Quick Lube Hazards and the Benifits of a Full Service Oil Change

How many people would choose their doctor solely because they claim to be quick and cheap? Cars are a vastly complicated system. They're like the human body but with a major difference... Cars can't talk! People can describe the symptoms of their illness to a doctor when they're sick but cars don't have that ability. So, it's important to perform routine full service maintenance to find problems early before something breaks and becomes a (very expensive) major repair. An oil change should not only be viewed as a time to replace the oil and filter, but also a time to put the car on a lift and look over all the major systems. Are the belts and hoses worn or cracked? Is there an issue with the suspension? Are there any oil or other fluid leaks? Are the brakes in decent condition? These questions are just a sample of the checks generally performed by shops that provide a full service oil change. While typically a full service shop does charge $5 to $10 more than a quick lube station, isn’t the extra money worth it to have peace of mind knowing all the extra aspects of your vehicle have been looked over by well trained professionals?

At a quick lube shop they have no desire to create an ongoing relationship with a customer or to take the time to explain a service to the customer. Their financial profit is primarily driven by the number of customers they can get through the door in a single day. Because of this system they care more for the quantity of customers they have than for their quality of customer service. Everything is done to spend the least amount of time and money working on any one car. Even the most crucial steps can get skipped over while they rush to get cars in and out as fast as possible.There have been numerous cases where adding the new oil was skipped and the vehicles have left without any oil. Sometimes the oil drain plug isn't tightened or gets overly tightened to the point that the threads are stripped out. Or an oil cap gets forgotten resulting in oil spraying all over under the hood. What is even worse, they are often not receptive to dealing with any problems that arise as a result of the work they've done. The amount of simple complaints and avoidable problems customers have with quick lube shops far outnumbers the complaints and dissatisfaction with full service repair shops.

Last of all is the issue of honesty and ethics. Quick lube shops have a set quota of how much they must sell each day. That's why they push wiper blades, air filters, and other services on customers in a high pressure way. Investigations into the practices of quick lube shops have found thousands of cases of dishonesty including work not performed, parts not installed that customers have paid for, and parts being sold that didn't need replacing.

Statistics show that regular consumers of quick lube shops spend hundreds and often thousands more on repairs over the life of a vehicle than those who have oil changes performed at full service repair shops like Sipe Bros-Marathon. Small problems get overlooked at quick lube stations and become large repairs later. Buying a car can be an investment upwards of $20,000 for many, and for most people it's the second most expensive purchase they will make next to buying a house. Is saving $5 to $10 every few months by getting your oil changed quickly by minimally skilled workers a wise way to maintain such a valuable investment? When you factor in the value of having a car that is always going to be reliable and safe there's really no comparison to a shop that cares more about its customers than making a quick buck off them.