oil change for two cars

is anyone interesting to do such shop with me? I can do one car and another one is yours.

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

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You need someone Iocal to you as the two locations are in close proximity to each other. And, you really need to be physically present for both in order to answer the comparison questions.
I went on an adventure with my college student, parked at a nearby Target and carpooled in their vehicle then mine to the two different shops. They drove for both shops which was VERY helpful for me to get those required photos.

I used to do oil change shops a couple of years ago for a local chain.

After my second shop 2 days after my first shop, the technician mentioned it was the cleanest oil he'd ever drained out of a car.

It was a local chain so not shopped nationwide.

Not so surprising they hit everything they needed to.

I agree with you. The problem for shops they offer that oil shall be syntetic blend. Such one is good for older cars. One mine needs fully syntetic and I recently did chnge oil with the same MSC. The second car is good for syntetic blend but I do not have the second one that nedded it. I am in Lehigh Valley area, EPA. So any places of Allentown, Quakertown or Easton will work.

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/23/2025 09:50PM by gene.

These are sitting on the board here. The shop says ask for synthetic blend. Is this to see if the tech recommends full synthetic? How many picture are required? I’m interested, but would like to see more information.

@gigishopper wrote:

These are sitting on the board here. The shop says ask for synthetic blend. Is this to see if the tech recommends full synthetic? How many picture are required? I’m interested, but would like to see more information.

They appeared to sit here as the scheduler posted on a Thursday then didn't assign them until Monday morning. A new wave of different locations appeared yesterday. Those probably won't be assigned until Monday again.
You are required to get synth blend and to answer if they tried to upsell. The pics are one each of the front of the business and the invoices. You have to note times for arrival, greeting, hood up, hood down, and done & out. It's a long survey because two locations plus a comparison section but nothing about it is especially difficult.
Oh, and you will want to watch what they do so you will know if they skip anything they shouldn't. BOTH places cut corners on me but one did so much cutting we had a circle by the end and now I know where NOT to go.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2025 02:28AM by Deedeezthoughts.

As a person who does all the vehicle maintenance and repairs in our household and for select close friends, I would never allow someone else to change my vehicle motor oil / filter. It's crucial for long engine life. I now have 347k miles on our truck.

Do you want real motor oil information? Search the web for "The Motor Oil Geek."

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/24/2025 05:06AM by maverick1.

I did this shop today and a little over a year ago with my two cars. It saved me quite a bit of money but last year I got a fee in addition to reimbursement. Last year they wanted Full synthetic and did not ask about timing of the hood being opened and closed. So they have new things to compare this year. Made me happy that I did not have to shell out all that money for an oil change.
One of my cars uses 20 W oil. I called both my locations in advance and asked about the availability of this oil. One of my locations did not even carry 20W in a blend. Go in with foreknowledge.
Otherwise the form is easy but lengthy. As mentioned above the only photo needed at the location is of the front of the store. And if I ever need to go on my own dime I know which brand I would choose. The other brand was not bad but it was pricier with less extras.

If you need the oil changes, it might be worth it. But I don't, so I won't. I also had my oil pan nut stripped at one of these "non dealer" places. They didn't say anything and rigged it so it would hold in place. I found out about it when taking it to the dealer for other work.

While saving money is good, sometimes the hassle of these places is not worth it in the long run. The quick oil lube places are not hiring car experts. I'm not saying their all bad, but let's be honest, to get a job as toyota mechanic at a dealer, I'm sure it is much harder than whoever applies at the local big chain oil change place.

Granted, anyone could mess it up, including me, but i trust certain people more than others and do not place any trust in the quick oil change places.

I don't know why anyone would take this shop if they didn't want and need the service being offered. That is the benefit and the tasks will sit and get bonuses if there aren't enough takers who need the service.

I had spouse's vehicle nearly due & student's was slightly overdue. So, timing was great, the location was acceptable, and I knew it would save us a pile of money so I grabbed the first round.

My vehicle got a dealership visit they offered previously. That one was conventional oil (and still considerably more expensive than either of these places).

If the rotation works out and I don't have to pay for an oil change this year, I will be very happy!

My friend did an oil change shop many years ago and the technician for some reason fooled with a belt which snapped. They refused to make good on it. She was out a lot of money to get the car towed and fixed elsewhere. I personally would not be bothered with any such shops. I trust my car to my local mechanic who is an expert in my type of vehicle which takes extra quarts of oil and which is quite expensive to fix if someone who does not know what they are doing breaks something.

I need oil change just for one car that fits in their requirements.

Shopping Eastern Pennsylvania since 2009

I used to do the single change jobs for little or no fee. Now there is always a local one you can do for 30.00 plus the oil change expense. I have done these for friends as well. They are really one of the best jobs out there in terms of bang for the buck.

Several years ago either on this board or V GOD's, or maybe both, several folks using Jiffy Lube ended up with severe, expensive damages to their engines. So I would be very apprehensive for that reason alone to do these shops.

I think the purpose of the Jiffy Lube shops was to find out if the customer complaints of engine damage were true. They got their answer, now there are very few Jiffy Lube stores remaining. Of course, neither Jiffy Lube nor the MSC is going to make you whole for the damage done to your vehicle, just as another MSC didn't try to help me with AT&T when they lied and tried to make me pay for a phone that I didn't have.

That being said, we do the dealership oil "quick" oil changes. First they are at the dealership, much bigger purse strings, and second, we check and document the condition of our cars before and immediately afterwards EVERY time. But I'm a mechanic, and I'm kinda picky about how things are done to my car. I have retorqued all 4 wheels in the service drive because I knew the mechanic used an impact and then "used" the torque wrench to "prove" it was right, when they were actually over torqued (for the record, this causes wheels to fly off on the freeway).

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