skipnchar wrote: Walmarts around here charge exactly the same as most of the quick change places. $26.00 including oil, filter and labor.
There's a local shop where I can get the oil changed in our minivan for about that price (all inclusive), but seemingly everywhere around my neck of the woods seems to magically tack on an extra $40 or so as soon as they hear the words "Diesel".
Yeah, I know they don't have 15W40 in bulk like they do 10W30, but really, I'd be happy to pay for the extra physical oil it takes, but nobody can explain where the rest of the cost seems to come from - they just say take it, or leave it.
In the end, that's why I do my own oil changes on the truck.
I did an 11 year stint as a GM tech during my 30 years of mechanicing. I will relate one of my more memerable moments.
About 15 years ago, I was working next to another GM tech, Charlie Bryant. He was servicing a car and the customer came back to watch. When it came time to fill the crankcase, the owner said "I want only Quaker State oil in my engine"
Knowing we had Valvoline in our bulk tank, I watched to see what Charlie would do. He punched the "talk" button on the squawk box and when parts answered he said "give me 5 qts of Quaker State 10w30 on station 2".
You never know what you are getting if you turn it all over to someone else. If you bring your own oil and filter, the worst they can do is damage the threads in your oil pan.
JMHO
Dodge Ram 1500, 5.2 Magnum, 3.90 gears
Factory towing package
#12500 GCVW
Springdale 189FL, "The Baby Crib"
No worries!
Do you mean he just filled it with the Valvoline, or that he had someone bring him 5 bottles of Quaker State?
If I take my truck in, I DO know what I'm getting...because I have never seen a place (other than a diesel truck shop) with 15W-40 in bulk tanks. They HAVE to use bottled oil.
I don't care what brand they use...oil is oil. I use Tech2000, but I don't really care.
John
1984 Ford B-700 school bus conversion, Thomas body
A bunch of other vehicles
3 nutty cats (Maya, Vierna, Briza)
One lazy dog (Marmaduke)
One wife (Liz)
"A wasted youth is better by far than a wise and productive old age"
-Jim Steinman
I find the way to go is to look at the coupons that continually come in my mail and find the oil changing ones. They run $15 - $23 usually. Then when I go I make them stick to the coupon and it works out. Usually I have to have some service tech tell me the reason I have to have all these other things done to while I am there. Now that is where they get you on price. I just say no and get a good deal on a basic oil change.
Anything except 10w30 in bulk is the exception, not the rule. Often even asking for 5w30 for gassers in the winter months means paying for jugs instead of getting bulk.
I've *never* saw a garage (other then diesel shops) that had 15w40 bulk.
Nobody here except (maybe) a dealer has 15W-40 in anything but bottles. The only bulk I see is 5W-20, 5W-30, 10W-30 (not always), sometimes 5W-30 synthetic, and Dexron ATF. Mopar dealers have ATF+4 in bulk (and often NOT Dexron).
Jarlaxle wrote: Do you mean he just filled it with the Valvoline, or that he had someone bring him 5 bottles of Quaker State?
If I take my truck in, I DO know what I'm getting...because I have never seen a place (other than a diesel truck shop) with 15W-40 in bulk tanks. They HAVE to use bottled oil.
I don't care what brand they use...oil is oil. I use Tech2000, but I don't really care.
He put Valvoline in the guy's car while making him believe he got Quaker State.
I buy Wal-Mart brand 15w40 by the gallon and put it in everything that's 4 stroke. No problems with anything so far.
I've got a great shop for oil changes. The mechanic always puts the right filter on, correctly. The oil I specify is what goes in it, and the drain plug has never seen an air wrench or been cross threaded. He also makes sure that every zerk gets grease, even the ones that require removal of the skid plate on the front. He works cheap, and the job is always completed on my schedule.
(Yes, I do my own )
I'm not an expert, but I play one on the internet
"Never drive faster than your guardian angel can fly"
98 Chevy 3500 CC 4X4
Back to tent camping, and looking forward to no RV related issues. (Take that RV industry!)
I had my oil changed at a Wal*Mart in Ocala, FL recently. I used to ALWAYS change my own oil but since buying this new diesel truck I thought I'd let someone else do it, as long as I could supply my own oil & filter and watch the operation. I'm glad I watched because as I was counting the quarts of oil going in I stopped the "technician" as he was about to dump in quart no. 12. I reminded him that the other "tech" beneath the vehicle had already added a quart to the filter. If I hadn't been watching my crankcase would have been one quart overfilled.
I may go back to Wal*Mart for future oil changes as long as I can watch the whole procedure. It costs so little to have the oil changed and disposed of it's almost not worth doing it yourself....as long as you can watch, of course....
Mr. Ed (fulltiming since 1987)
2007 Hitchhiker II LS Model 29.5 LKTG
2007 Dodge Ram 3500/6.7 CTD/QC/4X4/SB/SRW/6-speed man/Big Horn edition
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They HAVE to use bottled oil.
