The anecdote of the day:
I went to get my oil changed today at about 6K from my last change (my dealer recommended is 6k and I have an oil life monitor that told me I still had 15% oil life (the light went on yesterday) and I've read several articles recently that you really can go much longer than what Jiffy Lube tells you as we use synthetic or synthetic blend oil). The guy tries his typical upsell on air filters and fuel injection cleaning. Nope, I'm good. Then he comes back in from the garage a little while later (he's the manager)
Dude: (Chastisingly said in the someone was a bad girl voice) Somebody went 3K over their 3000 mile change.
Me: My oil life monitor showed 15% and my dealer recommends 6K.
Dude: But you should really still do 3K. It's better for your car.
Me: (Laughing) You're full of it. (oops was that out loud?)
Dude: No really - the dirty oil is wearing on your engine and making your engine wear out faster. The dealers want your engine to wear out sooner so you have to buy a new car sooner. They're seeing a lot of 2000 and 2004 Fords now whose engines are worn out because of that. (By the way - yes, the dealer wants you to buy a new car sooner, but if my engine is totally dead after 6 years and 70-80K when I've done their recommended maintenance, you can be darn sure that the car I buy won't be the same one! So it's theoretically possible that that isn't actually their strategy.... hmm....)
Me: Yeah, but that's a Ford. Show that to me on a Toyota or Honda.
Dude: yeah, true. (pause) But really - the dirty oil is bad for the engine (or something).
Technician (the guy probably actually working on my car who happened out front): Here's the deal - if you use real oil, that last about 3K. If you use a synthetic blend - 5-6K. A full synthetic - 8-10K.
Me: And which did you just put in my car?
Technician: A synthetic blend. (At this point I look over at the manager again who must be seething, but who's really got nothing now.)
Dude: Yeah, but I still change mine every 3K.
(I bite my lip from asking his price v. mine.)
Technician: Some people still do, but you don’t really need to.
Then I go to leave and he tries to charge me $10 more than he quoted over the phone. I got him to honor the price though he told me that I needed to make sure to print the coupon online the next time (this has never before been necessary).
Sigh... Really wish I knew anything about cars - it'd make these conversations so much more fun. I should have been an engineer. Do they have to take lab science in college?
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hahaha! too funny, who says you have to know anything about cars to work at a car garage! I took my car in to get the brakes looked at and they told me they were perfectly fine, the next day my brakes went out while i was driving down the road!
ReplyDeleteThis is where my dopey brothers always came in handy. I coulda backed you up on the oil talk but you obvs didn't even need me!
ReplyDeleteYou know he stewed about that all day, right? 'Oil. 3000 miles. I told her 3000 miles. I'm gonna burn the building down. Oil. Change the oil. Burn the building down. 3000 miles.'
Next time you get your oil changed you should ask them to refill your blinker fluid. They love that.
;D
*Gobble Gobble*
Post something.
ReplyDelete(I'm all high and mighty now that the Internet is hooked up here.)
The comment that you left on the post I did bitching about The Pit's mom & names? Classsssic. THAT is why I need you. Come back.
;D
Jiffy Lube is full of BS. Way to show em up!
ReplyDelete