Hope This Isn't Still Going On:

http://www.wimp.com/lubeinvestigated/
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I hate seeing stuff like this, makes me sick. Are there any honest people out there anymore?
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That is scary,it goes beyond a scam. If is playing with peoples safety and financial well being. Now I am gonna have to mark my filters.
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I was thinking about that too since I'm going for a oil change soon. Unfortunately my filter isn't a normal one. I have a oil filter housing that incases just the filter part. I'm more than skeptical of the dealership I go to.
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I am glad my dad and brother are mechanics.

He told me to never take my car to a Jiffy Lube, Valvoline, and other shops like that. They usually hire people who have no idea what they are doing. A family friend took their car to Jiffy Lube once and they forgot to put the oil plug back in when they were done. So, the engine locked up and Jiffy Lube said they didn't do it :-)

Bottom line, either do it yourself or take it to an independent mechanic.
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The question becomes who can you trust? You can't say that all independent mechanics are the highest qualified, most morally trustworthy people either.
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"is your mechanic cheating you" yeah probably. fortunately my family found an honest guy years ago and we've stuck with him ever since.

Changing your own oil doesn't take long, do it yourself and know it's done right. In fact I'm on my way out to do it now, nothing like sub 50 degree concrete to wake you up in the morning
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Does not surprise me, those dudes at jiffy lube always look like they recently got out of jail. Also they are very quick to offer services. Not to mention most cars require oil changes at 5k miles or more, last time I went they still go by 3k. Thanks for the post brother:-)
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Thanks for sharing Greg....this is BS! I don't go to Jiffy Lube or anyone else.
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Learn to change your own oil, it is cheap easy and does not take all that long. For the price of a nifty lube you can get top of the line oil and a filter and have a good change that you can true will take care of your engine.

When you hear those stories of those guys who take their truck a million mipes, it is because there change their own oil and other fluides regularly.
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My gf went to the Kwik Kar near my house to get her oil changed (even though I told her I would do it for her). They tried to sell her a new air filter, fuel filter, and transmission fluid changed saying the filters were all filthy and the transmission fluid looked terrible. She smartly told them she'd ask her bf about it and left.

She had to get a part fixed under warranty at the Honda dealership the next week. She asked them to check the transmission fluid and filters and they told her it all looked clean and they would be fine for quite awhile.

I honestly think most of these little box-chain oil/fluid change service centers run under the same idea, whether they actually do the work or not. Sell them as many services as you can, whether or not they need them. Hopefully the difference is they actually do it. I still see selling a service you don't need done and saying you do is just as bad as selling a service you need and not doing it.
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This is why I do all my own work.
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I used to do most of my own car work (that didn't involve tearing apart the engine). My dad had all the tools and the space to do it. Now that my parents have moved across the pacific ocean, I don't have access to those anymore. I do however, have a service manager at the local Honda dealership that I've dealt with for years that I trust. Three Hondas later I've been happy with any work I've had to get done there.

If you can't do the work yourself, I think the key is finding somebody you can trust is either by either trial and error or being referred to somebody by friends/family.
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They are out to bleed any customer dry if given the opportunity.
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Key is to find someone who you can trust- not easy. I was sorry when the Firestone that I had gone to for years was flooded out. After developing a great relationship with everybody there, I gotta start looking around again. Indeed, the Quick Lube places don't inspire confidence!
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i used to work at a jiffy lube and tire kingdom (years ago) and i had to leave cause i was one of the few people there that knew anything about cars let alone care about my job.

the place i take my car now gives me the fleet cost (a couple dollars cheaper than if i buy it and do it myself) however i know the managers and workers there and always watch them do the work. plus i use the bottle oil so i can keep track and verify they put the right amount and not over / under fill.
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Wow that's just ridiculous. :-)

There's a reason to learn how to do as much as you can yourself.
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This is the reason I do 95% of all the work on all my Trucks & bikes... They are all trying toget every last dollar from you with little to no work on their part. :-)
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My wife and my daughter both have the same response to requests to do additional repairs: My husband/father does our mechanical work. Thank you for pointing it out, I'll bring it to his attention". There isn't a single time they have taken a vehicle into a fast-change oil place when they haven't been told that extra repairs were needed! It's not just jiffy-lube, it's all of them. I've had them BS me on many occasions, until they find out I know more about what they are saying than they do. Sadly, it's rampant, and will only get worse, because there is a critical shortage of real mechanics in the auto repair business, and very few of these "quick-change" shops do sufficient training of their employees for anything other than the most basic repairs. So, crappy/scam services, plus little chance of the mechanics actually going on to be better mechanics in the future.
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Yeah I know. They used to always try to sell me on the transmission fluid change. I have a reputable shop do that, and do it correctly; not merely pump out the old fluid and put in fresh, but drop the pan, change out the filter, and clean everything up as much as possible.
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