aklim

I think it is about the "NOW" and not about the "Tomorrow". In today's world, we change jobs so quickly that the guy who sold Ford last year might be selling Chevy today but Chrysler next month. Look at the people today. It isn't like the good old days where Tommy graduated HS and went to work for the mine where he retired with a gold watch. Today, a guy might go through 5 jobs before 2 years is up. Loyalty cuts both ways. I have to say that I am not loyal to any shop. I have moved shops because my favorite tech went somewhere else. I have shopped and bought the lowest price instead of patronizing my local shop. Do I have the right to demand that the shop worry about repeat business when I am not going to be loyal to them?

Keppler

I changed the oil myself in a C7Z this past Friday.

Two 5W-30 Mobil 1, 5 qts at Walmart for $27.50 each.

Mobil 1 oil filter was $10.

$65 total.

The worst part of the job is lifting the car off the ground.

myfunweecar

The big advantage I see with dealerships is warranty. I had a filter that leaked. Dealership flat bedded the car to the dealership, changed the filter, cleaned up the leak area(oil was all over the frame) all at no charge. This was a few months after the oil change. It is the main reason I use dealerships, at least the ones that stand behind their work. More money up front, more peace of mind over time.

Mike's Sweet 19

That is what I pay for those exact products. I think these other oil prices are not using the Mobil 1 0W-40 synthetic with Dextros 2 ESP because I cannot find this oil for less than $10.00/qt.

iclick

It leaked because the oil changer didn't check for leaks after buttoning up the job like he should have. My last steps are to crank the car while still jacked up and check for leaks. I then drive it down the road for a few miles and check under it again for leaks.

If a leak splashes all over the frame it is likely caused by double-sealing the filter, which happens when the old seal doesn't stay with the old removed filter and sticks to the engine block. Having two seals in place is not better than one! In most cases it stays with the filter when removed but not always, and it is negligence to not check this before installing the new filter.

When I had my three free oil changes done on my current GS I always did a leak inspection before returning home.

aklim

Is that what you would have me do if it was your business? I don't think any oil change section can afford to do that for the money you pay.

Agreed but sometimes, people miss things. Zero mistakes is not a viable model for any business. I honestly doubt they make that many mistakes as a percentage. If they made that many mistakes, there would be more cars being repaired than on the road.

I check work performed too, within reason. What I look for is how well you try to make it right when things go wrong. Take FedEx for instance. Yes, you paid for "Next Day". Yes, it came 2 days later. Tough. Be happy you got it. Well, I shed companies that use them as much as possible.

449er

I have a 2013 LS7 which holds 11 quarts of oil...my 1st oil change bill at the dealer was $175. & I complained a bit to my service manager who told me to bring my own oil in next time...I now can get out of there for the cost of a filter & $15. labor

aklim

What was the oil price they had vs your bringing it?

JKU007FL

Exactly and there are also $21K (yes, thousands) oil changes.
Bugatti Veyron $21K Oil Change

449er

The dealer does not stock Mobil 1 5w-30 which is what I wanted so they had to go out & buy it

aklim

That is odd

449er

c8nukeZ51

Just had my 2015 z51 done at my local Chevy dealer and with Corvette club discount and a $20 voucher from GM that came in an email I got 10 qts. of Mobil 1 5w-30 and filter for $102.

iclick

You make valid points, but if I was running an oil-change business I wouldn't want my workers to flaunt fate by risking a leak from the oil filter. I wouldn't want to foot the bill for an engine replacement should the owner not see the puddle of oil on his garage floor and experiences a problem when the oil hits an unsafe level. It doesn't take much time to (1) check for the seal on the engine block before installing the filter and (2) check for leaks when the job is finished. Driving the car and re-checking wouldn't be a practical step for a business but isn't an issue for me since time is not as much of a premium.

Problems like this aren't that uncommon. An owner in this thread experienced it and a friend with a C7 had it happen at a local dealership. I double-sealed the filter on my mower a few years ago but caught it when I checked for leaks. I'm much more careful about it now and check before installing any new filter. It just doesn't take any time to check if the old seal remains on the engine block, or to do a simple leak check after the job if finished.

myfunweecar

I cannot say for sure *when* the problem occurred though. The low oil came on 2 months later and there was a puddle of oil on the floor. Perhaps the puddle had been growing for 2 months idk, and I don't care. What I care about is my dealer took care of it, all of it at no cost to me. I seriously doubt a jiffy lube would. So I am ok with paying more. You pay for service.

aklim

I wouldn't either but that is probably an insurance question. The way I think they deal with it is similar to recalls. Way it was explained to me (might be wrong) is that when a certain number of people get it, they figure out how much it costs to do a recall and how much they could lose based on how many occurrences and out of which how many die and how much they could lose in suits. If it costs more to fix it, they don't. If it costs less to fix it, they do. If they do 10000 oil changes and 2 engine replacements, they might forget it. If there are 50, they do something.

Does it only plague the C7 crowd or are they the ones who squark the loudest and most? If it is the former, there might be a design flaw somehow that makes it harder. IF it is the latter, then the odds are with the company if most of the time, it is fine. My thought is that oil changes are basically a "loss leader" for most places. I recall a service manager telling me that they actually lose a couple bucks per oil change. This was before they started the lube tech thing so who knows. At the rate it goes, I don't see a dealership making money off the oil changes. More likely using it as a way to get your car in the door and fixing something "while you are there". Kinda like emissions check around here that pays $3. You couldn't pay a tech to even drive it in for that money.

ZMMMMM

Well, I couldn’t find the annual rebate offer. So, I just purchased three 12-pack quarts of Mobil1 5W-30 dexos1 GEN2 from Walmart. The plan is to add 9 quarts to the next four oil changes.

BTW, it appears that the recommended "dexos1 GEN2" got replaced with "dexos1 GEN3".

Mobil says the shelf life of unopened Mobil1 is 5 years... https://www.mobil.com/en/lubricants/...mobil-1-quarts

iclick

Alas, the great annual rebate so many of us have become addicted to appears to be abandoned this year. They changed the rules last year (one rebate period vs. two in previous years), so maybe we'll see something happen later this year over a more limited period of time.

Elk

The oil rebate had become a ritual for a good number of people.

StevieATL

For Mobil 1 ESP Formula 0W-40 at two Atlanta area Chevrolet dealers-- I was quoted $225 from one dealer and $132 from another. This is for oil, filter, install. I can find same oil at Walmart for a case of 6 x 1 quart bottles for $56 or just under $10/quart. The $132 dealer price is reasonable IMO. Almost seems too low! It pays to shop around.