Synthetic oil change MS ?

I have never paid much attention to what oil change MS offers actually say about whether or not ANY of the cost of a synthetic oil change is covered.

However, I am now looking at used Prius vehicles, which would require synthetic oil. Dealers say that the change interval would be 6-7000 miles.

Are there any oil change shops the cover at least part of the cost?

Yes, I know, I will save so much in fuel costs that I could cover the cost, but once an MSer, always an MSer.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

Create an Account or Log In

Membership is free. Simply choose your username, type in your email address, and choose a password. You immediately get full access to the forum.

More About Oil Change & Car Service Mystery Shopping

Yes, I’m doing one tomorrow and I did one yesterday (that doesn’t specifically say no synthetic. I also know I have done a third brand where I got synthetic. These are from three different companies that I am sure you would be signed up with. These oil change shops tend to come in waves (or so it seems).

Liz

I have a Prius now but the auto I had before also required synthetic oil (2002 Volvo). My prius requires not only synthetic but 20 W oil so it would be a good idea to look for that as well. It is not the job that will not cover synthetic oil (as far as I know) but the reimbursement limit that you need to look at. I took my Volvo to Valvoline on a shop years ago. They did not allow the coupon special for synthetic and charged me an additional $5 a quart. After I did the shop I checked some ads for other places and their upcharge for synthetic was a dollar or less. I called the same place a year or two later and the quote they gave me was much different. I could have had a dealer oil change out of pocket for what the valvoline place charged me on the shop. Be careful and be aware.

Ok here's the deal. Walmart charges 49.99 for a synthetic oil change, which is what I get. The mystery shop for Jiffy Lube is only for $45 and a $5 shop fee. But jiffy lube charges 69.99. So you would still be out of pocket. I did a Pep Boys one time and the scheduler promised me 100% reimbursement because the dude tried to claim that my oil change required additional Qts, (He charged me $89 for a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry) which only requires the minimum 5 quarts. I never got the additional reimbursement over the $75. I feel like I'm typing all that narrative for free unless I get 100% reimbursement since I can go to Walmart and not get ripped off for $20-40 extra and I don't have any NARRATIVE left over to take me hours. So I guess if you don't mind typing narratives for free you can get your oil changed. I won't. Now if it was a basically multiple-choice survey like Market Force with only 1 narrative at the end or a couple of sentences, responses, I probably wouldn't mind so much. But it's very difficult for me to do the minimum required, or do a sloppy job, (I got A's on all my papers in college, revised for days) so no I won't do a narrative based report for free or less than 100% reimbursement.

Yes and the volvo job I described above also charged me for a full extra quart even tho I had the smallest
volvo and needed perhaps an extra 1/5 quart. That full quart was $20 additional. The place has a huge drum they took the oil from, not individual cans so there was no waste for them.

@F and L TeleComm wrote:

the dude tried to claim that my oil change required additional Qts, (He charged me $89 for a 4 cylinder Toyota Camry) which only requires the minimum 5 quarts.

He thought I had a 6 or 8 cylinder since I didn't really pay it any attention at Walmart. Walmart never charged me for additional quarts, always just $49.99, I go shopping while I'm waiting and use my Walmart CC to pay so no headache whatsoever. Even after the mechanic did my oil change they still didn't adjust the price. I followed up with my mechanic the next day and he told me my four cylinders did not require any more oil at all. I reported it to the MSP and the MSP was supposed to add it to the report.$75 should have been plenty to cover it, and I used the coupon. He charged me $89 after the coupon. To me, it wasn't worth the time it took to do the report to still be out of pocket additional funds.

Thanks to all ! I find the Jiffy Lube survey quick and easy, so that is not an issue, I would still be saving $$$ AND with free top-up service, I would have that coverage almost anywhere. Walmart is very inconvenient and I prefer not to go there for anything.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

My 06 Prius doesn't get synthetic but we did switch to 10w 30 last year when she started going through oil. 200,000 miles and doing great despite my son's driving. I didn't realize the newer models were synthetic only.

Most newer cars are synthetic only.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I prefer synthetic for all of our cars - new to old.

bgriffin, good info to know for when my spouse and I come to a consensus. We've been bickering over car choices since the Tesla Model 3 was announced.

As I have often said, "all generalizations are false". I can state that my 2019 Ford does not require synthetic oil. I can state that the 2018 Chevrolet for which I obtain oil changes does not require synthetic oil. Neither does the 2017 Camry for which I also obtain oil changes. All generalizations are false.

@bgriffin wrote:

Most newer cars are synthetic only.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

BTW, Jiffy Lube locations in my area charge $94 for a full synthetic oil change. Even with the MSC reimbursement, the residual $50 is more than many other oil change location charges for a synthetic oil change. I learned that the hard way.

Shopping Southeast Pennsylvania, Delaware above the canal, and South Jersey since 2008

@myst4au wrote:

BTW, Jiffy Lube locations in my area charge $94 for a full synthetic oil change. Even with the MSC reimbursement, the residual $50 is more than many other oil change location charges for a synthetic oil change. I learned that the hard way.

Yeah; I was just going to post that Jiffy Lube charges way more fore synthetic. You'd probably be better off going to Monro Muffler and using a coupon. Probably would be less out of pocket. I did a Jiffy Lube shop last week and thought their prices were high. Plus they told me my car needed stuff it didn't. Their standard oil change was higher priced than the one I had done at a dealer shop awhile ago!

I learn something new every day, but not everyday!
I've learned to never trust spell-check or my phone's auto-fill feature.

@BirdyC wrote:

@myst4au wrote:

BTW, Jiffy Lube locations in my area charge $94 for a full synthetic oil change. Even with the MSC reimbursement, the residual $50 is more than many other oil change location charges for a synthetic oil change. I learned that the hard way.

Yeah; I was just going to post that Jiffy Lube charges way more fore synthetic. You'd probably be better off going to Monro Muffler and using a coupon. Probably would be less out of pocket. I did a Jiffy Lube shop last week and thought their prices were high. Plus they told me my car needed stuff it didn't. Their standard oil change was higher priced than the one I had done at a dealer shop awhile ago!

I have a new Honda CRV and it takes full synthetic as did my 2016 Honda CRV. It's difficult to justify going to Jiffy Lube. I have tried going and bringing my own synthetic oil and they charge the same as for the full service. I've tried a Jiffy Lube shop synthetic oil change came out to about $80 and I'm still waiting for reimbursement from April. My dealer charges $40 for full synthetic oil change.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/11/2019 04:54AM by tstewart3.

I only use Synthetic oil for my Honda Accord, and instead of 3 thousands miles, I can go 5,000 before I need a change. ALSO IT'S BETTER FOR MY ENGINE (I'M TOLD).
I get the Jiffy Lube oil changes and add the difference which isn't that much, another 15.00 or so.

Live consciously....

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/23/2019 08:40PM by Irene_L.A..

I have been doing more research on the Prius and found that the interval for them is 6-7000 miles.

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

According to the Toyota website 2014, 2017, and 2019 Priuses all get serviced every 5k miles but the oil change only occurs every 10k as long as the correct oil is used. That's pretty standard for late model cars. For reference:

[www.toyota.com]

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

Any mechanic or shop who tells you a car needs an oil change more often than the manufacturer's recommendation is trying to sell you extra oil changes. If anything manufacturers err on the side of caution and you're probably absolutely fine getting 15k out of an oil change.

There are reasons that a body stays in motion
At the moment only demons come to mind

I just did a Tire discounters oil change shop. It was synthetic and video. $50 plus the oil change.

Interesting a place near me charges less for synthetic than regular oil.

A Dad shopping the Ark-LA-Tex and beyond.

Wales, I have a hybrid as well, have had a Prius before. I use coupons, get cheaper gift cards and do the Jiffy Lube shops with both MS with no issue, getting full synthetic and driving the price way down. Add in the fee, maybe a few bonuses sometimes at end of month and I can get close to covering the full expense.

@walesmaven wrote:

I have been doing more research on the Prius and found that the interval for them is 6-7000 miles.

Bfgriffin is right, it is 10K, so you can do them about half as often. Saving!

Fortunately, this is not now a problem. I bought a 2017 Kia Soul and as happy as a clam with it. Quite efficient and fun to drive. It has the cargo space that I need. No synthetic oil needed. (But, that is NOT why I bought it, lol.)

Based in MD, near DC
Shopping from the Carolinas to New York
Have video cam; will travel

Poor customer service? Don't get mad; get video.

I had an 08 Prius that did not require synthetic oil, but at around 130,000 miles it did start burning oil where I would have to replace a quart every 1,500 miles or so. There were no leaks. My son is still driving it. I used the Jiffy Lube coupons and got the high mileage oil and maybe was out $15 each oil change. I have not seen any oil change shops recently in my area. Bought a new Subaru so oil changes are taken care of the first 2 years. Paid for a oil change fro my wife's car last week. Probably only second or third time I have paid for an oil change in the last few years.

Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login

Synthetic oil change MS ?

Create an Account or Log In

Official List of Mystery Shopping Companies

Mystery Shopper Magazine