Bulk vs. Bottled oil at places like Jiffy Lube

Around here the Honda dealers typically charge from 22.95 to 25.99 for an oil change and generally get you out within an hour. I personally have never been in a quick change place, but everyone I know who goes to them always seem to end up with a bill of 40 or more. There is nothing inherently wrong with bulk oil, so long as what's in the barrel is what's supposed to be in it. I'm sure some dealerships use bulk, but I'd feel more confident that it's what it is supposed to be - and you get a Honda brand filter instead of ???.

The bulk oil is the same as what's in the bottles. I have actually delivered the stuff into the tanks. The good Lube places will have all the grades, i.e. 0-30, 5-30, 10-30, 10-40 or whatever. The bad places just order 10-30 and put it in every car, but they are usually auto shops, not lube places. In my opinion, they charge way too much anymore for an oil change and many use the cheapest oil filters to boot.

If Pennzoil is the optional "upgrade" oil, then what crap is in the bulk tank? I bet they are just milking the customer even more with that line.

dan

Don't ever take your car to Jiffy Lube. They've been busted by local news for not changing oil filters.

Dealerships are everywhere, and they know they need to compete with those guys.

There is absolutely no NEED to get your oil changed at places like Jiffy Lube. And frankly, it can wait another 500 miles until you get home.

Either the bulk stuff is all one grade--and cheap to boot--or else they're charging $15 for the privilege of your being able to watch it come out of the sealed, name-brand bottles.

My guess is the former.

Your guess would be wrong. As someone who has actually worked at a JL (needed money while in school and they were hiring) I can say that the bulk is NOT all the same grade. Yes it is cheaper, because they are OWNED by an oil company and the franchises get a discount off wholesale prices as well. The normal stock is Shell 5W30, 10W30, 15W50 Rotella, Dexron II and ATF. They also stock bulk synthetic in 5W30 and 10W30.

The reason the bottles are more money is real easy. Personal preference. Some people don't like Shell oil and prefer Pennzoil. They are also convinced that the bulk oil HAS to be garbage so they buy the Pennzoil, thinking it is better. Royal Dutch / Shell (SOPUS) owns Quaker State and Pennzoil.

They do in my case. Most dealers have a newbie doing it, but my dealership simply has the regular mechanics do it.

I'm happy, because (a) my regular mechanic does it, and (b) he's putting his practiced eye underneath the car as he does so. It all works out very well.

pretty sure they also own iffy lube...

If JL stocks different grades of oil, why are they incapable of understanding that VW engines don't like 10W30? I gave up on JL years ago even though my cars weren't anything special simply because I got sick of listening to the lifters clatter. This is not an issue specific to one location either, I am stubborn and kept going back and insisting on 10W40 or 15W50 and kept getting the wrong stuff. The convenience of a quick, no-appointment oil change is nice, but ONLY IF THEY DO IT RIGHT!

The last straw was when they filled my windshield washer bottle with water. In December. Right before I left to visit my family in PA for Christmas. Never went back after that.

Basically, my advice is, if you care about your car, you will not go to Jiffy Lube under any circumstances. I don't think I've ever had a GOOD experience there; simply technicians trying to upsell me with overpriced air filters ("your air filter is dirty" even though I know they didn't check it as it's under the AFM/fuel distributor,) wiper blades, etc. and pointing out that the oil pan gasket on my 240K mile beater is weeping a little oil. I've also had to remind them to check the gear oil in the transaxle, even though it's on their checklist (at one point in time, I had a leaking output shaft seal that didn't go away with a new seal, and I didn't have time to change out the transaxle for a couple months.) The best I've had is a "not too bad" experience, but now that I have my own garage I don't have any use for 'em. My FLAPS takes my drain oil, too, and a DIY oil change with Rotella and a Wix filter costs less than a JL oil change.

A good, trusted mechanic can't be beat, JL is for people who like wasting money. If you're not going to do it yourself, suck it up, make an appointment, wait a couple hours (or better yet, find one near work and drop it off in the morning.)

nate

Yep, Which is why they stock bulk Shell oil and upgrade is Pennzoil.

My regular mechanic has his 13-year-old kid doing it this summer. The kid is very good, too. I'd trust him over most of the dealer techs.

--scott

This is why I prefer to have a small shop do it, because a good tech can sometimes spot stuff that he's not even looking for, e.g. "there's some grease on the inside of your LF wheel, I checked it out and your CV boot has a little tear in it, want me to go ahead and replace it before it becomes a problem?"

Last time I had the corner guy look at my truck, he identified a vacuum issue with my HVAC controls (which I knew about) and fixed it for about $40 which was fine by me because it would have taken me longer than a half hour to trace it out.

nate

The exact thing happened to me several years ago, thanks to the experienced eye of a long time regular tech.

And there's no question his dad is keeping an eagle eye on things behind his back.

Absolutely, but the kid can do it as fast as I can at this point. Considering maybe half of the stuff they get in the shop are cars with canister filters, that's saying something.

--scott

I always buy five quarts of Valvolene motor oil at the Wal Mart store and an oil filter at NAPA when I get ready to do the deed. cuhulin

i do it myself and save money. for the price to pay somebody to change your oil i go to walmart buy a fram oil filter and a 5 quart bottle of castrol syntec full synthetic oil and change it myself and i know it's done right. and my oil stays cleaner longer than those shops that plug up the drain plug before everything is even drained out. read your owners manual and get a haynes repair manual and go at it.

-jeff

I use a 25 year veteran mechanic who has been a Honda guy for that whole time. I sit there and watch while he does it, and we shoot the shit. He's a friend of mine now. He's the only guy I let touch my Hondas.

I know it's done right, because I watched. And I get many benefits from doing it that way, benefits that are more than paid for by that extra few bucks I pay for labor.

Somehow I missed the post that you replied to, but I feel compelled to reply... if you're using Fram filters, you're not doing it right. Fram is a triumph of marketing over quality...

nate