Jiffy Lube rippin' people off

[Fred Voorhees]

Jiffy lube is apparently on the down low in dealing with customers. Check out the video. Charging for services not performed.

http://www.nbc4.tv/video/9152183/detail.html#

[Vaughn McMillan]

I believe this clip is a few years old, if memory serves correctly. If not our local Channel 4, then the Channel 2 guys did a similar hidden camera thing back then. IIRC, Jiffy Lube was only one of the companies they caught doing unethical stuff. I'd wager this type of thing has been going on since blacksmiths were slipping rocks under horses' shoes then claiming to find a problem, using it to upsell the customer into a full shoe rotation and alignment. ;) :)

- Vaughn

[Mark Cothren]

And THAT is why I deal with a local, independent service center who I have gotten to know over the years and become friends with... I can drop a vehicle off and say "fix whatever needs fixing" and I don't ever have to worry about getting "stiffed".

Stuff like this gets my blood pressure up... suckas...

[Frank Fusco]

I'll add that to the long list of reasons why I don't/won't live in California.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Frank..........I don't live in California....and I don't think that has anything to do with it. I saw that same report on NBC National News this morning. Turns out.....most of those folks have a sales quota. If you place people on a quota or deadline.....some folks really want to please the Boss! Interestingly enough.......they said this morning that the 6 people involved were fired.......I wonder if the manager that set those "sales quotas" and put pressure on the employees to meet those quotas was fired?

You see the same type of sales hype here in Lewiston, Idaho. I just tell them...........No I don't want that stuff done and yes I'll look at it or I'll have a real mechanic look at it! I never get anything major done at Jiffy Lube........just an oil change.

[Bruce Page]

It makes you wonder. I've be going to jiffy lube for years, I might have to re-think that.

[Jerry Olexa]

Wow...Worse than I thought. Knew these things happened Occassionally but 5 of 9 in the same chain ?!?

[Steve Gray]

Folks this is a little off the main topic line, but I think what I'm going to say here has merit. Have you ever considered that if you change your engine oil at 3,500 or 5,000 miles as recommended by your owners manual, you are changing it too often? My job is to run a municipal garage with about 275 pieces of motorized equipment. We service everything from bulldozers to police and ambulance's to weed eaters.
I spend many thousands of dollars per year in preventative maintenence. We always "sample" our used oil when we service each vehicle. It costs about $12.00 for a basic analysis. We have been doing this for over 15 years and 95% of the time the oil was still in excellant shape for continued use!! 2 years ago I started a test on my wife's 96 lincoln. Had 44,000 miles then, has a little over 130,000 now. My wife commutes 130 miles a day to work. I started with Mobil 1 10w30 and went to 7,500 miles first oil change. Sample showed NO change!!! Particulate matter ( stuff as small as 20 microns) only went up 2 parts per million over the new oil sample I got done as a baseline. That small of an amount may have come from a little dirt around the filler cap or in the funnel I was using when putting the oil in the motor.
Now, 4 oil changes later and am up to 17,000 miles between changes and particulate matter is just now starting to rise. No fuel dilution or other problems. This go around will be 20,000 miles and I think I might actually see something thats says "its time" on this sample.
In our police units, (lots of idle time) we are using a standard 5/30 weight
non-synthetic oil and are running over 5,000 miles with NO PROBLEMS.
The biggest headache I have is getting the officers to buy into my data and believe the results.
I have not lost any motors, and we run Fords, Dodges and Chevrolets.
We are implementing a diesel engine test program and am awaiting results.
What I'm saying is this: If your car or pickup has a gas engine, runs well, is fuel injected and you use a quality (national brand) oil and filter you can reasonably expect to extend your oil change interval at least 25% past 3,500 or 5,000 miles. If you use a synthetic you can go 50% past at a minimum.
I have the sample data to prove my claims, and if you don't have to get your oil changed as much, at the very least you won't get tipped off as often.
:)

[Vaughn McMillan]

Very interesting data, Steve. I guess I feel a little less guilty about getting my most recent oil change about a thousand miles later than I'd intended.

- Vaughn

[Dennis Peacock]

You also have to remember.....it's not only the oil that makes the total difference in how long you can go. It's also the quality of filtration. I've used Amsoil since the late 1980's and with the excellent filtration in combination with it's synthetic oil, I went 50, 000 miles before I needed a change. Just changed the filter every 6 months, replaced the displaced oil and kept driving.

I found a LOT of advantages with using synthetic oil and the best air/oil filtration that I can find. Gas milage and longer engine life are only two of them. Needless to say? I'm a satisfied customer.

Now...back on topic....at work? We have "hidden quota's" and almost our entire floor of office folks have become seemingly "devilish" towards each other to make a work request quota each month. People have become enemies over it. It only takes a few "bad apples" to make the whole bunch "rotten". :(

[Jerry Olexa]

Folks this is a little off the main topic line, but I think what I'm going to say here has merit. Have you ever considered that if you change your engine oil at 3,500 or 5,000 miles as recommended by your owners manual, you are changing it too often? My job is to run a municipal garage with about 275 pieces of motorized equipment. We service everything from bulldozers to police and ambulance's to weed eaters.
I spend many thousands of dollars per year in preventative maintenence. We always "sample" our used oil when we service each vehicle. It costs about $12.00 for a basic analysis. We have been doing this for over 15 years and 95% of the time the oil was still in excellant shape for continued use!! 2 years ago I started a test on my wife's 96 lincoln. Had 44,000 miles then, has a little over 130,000 now. My wife commutes 130 miles a day to work. I started with Mobil 1 10w30 and went to 7,500 miles first oil change. Sample showed NO change!!! Particulate matter ( stuff as small as 20 microns) only went up 2 parts per million over the new oil sample I got done as a baseline. That small of an amount may have come from a little dirt around the filler cap or in the funnel I was using when putting the oil in the motor.
Now, 4 oil changes later and am up to 17,000 miles between changes and particulate matter is just now starting to rise. No fuel dilution or other problems. This go around will be 20,000 miles and I think I might actually see something thats says "its time" on this sample.
In our police units, (lots of idle time) we are using a standard 5/30 weight
non-synthetic oil and are running over 5,000 miles with NO PROBLEMS.
The biggest headache I have is getting the officers to buy into my data and believe the results.
I have not lost any motors, and we run Fords, Dodges and Chevrolets.
We are implementing a diesel engine test program and am awaiting results.
What I'm saying is this: If your car or pickup has a gas engine, runs well, is fuel injected and you use a quality (national brand) oil and filter you can reasonably expect to extend your oil change interval at least 25% past 3,500 or 5,000 miles. If you use a synthetic you can go 50% past at a minimum.
I have the sample data to prove my claims, and if you don't have to get your oil changed as much, at the very least you won't get tipped off as often.
:)

Steve Thanks for the detailed report. It confirms much of what I suspected. LOML and I have a running disageement on oilchanges. Once the console indicates time for oilchange, she alerts me to get it done immediately. I'm a liitle more casual and say when we have time in next few weeks, I'll do it. I once had a new Ford Station Wagon (this dates me:) ) and I never changed the oil on it ever. Sold it 5-6 years later with about 90,000 miles on it. Ran fine. I know thats a bit OT but I tend to be a little more "relaxed" than most on maintenance like this.. Thanks for your insight. Helps "slackers" like me.:) :D BTW we do now change our oil regularly on both vehicles just not on a strick time schedule:cool:

[Steve Gray]

Dennis has touched on another idea that at least one major company is trying and definitly has merit.
Replacing only the oil filter and topping off with fresh oil will drastically extend the service life of the oil in the motor.
Most normal filters will catch contaminants down to about 20 microns, replacing this filter and adding oil will "boost" the remaining oils additive package, making the old oil last much longer.
Walmart is running a test on their truck fleet that uses a 2nd (or 3rd in the case of some big diesel engines) that filters a small percentage of oil down to 2 microns. This is a bypass style filter not capable of taking the full flow from the oil pump. At the end of the service life of the filters, they are replaced and make-up oil added to the system. There is NEVER a complete oil change done! This is on motors that are expected to have a life of one million miles. If the study works as planned, think of how much money Walmart can save by only adding 4 qts of oil instead of a complete change of 24 to 48 qts!!!:D
We are trying the same filter system on a limited basis in our fleet. Its not cheap, $300 plus install, but in the long term it may more than pay for its self.:cool:

[Bryan Somers]

Theres allways some bad apples in this industry, wich is why I stand at the end of the bay and watch. I dont care wether they like it or not. Its my car and money, especially after a Jiffy Lube didnt put the differential oil plug back in!!!!!

[Dennis McDonaugh]

I think most trucking companies do the oil analysis thing to determine when to change oil.

[Pete Simmons]

A person I know had an oil change at Walmart only they forgot one thing - THE OIL. Engine siezed up.

They thought it would be a long fight with Walmart to correct the error.

Walmart quickly took care of a rental car and gave them blue book value of the car. Even let them keep the car.

[Chris Padilla]

Perhaps, back in the days of Dino oil, the changing intervals (hmm, recommended by who I wonder? ;) ) might have been realistic but with today's synthetics, they can last significantly longer. BMW recommends an oil and filter change at 15,000 miles...and that is what I do.