since they were closed the previous one), I called and talked to the manager on the phone.
(Manager and I exchange pleasantries and I explain the situation)
Manager: Well, you see, your make does weird things with their dipsticks and it actually pulls oil up it. So it's just marked it wrong.
Me: Then explain to be the exhaust and the shaking of the car.
Manager: Well, did the 'check engine' light come on your dash? Because nowadays the computers are so advanced that as soon as anything is wrong, it'll tell you right away.
Me: No, but that's not neither true nor the point. I got my oil changed. My car started having problems. Cause and effect.
Manager: Well, that's actually impossible. You see, we have a computer that does the work for us. We just put the VIN in and the computer puts the oil in the car. So we really can't mess up, see?
Me: Are you refusing to even look at my car?
Manager: No, just trying to point out there probably wasn't a mistake. Let me send a guy out to you now to look at it.
Me: You can't now. I am at work and the car is at home. I had to get a coworker to take me in because of this problem you caused.
Manager: Well, I guess you made it so I can't fix it yet, huh? Can you just call me on the way home? (emphasis mine)
I agree to, tell him a tentative time, we give our byes.
On the way home (about 10 minutes away), I call:
Manager: Well, call me when you get home.
Me: You told me to call you in the way home. We are driving there now.
Manager: Just call me when you get home.
Me: I've already passed your shop. If you leave now, we'll still beat you there.
Manager: Good. Call me when you get home.
About three minutes later, I'm home. I call again. I give his worker directions. It took him 15 minutes to make it to my place. The shop is about 1.5 miles away. I could've walked there in that time. The guy looked at it, told me the manager told him the oil was leaking. I told him I never said that and that I only told him that there was a lot of exhaust. The guy starts the car and makes it vibrate like I told him it did. He called it a "racket" and said that it sounded awful and we had to get it to the shop right away because it didn't sound good. We called the manager, who asked me to just let the guy drive it over so they can fix it and get it back to me. Haha. I will stay with my car, thank you.
Ok, since my post is already long, I will just briefly summarize the adventures in the shop.
(1) As soon as I show up, the manager again starts emphasizing the badly made dipstick and told me it was probably nothing.
(2) He also again starts trying to tell me that since the "check engine" light never came on, there wasn't any damage.
After he took my car and brought it back:
(3) He told me he didn't see any excess exhaust or feel any shaking (even though your worker did, bud?).
(4) He told me that one of his workers put in the computer that I had a different car (what about the VIN?), so they thought I needed 5 quarts instead of 4 quarts and they put in 4.25 quarts (so you rip off owners of those other vehicles by not putting enough in?). So, "it was only a little more."
(5) Tells me to call if the check engine light comes on, since that will tell him there's actually been damage done.
(6) When I asked for my money back, he said the best he can do is give me a coupon to get my next oil change free. Ha!
So, we drive around, it seems to be better, so I go home...
....and go on Facebook to warn everyone about this. Get about 20 comments from friends also ripped off by them. Now we have a saying, "Friends don't let friends go to <shop>."
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