Jiffy Lube - Rip Off warning

[TupperMom7]

My daughter came home from college, she's 21, and her car's inspection had expired while she was away. Her dad advised her to go to Jiffy Lube and get it inspected and to call him if they said anything was wrong with the car.

So we were shopping, black Friday, and she called to say the car had passed the inspection. All seemed well.

Then over the weekend she told me that Jiffy Lube told her the car would fail the inspection if she didn't buy new windshield wipers. $20 windshield wipers!
I may not buy auto parts often, but I don't think windshield wipers cost $20!
She drove all the way home from FL with those windshield wipers, so I don't think they were that bad. I think they saw a young girl and took advantage of the situation.

 

[flyingcat2003]

Sorry, I don't think that was a rip off. Twenty dollars is about the going rate for wipers and the installation.

 

[ceecee]

Jiffy Lube always tries to sell...it's a given! They replaced plugs in my van (wrong size) and it caused a MAJOR $2000.00 repair bill. The dealership said never to use Jiffy Lube, of course we haven't since that happened.

 

[JediMaster]

Yes , they were right to advise that inspection requires working safety equipment! The wipers are considered safety equipment and will not pass inspection. Most places dont' enforce the rules and are lax on others. My mechanic advised me of a crack in my headlight (small but noticeable) so at least he is doing HIS job! Safety First!
I would be terrified if my daughter was caught in a rain storm and could not see clearly because of the wipers.
And yes $20 is NOT expensive ! they are usually $12-25 a side. Costco is already $7.99 each side plus tax and dont forget THEY installed them.

 

[Justsyd2]

I think that's fair. Wipers don't cost that much at Walmart, true, but to buy them elsewhere and have them put on, yep, that's the going rate. I wouldn't worry over $20 wipers. At least your daughter will be able to see clearly in the rain.

It is true that a car will not pass inspection if the wipers need to be replaced, so I don't consider that a rip-off.

 

[bumbershoot]

Jiffy Lube IS a huge ripoff, and they have had BBB complaints for decades and have paid big bucks to fix their huge errors.

Case in point...I took my car in while in college to have the oil changed, fluids checked. Next day went off on the drive to CA from WA....at about 4:40 on a Friday afternoon, just outside a tiny little town in Oregon...there was a horrid noise from the rear axle. I limped into town to a garage that was open, turns out *someone* hadn't replaced the rear axle plug (or rather, didn't replace it correctly), it blew out, and I now had metal shavings in my rear axle. He didn't have the part but called down to the auto parts store; they let me bring the two that might fit but only pay for one, and the garage guy returned the other.

The car was NOT happy, but I made it to CA.

When i got back to WA, my dad came up to fix it. He went to JL to complain, and to get $400 to buy a new/used rear axle from a junkyard. While he was there, they were finishing up buying a woman a BRAND NEW Cadillac, having done the *exact same thing* to her car as they did to mine.


But that aside, having new wiper blades (I assume it's blades, not the actual arms; if it's the arms, then she's getting a bargain) is a safety thing, though possibly not something a state inspection would catch, and $20 isn't a horrid price.

Don't get me wrong; I've never gone back. Even though my dad didn't get cash...he accepted $400 in JL certificates ...I wouldn't even go there for FREE.

 

[ferrytale]

$20 isn't bad, my dealership charged me more(which btw, I think was also a rip-off b/c there was nothing wrong with them - and DH made them give the old ones back to double check them).
HOWEVER, I haven't been back to Jiffy-Lube since I took my then brand new car in for the first or second oil change and they told me there was rust in the fluids and wanted to flush the entire system. I told them "no thanks" that it was a brand new car and if there was rust then there was a problem and the dealer was going to fix it under warranty. Took it to the dealer(different than the above), and they checked everything out and said that Jiffy-Lube ALWAYS tries to rip people off.

 

[Swimalie]

It's not just Jiffy Lube and it's not a bad thing that happened to her. My husband took his car in for a safety inspection at a local shop that we have used for major repairs and inspections for years. They said his wipers needed replacing. He knew they did but hadn't done it (time got away from him). They charged him $20 to do his as well. We know my husband could have done it a lot cheaper himself (he does his own small repair and oil changes) but the effort of having to leave, get the wipers, change them out and then have to get back in line to get the inspection done was not worth the money so he just paid them to do it.

 

[TupperMom7]

OP here. We have a place that sells auto parts and they put the wipers on for free. About $6.00 for mine last time I had them put on. I guess if you all have had similar experiences with wipers installed and it cost $20, then the price was not that high, but I still feel that they took advantage of her and that she didn't need them replaced. She had driven for three days and lived in FL where it rains a lot and her wipers were just fine.
I'm sure if her father had been with her, this would not have happened.

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Not sure why you think they took advantage of her because she's a girl. My local Jiffy Lube is staffed mainly by women and $20 is pretty standard for good wipers. Did this include the installation? I just had wipers put on my car that were at least $20. I live in New England. It's winter. It's worth it. And my fiance was with me. I don't think the 2 female mechanics and the female front desk person were trying to take advantage of either one of us...

 

[jagafen]

My daughter came home from college, she's 21, and her car's inspection had expired while she was away. Her dad advised her to go to Jiffy Lube and get it inspected and to call him if they said anything was wrong with the car.

So we were shopping, black Friday, and she called to say the car had passed the inspection. All seemed well.

Then over the weekend she told me that Jiffy Lube told her the car would fail the inspection if she didn't buy new windshield wipers. $20 windshield wipers!
I may not buy auto parts often, but I don't think windshield wipers cost $20!
She drove all the way home from FL with those windshield wipers, so I don't think they were that bad. I think they saw a young girl and took advantage of the situation.

I have to agree with OP on this one, as a former FL college student (in the early 90's), JL routinely tries to take advantage of their customers and does give a hard sell....they once told me I needed to replace my windshield wipers too....except mine were less than a week old when I took my car in for an oil change. While $20 is a reasonable price for a DECENT pair of wipers, it's not a good price for the cheap rubberbands-they-call-wipers that JL puts on your car!! JL is the worst. After that incident, I started taking my car elsewhere

 

[phred52]

The women in my family have been frustrated for years by a lot of 'up selling' when taking their cars in for 'whatever'....be it repairs, oil changes or inspections. At various businesses around town.

DH now insists that HE be the one to bring a car in for any work. The absolutely worst time was my sister being told she had over $700 in needed repairs to pass inspection, she declined and drove straight home. DH took her car right back, same place, it passed inspection just fine 90 minutes later.
He then had a talk with the manager, never gone back.

 

[msmayor]

The women in my family have been frustrated for years by a lot of 'up selling' when taking their cars in for 'whatever'....be it repairs, oil changes or inspections. At various businesses around town.

DH now insists that HE be the one to bring a car in for any work. The absolutely worst time was my sister being told she had over $700 in needed repairs to pass inspection, she declined and drove straight home. DH took her car right back, same place, it passed inspection just fine 90 minutes later.
He then had a talk with the manager, never gone back.

See, here's where I think folks just feed into the idea that a man should handle car repairs. Your sister just leaving, instead of asking questions about the what's and why's of the repairs allows mechanics to continue to try and take advantage.

The absolute BEST thing I ever did as a kid was learn from my Dad the basic information I need to evaluate a mechanic's opinion. He encouraged me to read a little about car repairs and know/understand what's needed in terms of basic maintenance, how long parts/repairs should last, and when/what questions to ask. Information is your ally when dealing with mechanics, or anyone in the business of automotive sales/repairs.

I still remember the stunned look on a car salesman's face when I went in to test-drive my current vehicle. He took me out on the lot and asked me "What color would you like to drive?". I looked at him, frowned, and without missing a beat said "I could care less what color...just make sure its a front-wheel drive model instead of the all-wheel drive. I have no intention of paying an additional $2,000 for 300 pounds of extra curb-weight that will reduce my overall gas mileage".

His facial reaction was priceless.

 

[Irin997]

I will usually take my car to a quick little grease and go spot in between larger services. I did this on Saturday in fact. Told them to do the oil change. Got a call about 20 minutes later (I walked next door to Hallmark) and they recommended a transmission service and a tire rotation. Last time I had an oil change my tires were rotated. I told them thanks but no thanks and that I would have my mechanic take a look.

Just say NO! I have a mechanic that I trust implicitly and if anyone tells me something is up with my car, I go straight to him to verify....plus he is ALWAYS cheaper than anywhere else.

Again, just say NO!

 

[GoodFairies]

As with everything there will be good and bad Jiffy Lubes.
The one I go to asks me how my windshield wipers are doing - they don't tell me - after all I am the one who drives it daily. I bought my own wipers once and it was $17. The next time I just had JL do them for $20 so I didn't have to deal with it.
I think it is important for everyone (not just women) to have an idea about typical costs of anything car-related. This way they can be aware of potential rip-offs.

 

[ceecee]

OP here. We have a place that sells auto parts and they put the wipers on for free. About $6.00 for mine last time I had them put on. I guess if you all have had similar experiences with wipers installed and it cost $20, then the price was not that high, but I still feel that they took advantage of her and that she didn't need them replaced. She had driven for three days and lived in FL where it rains a lot and her wipers were just fine.
I'm sure if her father had been with her, this would not have happened.

Same here, there are two auto stores and they offer to install them for you...free. It only took the girl a few minutes to do it last time I bought mine and it was around $8.00 for wipers on my van.

 

[TreslovesWDW]

I work at a auto repair shop. I will agree that JL is bad. But your price on wipers was about right. I got wipers for my town n country and they were $24 and I work there, the owners are my friends, and that was the list price from NAPA parts. With that being said I would never go to JL,Walmart ( I have a friend who works in auto there)Auto zone,Advanced auto,Pep boys any of those places. They usually hook up a machine that gives you codes but really could be anything causing the problem, they will say you need tires or rotation when u don't. I don't think they r really techs they just sorta know how to fix some things.

 

[ssawka]

Never trust Jiffy Lube! Some of them are very unscrupulous! Two seperate examples:

1. A friend of mine took his brand new jeep into JL to have his oil changed. He left and thought all was well. A few days later, his "check engine" light comes on , so he takes his car to a garage. It seems someone at JL put on the wrong oil filter and all the oil leaked out. Who knows how long he was driving with no oil.
2. When I was in college, I took my car into a JL outside of Philly. The attendant told me to wait in the car because it would only take a short time. Well, the person that was "under" the car said that I had a leak in the oil pan and that it would do no good to change the oil but if I gave them $20 cash they would top off the oil. I knew they were BSing me, but since there was many of them and only one of me (and they were much bigger) I gave them the $20 and drove off to get my oil changed elsewhere.

 

[mjkacmom]

My very good friend has a repair shop, and he replaced my wipers when it was down there for an oil change - $20 - and he only charges me for parts.

 

[msmayor]

Never trust Jiffy Lube! Some of them are very unscrupulous! Two seperate examples:

1. A friend of mine took his brand new jeep into JL to have his oil changed. He left and thought all was well. A few days later, his "check engine" light comes on , so he takes his car to a garage. It seems someone at JL put on the wrong oil filter and all the oil leaked out. Who knows how long he was driving with no oil.
2. When I was in college, I took my car into a JL outside of Philly. The attendant told me to wait in the car because it would only take a short time. Well, the person that was "under" the car said that I had a leak in the oil pan and that it would do no good to change the oil but if I gave them $20 cash they would top off the oil. I knew they were BSing me, but since there was many of them and only one of me (and they were much bigger) I gave them the $20 and drove off to get my oil changed elsewhere.

Generally, a check engine light has to do with emissions, not oil. And while its certainly plausible that the wrong oil filter was used, its a little far-fetched to believe that ALL the oil leaked out in just a few days and your friend didn't notice somewhere along the way that a gallon+ of oil had drained from his car. In addition, had the oil level dropped that precipitously, his oil light would have come on to alert him of the low oil level. Had he continued to drive with "no oil" the engine would have seized and the car become a large brick.