what is the difference between dealer oil changes and oil changes done by a local oil change place??

 

None. Both places have been known to screw it up.

 

Touché.

Pete

 

I will tell you this. A year ago my dealer charged about $100 for the service, its now $160 and time to start doing it myself.
What I would add to Mike's comment is find a shop/mechanic that you are comfortable with and let them do it. DO NOT USE JIFFY LUBE OR ANY OF THOSE OTHER QUICK LUBE PLACES. My son worked for one for about a month and he told some real horror stories. I happen to know the service manager at my dealership, he's one of my customers so he makes sure I'm taken care of. My issue now is the price.

Pat

 

~ see link... for 'jiffy lube' scam report...

https://www.crossfireforum.org/forum...ght=JIFFY+LUBE

 

I've been lucky. My local Turtle Wax car wash also operates an oil change business. They are pretty good, and the manager run a good shop. They charge me less that $70, and they stock the MobileOne 0-w40 and filters.

 

Really? Can you please send me the info on where this place is located.

 

They are in Crystal Lake, on Main Street, but you can look at their web site, and find one closer to you that has an Oil Change operation. Not all turtle wax car washes have oil change bays.

 

Wow FP, that's a great deal. I can't do it any cheaper in my garage. I always pay about $21 for the filter at the Mercedes dealer, and 8 qts. of oil is usually $48 (give or take) at Auto Zone.
I guess it's a good thing I don't mind doing it myself.

 

OMG. What horror stories?

 

I get my parts at AutoZone and (oil and filter) and take it across the street to a quick lube type place and watch them do the work. The 2 guys there are pretty cool as we chatted for a while before and after the change is done and I never left the floor so I watched everything they did.

They charged me $20 for the change and waste which isn't too bad. In total my oil change is about $90, $70 if I did it on my own.

 

If I give my dealer the oil and the filter, they charge me $14.99 to change it. That's the same or cheaper than Jiffy Lube.

 

Horror stories? how about wrong filters, wrong fluids, leaving oil cap off, not putting enough oil in, stripping your drain plug to name a few. A lot of these places, not all but a lot get inexperienced help to do these quickie oil changes. I know that's one of the ways kids do get experience but I'm not one to take chances.

Pat

 

As long as you keep a eye on them while they work on the car and you make sure they do everything correctly, there shouldn't be any issues even if you go to jiffy lube... I go to jiffy lube all the time and i make sure i'm right there, next to the engine bay making sure that everything is getting done right.

 

Just had mine done yesterday, I got lazy and took the oil and filter to EZ Lube... Bought the oil "Redline 40W Racing" $7.79 per qt. $13.50 for the filter, 1/2 qt MMO $6.00... $28.99 to change it...

8 qts Redline Oil $62.32
Oil Filter $13.50
MMO $6.00
Labor $ 28.99

Total $110.81

 

That's what I do.

 

I've heard about stripped threads on the oil plugs, but I've never had a problem (that I know of). I used to go to Valvoline Instant Oil Change (pre-Xfire). I paid for the upgrade for fully synthetic oil but then wondered how I'd know if they actually used the 100% syn or not. I didn't watch them too closely. I'll know better now. I haven't had to change the oil in the X-F yet. Was planning on doing it myself, but those jiffy-type places are convenient. I know I don't want to pay the inflated price for their oil at least.

The dealership I bought the car from has this gimmick - if ALL scheduled maintenance is done there, they'll slap brand new rubber on when the current tires wear out. Sounds great. Trouble is, the dealership is over an hour away, and the oil changes are at the typical bend over price. Here's the deal in their words:

"In Order to receive your replacement tire rewards, you must;

Have ALL Factory Recommended Service performed at OUR Dealership AND
ALL recommended services must be done within 1,000 miles or 1 month of when due AND

Tires must have been driven at least 25,000 miles AND

Tires must have reached a tread depth of no more than 3/32 with uniform wear."

A minefield of conditions. Factor in the time & the cost of gas driving up there and I'm not sure it's worth it.

 

I get a little nervous when it comes time for the oil change. Either I do it myself or I take it to the MB dealer about an hour drive away. The thing I am concerned about are the gaskets. Will they all be replaced or will they leave one of them out (forget to put it in, like the little on that goes in first). For the filter to do it's job the right way it needs to have a proper seal. If the seals don't get put in right then the filter won't be efficient. Will we be any wiser?? NO! I know, we all can goof it up and that includes me and the MB dealer, but I trust them more than the Chrysler dealer. Just my 2 cents and a little rambling to boot...