jwblue Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 (edited) I know the price is outrageous, but is there any benefit to having a Nissan dealership change the oil on a Nissan? What about other makers? I now Mercedes requires it to maintain their warranty. Edited January 7, 2012 by jwblue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchizophrenicMC Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 Not really. Just go to Kwik Kar or whatever. Especially with these older ones, where there's no warranty to maintain. I don't even suggest doing it yourself, because most shops do it for so little over the price of oil, it's not worth bothering with the effort. Me, I stay away from dealerships, unless it's a lifetime-warrantied service, like the seatbelts in the S13, or what have you. Dealers always try and suck too much money out of you. (That being said, I could very well push my car to the nearest Nissan dealership if I had to, and I don't dislike that fact) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 I would NEVER honestly go to a quick lube place for an oil change... and besides the filter draining onto the starter when you crack it loose on a wd21 (which a quick lube place will almost never take any steps to prevent) doing it by your self is pretty simple. As for dealer oil changes, might be a couple bucks more but at least your getting the right oil and a quality filter, not a cheap azz Fram and some low grade unknown oil from a drum while they flash some empty quart jug of Castrol Syntec in front of you that's been on the shelf for 2 years. And at least it's going to a place with people who know Nissans and not some tech school dork who thinks your "jeep" is super keel while pouring some unknown predetermined ammount of oil in the crankcase instead of the proper ammount. Personal suggestion though would be if you don't want to/like to do them yourself, stick with your trusted source you normally deal with for mantnance and repairs. Take my thoughts as you wish and keep in mind that they are from someone who let's nobody near their truck for anything when it come to maintenance and repairs but themselves (heck I won't even go to full service gas stations ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SchizophrenicMC Posted January 7, 2012 Share Posted January 7, 2012 In my experiences with quick lube places, as long as you don't go to Walmart, you get a good filter, and the oil you paid for from the jugs they come in. I watch the guys do it. 5 quarts into the Saturn every time, always the high-end Mobil synthetic. (Of course all this was back when dad still cared for the Saturn's well-being) Walmart ain't the place to go, though. For anything. And the price for an oil change where we've always gone is marginally above the price of oil and a filter, anyway, so we've rarely found it worth it to change our own oil. And at this point, the Saturn and GMC are burning oil anyway, so we don't change oil anymore, just add more. Of course we know they're going to die if we do this. They're bound for it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I would NEVER honestly go to a quick lube place for an oil change... and besides the filter draining onto the starter when you crack it loose on a wd21 (which a quick lube place will almost never take any steps to prevent) doing it by your self is pretty simple. As for dealer oil changes, might be a couple bucks more but at least your getting the right oil and a quality filter, not a cheap azz Fram and some low grade unknown oil from a drum while they flash some empty quart jug of Castrol Syntec in front of you that's been on the shelf for 2 years. And at least it's going to a place with people who know Nissans and not some tech school dork who thinks your "jeep" is super keel while pouring some unknown predetermined ammount of oil in the crankcase instead of the proper ammount. Personal suggestion though would be if you don't want to/like to do them yourself, stick with your trusted source you normally deal with for mantnance and repairs. Take my thoughts as you wish and keep in mind that they are from someone who let's nobody near their truck for anything when it come to maintenance and repairs but themselves (heck I won't even go to full service gas stations ) For once, I completely agree with Nunya. Going to the dealer would be a complete waste of money. The dealer's purpose is to sell cars. They will sell you parts and service your vehicle, but at an extremely high price because they don't care if you do it or not. An oil change would be a ridiculous price. That's reason #1 to not go to the dealer. Your other choices are to do it yourself or have a quick lube shop do it. Do you have any idea how many engines Jiffy Lube destroys because their employees forgot to add the oil when they were done? Nunya makes excellent points. The employees can't possibly know how much to put in every single individual car. Even between the exact same cars, they can have different engines with different sized oil pans. Their main goal is to get you in and get you out as fast as possible. That's how they make money. Those quick lube chains do use the cheapest oil possible. Just call and ask them. For the most part, they won't even try to hide it. Jiffy Lube does specials like $10 oil change. Well, if you read the fine print or ask them, that $10 only includes like 4qts of conventional oil. Not even a filter or anything. Drain plug out, catch oil, drain plug in, fill oil. That's all. Then the prices start to jump. Jiffy lube wanted like $30 for a synthetic blend oil change, and then they wanted $64.99 for a full synthetic oil change. I don't know about you, but $64.99 is not 'marginally' above the cost of my oil and filter. Hell, I'm currently using Royal Purple at $10 a qt, and it still didn't even come to $60. Just do it yourself. It will take all of 10mins and you will have the satisfaction. Besides that, you know EXACTLY what's going in and what's coming out of your engine. Well, you might say "I don't want to get dirty" or "I don't have the time to buy the oil, get under the car, change the oil, and then responsibly dispose of the oil". How long do you think it will take at Jiffy Lube? 10 mins? I think not. You have to drive there, then make an appointment, or maybe make an appointment then drive there, then you have to hand your keys over to some greasy high schooler, then you have to wait for it to be done. At this point, they have you over a barrel and they can take as long as they want. Then you have to get your car back and hope it was done properly. I think 10mins and $30 is cheap insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ANDY Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 well for 15 more bucks you could get everything checked and topped off if needed. and last one to touch it owns it so there is your insurance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I want a video of your 10 minute oil change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwd5021 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I agree, other than maybe letting it drain for a bit longer, I don't see any reason an oil change should take more than 10 minutes.... I say it's a waste of time and $ paying someone else to change your oil, whether going to the dealer or some cheap lube place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
devonianwalk Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 For me, changing my own oil gives me a piece of mind that it was done right. Plus I get the personal satisfaction of doing something constructive that day. Beer + chore = Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trogdor636 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I agree, other than maybe letting it drain for a bit longer, I don't see any reason an oil change should take more than 10 minutes.... I say it's a waste of time and $ paying someone else to change your oil, whether going to the dealer or some cheap lube place. I think those places mainly exist for people who have no mechanical skills, no time, or no desire to do their own. Just because oil changes seem simple to you, doesn't mean everybody can do it. Like cooking seems simple to many, others can burn cereal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rwd5021 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Maybe you're right about the lack of mechanical skills or desire (i didn't always change my own oil either), but I do know mine go a lot faster now, at home, than they used to at a shop. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 I normally do it myself, but when I had the pathy in at nissan for seatbelt repairs I had them do an oil change as well. It was only 39.99, which I think is a great price for the right oil and oem filter. I'm considering making that my winter oil change place since I don't have a garage to work in. They did a very good job (filled to the proper level, filled washer fluid, washed the truck and didn't spill oil all over the place like a quick lube joint). I also checked the prices of the local quick lube places and they were all more expensive for the same service. What I appreciated most is that they didn't treat me like a schmuck just because I drove an older vehicle, they even offered me a loaner car... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 (edited) I normally do it myself, but when I had the pathy in at nissan for seatbelt repairs I had them do an oil change as well. It was only 39.99, which I think is a great price for the right oil and oem filter. I'm considering making that my winter oil change place since I don't have a garage to work in. They did a very good job (filled to the proper level, filled washer fluid, washed the truck and didn't spill oil all over the place like a quick lube joint). I also checked the prices of the local quick lube places and they were all more expensive for the same service. What I appreciated most is that they didn't treat me like a schmuck just because I drove an older vehicle, they even offered me a loaner car... ok. thats pretty good. I will admit, if you HAVE to go somewhere, the dealer is probably the best place. For the most part, dealerships have trained mechanics and employees. Their productivity depends on it. Jiffy Lube is like "..eh..whatever. minimum wage for the win". I will give the dealer credit for actually knowing the vehicles. They would be least likely to do it wrong. just curious, a loaner car for what? Edited January 8, 2012 by 1994SEV6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nunya Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 He went in for other repairs (seatbelt warranty) and not everyone wants to sit around and wait for their repairs. Courtesy from the dealership to have a loaner car so that people can go about their day while repairs are getting done Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 As the well known dealer technician around here, this is more than whether a dealer or quick lube is the best choice. If you prefer not to work on your own rig, or just dont have the knowledge to perform maintenence or repairs, you need to pick a repair facility and get to know the person working on your vehicle. I try to connect personally with as many customers as I can. Its liek going to your doctor. You want to build a relationship with this person so you can feel reassured that they know what they are doing. At the dealer, the chance of a Master tech working on your vehicle for just a oil change, is going to be slim. That is, unless you as for it! No repair facility wants thier highest paid person doing oil changes. The thing is, and I will use myself as a example, I know what to look for on your vehicle. Years of experience have given me a trained eye and ear to find the things that are going wrong or will soon fail that every customer needs to be informed of. Who are you going to blame if someone misses something on a inspection and then something bad happens? Yeah, me. So I will try and look at as many things as possible in a timely manner. I cant find everything. But I will look for things that may be a safety issue or the like. Just because I may bring a list of needed repairs/maintenence, doesnt mean you have to have the work performed there. I just want you to be informed of what is needed. I then have to hope you trust me and come back. If you have questions, I want you to ask them. I am more than willing to point out things that are needed, in person. I will walk you out to your rig and show you things and explain why and what will correct it. Also, it never hurts to ask for your old parts back(I tend not to throw things away until the customer is paid and gone ust in case)! What im getting at here is that a quick lube place will not do this. Heck, here we have a quick lube place where you can sit in your car and watch monitors of the guys working on your rig. Unfortunalty, this still doesnt stop them from doing things wrong. Next time you visit one of these places, before you pull in, check your fluid levels, filters, ect, and make sure they are doing what you are paying for. Oh, are they going to check your tire pressure? They need to go by the recommended air pressure sticker on the car, not on the tire. Anyways, I do not recommend quick lube places. Too many replaced engines, overfilled engines, lack of topped off fluids, overfilled tires, spilled oil not cleaned up, I could go on and on. Quick lube places are no place to learn how to work on vehicles. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 As the well known dealer technician around here, this is more than whether a dealer or quick lube is the best choice. If you prefer not to work on your own rig, or just dont have the knowledge to perform maintenence or repairs, you need to pick a repair facility and get to know the person working on your vehicle. I try to connect personally with as many customers as I can. Its liek going to your doctor. You want to build a relationship with this person so you can feel reassured that they know what they are doing. At the dealer, the chance of a Master tech working on your vehicle for just a oil change, is going to be slim. That is, unless you as for it! No repair facility wants thier highest paid person doing oil changes. The thing is, and I will use myself as a example, I know what to look for on your vehicle. Years of experience have given me a trained eye and ear to find the things that are going wrong or will soon fail that every customer needs to be informed of. Who are you going to blame if someone misses something on a inspection and then something bad happens? Yeah, me. So I will try and look at as many things as possible in a timely manner. I cant find everything. But I will look for things that may be a safety issue or the like. Just because I may bring a list of needed repairs/maintenence, doesnt mean you have to have the work performed there. I just want you to be informed of what is needed. I then have to hope you trust me and come back. If you have questions, I want you to ask them. I am more than willing to point out things that are needed, in person. I will walk you out to your rig and show you things and explain why and what will correct it. Also, it never hurts to ask for your old parts back(I tend not to throw things away until the customer is paid and gone ust in case)! What im getting at here is that a quick lube place will not do this. Heck, here we have a quick lube place where you can sit in your car and watch monitors of the guys working on your rig. Unfortunalty, this still doesnt stop them from doing things wrong. Next time you visit one of these places, before you pull in, check your fluid levels, filters, ect, and make sure they are doing what you are paying for. Oh, are they going to check your tire pressure? They need to go by the recommended air pressure sticker on the car, not on the tire. Anyways, I do not recommend quick lube places. Too many replaced engines, overfilled engines, lack of topped off fluids, overfilled tires, spilled oil not cleaned up, I could go on and on. Quick lube places are no place to learn how to work on vehicles. I really appreciate your efforts. That's how things should be done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 In my experience, private family owned shops are the best. I tend to stay away from chain places and dealers for my repair and maintenance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
5523Pathfinder Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I forgot to add that you should look for a tech, not so much the facility, that has some credentials. Any monkey can pick up a wrench and call themselves a mechanic. That same monkey can F up your rig really bad. Dealers/Manufactures have ongoing training, and some, if not most private shops have access to training(Delco, Snap-on, ect). Any trained tech should be happy to show you what he has for certification and training(think like a Dr. office, or Lawyer. Yeah its on the wall for a reason). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The one thing I really like about the dealer is that when they say bring it in for 10am the truck goes into the shop at 10am and I'm called as soon as it is done/when they need my authorization to go ahead. Almost all of the private shops I've been to, say to bring it at 9am or w/e and it sits there most of the day then they call me at 4:59 saying it needs something or its done but there is no way in hell I could make it over there before they close at 5. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 That is true, dealers are much better with handling appointments. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1994SEV6 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) Almost all of the private shops I've been to, say to bring it at 9am or w/e and it sits there most of the day then they call me at 4:59 saying it needs something or its done but there is no way in hell I could make it over there before they close at 5. so much repressed anger just came flaring up. this must be the most true thing in the world. Edited January 9, 2012 by 1994SEV6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwblue Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) That is true, dealers are much better with handling appointments. And a courtesy shuttle. Edited January 9, 2012 by jwblue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tmoore4512 Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 I would NEVER honestly go to a quick lube place for an oil change... and besides the filter draining onto the starter when you crack it loose on a wd21 (which a quick lube place will almost never take any steps to prevent) doing it by your self is pretty simple. As for dealer oil changes, might be a couple bucks more but at least your getting the right oil and a quality filter, not a cheap azz Fram and some low grade unknown oil from a drum while they flash some empty quart jug of Castrol Syntec in front of you that's been on the shelf for 2 years. And at least it's going to a place with people who know Nissans and not some tech school dork who thinks your "jeep" is super keel while pouring some unknown predetermined ammount of oil in the crankcase instead of the proper ammount. Personal suggestion though would be if you don't want to/like to do them yourself, stick with your trusted source you normally deal with for mantnance and repairs. In my experiences with quick lube places, as long as you don't go to Walmart, you get a good filter, and the oil you paid for from the jugs they come in. I watch the guys do it. 5 quarts into the Saturn every time, always the high-end Mobil synthetic. (Of course all this was back when dad still cared for the Saturn's well-being) Walmart ain't the place to go, though. For anything. And the price for an oil change where we've always gone is marginally above the price of oil and a filter, anyway, so we've rarely found it worth it to change our own oil. And at this point, the Saturn and GMC are burning oil anyway, so we don't change oil anymore, just add more. Of course we know they're going to die if we do this. They're bound for it anyway. I change my own oil. In all of my own cars, with the exception of my patrol car (simply because it is still under warranty and SOP for the department is to take it and have it serviced where it will retain the warranty.) Why do I change my own oil? For one I can get it done relatively fast, maybe not 10 minutes, but it is super quick. I work part time at Autozone, and can order Nissan filters if I so desired... at a discounted rate. But the MAIN REASON why I do it myself is this: I was out of town working and the wife decided to be a nice spousal unit for once, and took the pathfinder to a local "kwik lube." The freak tards at the local place but 5 freaking quarts in my VG30 and blew out the rear main, and lord knows what else... When I came home I saw a huge puddle of oil under the pathfinder, and almost lost it... but after the wife showed me the receipt of her intended "good deed" I realized it was not her fault, simply "JT" who was the "service tech." None the less, I still have blown seals, and they refuse to acknowledge an error. They state that their computerized oil dispensing system is accurate and that the error was not on their end, despite the receipt showing 5 quarts... I want a video of your 10 minute oil change. LOL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 and a car wash and vacuum. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alkorahil Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 The only reason I would ever take my vehicle to a quick lube place is for a state inspection. cheap oil, cheap filters, as well as just outa high schoolers working on cars that cut too many corners too often accross the board. The dealership has a standard to meet in oil used (IE approved my the manufacturer) and the filters are stock, plus more concern about things like....liability from damage and complaints to the manufacturer can cause them bad marks. I think it is best to point out......you get what you pay for, auto stuff is no different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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