Got my oil changed today, never again

[Redbug]

Like many of you, I do all my own maintenance. I don't trust the judgment of others with my stuff. I do all my own tire rotations, (how can you goof up something as basic as that?), since the grease monkeys don't know what a torque wrench is...

 

[ray66v]

since the grease monkeys don't know what a torque wrench is...

I told my tire dealer: There is a torque wrench on the floor, in the vehicle, if you need one. I don't care about the rears, but, I don't want my rotors getting distorted by improper use of the impact gun. He said: Don't worry, we always use a torque wrench.

Then, I watch as the technician hammered the lug nuts on with the impact, and then put the torque wrench on and gave it a click.

I checked them when I got home, they were so tight, I had trouble getting them off, to properly torque them. When they are at the proper 80 ft. lbs., they are not very tight at all.

Sure enough, my brake pedal started to pulsate.

 

[orezok]

I subscribe to the 90-10-90 theory of posting on most forums. 90% of people are usually satisfied with the service they receive. 10% are not. They are the ones that post 90% of posts. I usually discount most rants by 90% to reach the actual factor of problems!

 

[ray66v]

90% of people are usually satisfied with the service they receive.

That is mostly because ignorance is bliss.

 

[Bird]

I always preferred doing my own oil changes until I moved back to town a little over 7 years ago. So now I let my Ford dealer do it. I just wait there and drink their coffee while they do it, although they're more than willing to take me home and come back and get me if I wanted to leave one for service. So I pay $32.70 for an oil & filter change, and they check everything else, top off the windshield washer fluid, etc. But then every 3rd or 4th oil change is free. So both vehicles got a free (complimentary) oil & filter change last year. And today, I got my invitation in the mail for the dealer's "3rd annual Family Reunion Barbecue" (a customer appreciation event) a week from this Saturday. It was pretty good barbecue last year.:laughing:

 

[Redbug]

That isn't a bad deal, Bird. And they must do everything right since you have been going back. Do you get your choice of oils?

 

[Bird]

Do you get your choice of oils?

Dave, I've never asked.:laughing: Every dealer I've known of has always recommended oil changes every 3k miles saying they consider the heat, air pollution, traffic, etc. in this area to be severe service, so whether the dealer, or whether I was doing it myself, I've gone by the 3k mile cycle just about as long as I can remember. But, as with most places, they put a little sticker in the upper left corner of the windshield showing the mileage that the next change will be due. And last year they changed to the 5k mile cycle instead of 3k miles. Naturally, I asked about it and they said it was because they changed to synthetic oil. And the price of the oil & filter change is only $2.22 more now than it was 3 years ago. Neither vehicle has ever required adding oil between changes, even with the 5k mile cycle.

But of course they can make mistakes, just as anyone can. When I had them service the transmission on the Ranger, they overfilled it so when it got hot, some leaked out. Naturally, I went back and they corrected that. So I do check the oil myself after service.

The owner of the dealership for the last 54 years died last year, but he already had a son running their place in another town, and a daughter running a third one, so I don't think much will change.

 

[MossRoad]

I always preferred doing my own oil changes until I moved back to town a little over 7 years ago. So now I let my Ford dealer do it. I just wait there and drink their coffee while they do it, although they're more than willing to take me home and come back and get me if I wanted to leave one for service. So I pay $32.70 for an oil & filter change, and they check everything else, top off the windshield washer fluid, etc. But then every 3rd or 4th oil change is free. So both vehicles got a free (complimentary) oil & filter change last year. And today, I got my invitation in the mail for the dealer's "3rd annual Family Reunion Barbecue" (a customer appreciation event) a week from this Saturday. It was pretty good barbecue last year.:laughing:

Hey, that ends up being about 20-25 bucks per oil change AND a free BBQ. Pretty good deal. :licking:

 

[jinman]

The owner of the dealership for the last 54 years died last year, but he already had a son running their place in another town, and a daughter running a third one, so I don't think much will change.

Was that Bill Utter? I grew up in Denton when it was the original Bill Utter Ford location on South Elm St and Chester Morris had the Chevy dealership on N. Elm before moving to University Drive. Guy Laney was the Mercury-Lincoln dealer on N. Locust. Funny how your mentioning a 54 year old dealership brought on that memory.

 

[Bird]

Yep, Jim, even though Bill Utter was in his 90s, the service manager had told me he was still coming to work for a little while each morning and driving his own van. I haven't asked anyone about any details since the news stories about his death. But apparently he had been involved in an auto accident a short time before his death and I don't know whether that caused his death or not. According to the newspaper he was 92 when he died in January of last year. Another long time car dealer in the area, J. L. Huffines, was 85 when he died last year.

Jim, the first and only time I was in Bill Utter Ford, until about 4 years ago, was in 1958 when I was going to college at North Texas and I took a used Isetta home from there for the weekend before deciding not to buy it.