My Walmart Oil Change From Hell

You can swap the filter and replace what spills. But there is the matter of the litre or so of dinosaur oil that was left in the filter.

Have the dealer change it, put the sticker back on your forehead (*g*), and take the bill to Walmart so they can reimburse you for the proper oil change.

(Not sure if I got this from a post here so apologies if it has already been posted)

You have an S80, a 500SL and a Saab and you go to WalMart for service

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

In life there are lessons, those lessons will repeat until we pass the test. This lesson is simple. Either do the work yourself or find a trustworthy dealer or independent mechanic to look after your cars for you. Period. No chains. No coupon specials. No Sears. No WalMart.

Have a look at NBC LA's recent series on Jiffy Lube:

"You have an S80, a 500SL and a Saab and you go to WalMart for service

??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? "

thats the "mode of thinking" that draggs the us economy down...use the cheapest place around for anything.....be it wal mart, or job out sourcing...then scratch our heads when things go wrong.....i wonder if the volvo dealers are worried wal mart may put their service bays out of business..??.....

John Horner wrote:

One the other hand, going to Wal-Mart and saving money is what creates enough wealth to buy a Mercedes, SAAB and a Volvo.

.02 cents.

John Horner wrote:

Sorry but this one got me laughing. We're talking about an oil change not a new turbo charger. I never take these cars to dealers for oil changes. Mercedes wants almost $200 for an oil change. Volvo is totally incompetent of providing decent service and Saab service has also plummeted since GM took over.

After watching the video on Jiffy Lube I realized how honest Walmart actually was with me. They could have tossed the oil filter insert I bought away and said have a nice day. They didn't. They were honest about it. They are also paying every penny of the new dip stick and tubing and labor. They could have just insisted they buy only the dip stick which is $22.00 and told me the fact that Volvo has redesigned the tubing isn't their issue. But they insisted I get a Volvo quote for everything and then proceeded to pay for it.

Lastly, your comment about my mode of thinking drags down the US economy was honestly the funniest. I own a fairly large corporation and I didn't get there by tossing money away. Even after my oil change from hell I have nothing but respect for Walmart who has implemented one of the best business models on the planet. You can scream bloody murder about them but that would be like me telling Bill Gates where he went wrong.

I'm really glad I posted this and very glad I saw the video on Jiffy Lube. It makes me realize that a Walmart oil change probably wasn't quite as stupid as I first thought. Thanks for opening my eyes.

"One the other hand, going to Wal-Mart and saving money is what creates enough wealth to buy a Mercedes, SAAB and a Volvo."

yea, you might be right...i would say making a lot of disposable $$ will put one into a nice volvo...i would never take my volvo to a jiffy lube or wal mart... i only want folks that know volvos working on my volvos.. and, i know i will pay a bit for it.....same with my plane... "qualified mechanics only", please....i don't want some person that was flipping burgers and checking to see if the customer wants a girl or boy toy next working on my "stuff"...........

Jamie wrote:

You don't appear to understand the concept of "wealth creation."

~.i

Excuse me, but getting an oil and filter change is not rocket science, any moron can do it, and do it right.

Were I not a shade tree mechanic, I would seek out the cheapest price for that service.

You are right that any moron could do it, but the morons regularly screw it up in expensive ways. Cross-threaded drain plugs, improper fluids, underfilling or overfilling, broken dipsticks and dipstick tubes and similar fubars are legion. I've seen complaints about oil being drained and left out, several about ATF instead of oil, but at least I haven't seen any tales of coolant instead of oil in the crankcase. I must not get around much. I have personally seen gear lube in a crankcase after a Jiffy Lube got ahold of it.

For non-DIYers I recommend taking it to your regular mechanic. The patronage of an honest mechanic will repay itself many times over in goodwill writeoffs and catching problems early. If you don't have a good mechanic, find a good one.

Mike

Thanks Tim, I guess I was leaning more towards being frugal - a penny saved is a penny earned. Of course there is also - you get what you pay for.

;-)

Tim McNamara wrote:

you get what you pay for @ wal mart or juffy lube....

snipped-for-privacy@comcast.net wrote:

Well considering that your oil change cost about $200 (which WM paid.. but regardless), paying $200 up front seems like a lot less of a hassle. Then again, I don't think that anyone suggested you go exclusively to the dealer for oil changes. Simply go to a competent mechanic (if they're competent, they're not working at WalMart).

WalMart does have a brilliant business model. Make the government give you sweet subsidies, and then stick them with the cost for all sorts of other things. It sucks for pretty much everyone else however.

Then again, you assume that by paying less up front you're saving money overall. Consider the quality of most of the stuff WM hawks, consider the cost to the local economy (yay for minimum wage jobs with no benefits)... yeah. Sounds like a great savings. Is WM paying for the time it'll take you to get your car to the dealer to replace the dipstick? Are they paying for the labour to change the oil filter? How about for the gas to and from the various shops, and your time spent tracking down all the quotes and such?

Microsoft has gone wrong in plenty of areas, consider for a moment all of the failed products they've released. Remember Microsoft Bob? Microsoft Sound System? Eh.... not to mention all of the exploits that have been released into the wild for MS Office this month.

After reading this post I'm willing to bet you're either from Canada or Europe. You probably belong to a union. Speaking of unions that is the number one reason Mercedes Benz is now ranked lower than one American car company in quality and customer satisfaction. Perhaps you should email Bill Gates and tell him where he screwed up. Also please show us where Walmart gives its employees no benefits. That simply is not the case. Are they equal to your union benefits? No I'm sure they aren't. But don't say they give no benefits. It blows any credibility you may have had.

cost is only one of many components to customer satasification...all components must be satasified to have a excellent "expierence"....my volvo mechanic does my s80t6 oil change for $40, while i wait, in aprox 15 min....

Alex Zepeda wrote:

On Wed, 26 Jul 2006, ~^ beancounter ~^ typed this :

I'm lucky enough to have found an ex-Volvo-gone-solo mechanic whose rates are equally as reasonable, by the sound of it. (Thank goodness)

Although humans are valued in Canada and 'Europe' (think you could narrow that one down next time?) they are also respected in the United States as well.

Yes, clearly the only people who care about the workers and their contributation to the economy are union workers. Very good call!

(after all, you did bring them up)

Hummm Quality is how well the vehicles are screwed together. Humm whets the worst vehicle Mercedes builds? Could it be...yes, I believe it is the ML class built by good old NASCAR watching, church going, 'mericans workers in a union free right to work red state. Customer satisfaction...I do believe that has quite a bit to do with how the customer is treated when something goes wrong with the poorly engineered car that the workers, union or not tend to screw together exactly as management wants them to. Are you saying, my good man, that damnable unions have infiltrated every Mercedes Benz dealer in the United States? Hark! We should have our man Bush do a signing statement about that!

Perhaps you

So now you request a high level critique of the business practices of an established technology firm as well as impose a anti union rant upon us?

Also please

Wal Mart gives almost no benefits, and they cost more then most part time employees can afford.

Wal Mart has taken many people off welfare, as the programs designed by President Clinton and the congress working together devised. The programs envisioned moms working and gaining skills, while the gov't would provide health care, and perhaps in some cases income as well.

The issue is that the people so employed have not due to whatever reason developed sufficient skills to get better jobs, and the country is still subsidizing Wal Mart.

That simply is

If a worker has the years and is given the hours they are permitted to buy benefits at a higher cost then many can afford, that correct.

Gee, Don are the benefits at wal mart equal to the benefits congressmen enjoy? Federal workers? Members of the armed services? Your benefits?

No I'm sure they

It blows any credibility

Thanks for your reasoned analysis.

No, I belong to no unions.

LMAO!!! My dear boy, it's clear that the issue is a question of macro V. micro!

Explaining how having a middle class with money to spend on more then food and housing with medical coverage is what makes the economy grow is not what they hear on talk radio. You must be an evil liberal! If not for the evil liberal media I bet we woulda been done in Iraq already!

OTOH saving a few bucks is never a bad idea as long as one is not penny wise and pound foolish. When I first graduated from college I had an interview to manage a Jiffy Lube.

They have impressive quality control systems and severe repercussions for failures leading to engine loss.

Quite frankly the Volvo is an unusual car, but the second time Wal Mart, Jiffy Lube or where ever will do it right, will be 200% careful and will be sure it does not happen again. Would I bring the car to such a place for an oil change? Perhaps. Wal Mart if it was on my way. I am sure Jiffy Lube has tech info out so the problems that happened at Wal Mart will not happen there.

I tend to think the dip stick was either an accident that could happen anywhere or a defect.

I will not pay the 40 bucks the dealer wants for an oil change, but I will, and do pay 25 for my garage to do the oil change, rather then 15 at the chain stores.

early or getting you ready for expenses you will soon face.

Guess what? Mechanics hate oil changes. They are hot, dirty, and they do not pay well.

When I use a place I do not know well for an oil change I watch them closely. I have caught a few minor errors, I suggest that any owner watch the oil changers if they are not 100% comfortable.