Why should I Change my Oil?
Jul 23 '02
The Bottom Line My advice is to change the oil yourself or take it to a reputable dealer to insure the life of your engine.
I just had one of the most horrible experiences at an oil change center/car wash. I was driving along in my filthy car when I saw a sign at a University Car Wash that said "Free car wash with Oil Change" I looked down and noticed I had already hit the 4000 mile marker for my oil change so why not get the oil changed and a free wash? I pulled in and left the keys with the service manager who said it would be about an hour. Well, he was right they finished my oil change and car wash and had my shiny car waiting for me in an hour. He grabbed the keys and said he would pull the car around for me. I waited about five minutes and then went out to see what the problem was. Well, the car would not start. I only had about 20k miles on my 2001 model car. I had never had any problems before. So he thought the battery must be dead. He hooked it up to a battery charger and several other service people from the lube center came to "assist". The battery was fully charged and no one could figure out what the problem was. The manager finally car a tow truck for me and I had my car towed to a dealership-maintenance center across the street. I went home and waited for the bad news. My car was still under warranty so I was not worried about the cost, but just being with a car for quite a while. The manager of the dealership called and informed me that my engine was locked up due to the fact that the lube center drained the oil and did not refill it. They also burnt up the starter, battery, wire harness, and battery cables by trying to force it to start using a jump starter. I am still waiting for them to replace my engine and have had a terrible time dealing with their insurance company. From now on I will change the oil myself. Generally speaking, the lube technicians do not care about your car or what happens to it. A couple of years ago I had a similar situation happen when they failed to replace the oil cap and the oil leaked out of my car. Although I didn't need a new engine then it was still a hassle and should have made me more weary of these 15 minute quick lubes.
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Epinions.com ID:
ShawnaJo
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Member: Shawna Davis
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Reviews written: 85
Trusted by: 7 members
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