Jiffy Lube - Rip Off warning

[GoldieSaysMeep]

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.

1. As pp said, that makes no sense. There has to be more to the story. That is just not how cars work. You’d notice if your oil was all leaking out. I’m not even sure how feasible it would be to drive a car with no oil. You’d know for sure and your engine would likely sieze up pretty quickly. Check engine lights generally don’t have to do with oil.

2. Really? “there were more of them and they were bigger than you”? You honestly believed that identifiable employees at a national chain store would…what? Gang up on you and do something bad to you if you just said no? I’m not sure why you think they were “BS”ing you either. If you had a leak in your oil pan, 1. you should be thankful they alerted you to it and 2. it would be really silly to pay for a full oil change without fixing the leak first.

 

[dex08]

I don't think that wipers plus installation for $20 is a bad price. And the Jiffy Lube guy was just doing their job by advising their patron that wiper blades are part of inspection checks too.

I'm sorry that OP feels that her daughter was ripped off. My personal thought on this is that the OP should teach her daughter about maintenance and care of a vehicle and the costs associated with it. If OP would never pay $20 for wiper blades then teach that to your daughter before turning over the car to her.

My parents taught me to check my oil and tire pressure and wiper blades as well as lights (brake and headlights) every weekend and that's what I did when I went off to college. They taught me what they thought was a fair price for oil changes and wiper blades and the such.

 

[ssawka]

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.

This was a second hand oil and happened awhile ago, so it may have been the oil light. In any case when your business is changing oil you should be able to pullo the correct oil filter. Whether it had been low oil or no oil, this is inexcusable.

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

This was a second hand oil and happened awhile ago, so it may have been the oil light. In any case when your business is changing oil you should be able to pullo the correct oil filter. Whether it had been low oil or no oil, this is inexcusable.

What do you mean second hand oil? They gave him used oil? Did he report them to the BBB?

 

[pixiewings71]

$20?? That's cheap!!! My wipers ALONE are $30! Luckily the shop felt bad they were so much and they waived the installation fee........
We don't use Jiffy Lube, we have free oil changes so we take our van to the dealer. DBF's car goes to a quickie place and they screwed up the oil pan....and they still deny it to this day! Since it's already messed up we keep going there but our next car we won't.....

 

[Mrs. Charming]

I've been in that position myself ... I think Jiffy Lube preys on young women! (granted, I'm not a "young woman" anymore, lol)

 

[MsStinkerBelle]

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.

EXACTLY! As I'm a single mom (and an Engineer) anytime I'm advised on getting repairs for my car I always ask 'why' I need it and how important is it? If you don't challenge or ask for clarification on their advice, the unscrupulous ones will try to take advantage of you.

I am seriously about your car dealer story. I've had a similar experience a few times.

 

[ssawka]

What do you mean second hand oil? They gave him used oil? Did he report them to the BBB?

Sorry, I meant second hand story. Wrote that message in a hurry!

 

[GoldieSaysMeep]

Sorry, I meant second hand story. Wrote that message in a hurry!

lol I was confused... I was like how do you even get second hand oil? hahaha.

 

[ssawka]

1. As pp said, that makes no sense. There has to be more to the story. That is just not how cars work. You’d notice if your oil was all leaking out. I’m not even sure how feasible it would be to drive a car with no oil. You’d know for sure and your engine would likely sieze up pretty quickly. Check engine lights generally don’t have to do with oil.

2. Really? “there were more of them and they were bigger than you”? You honestly believed that identifiable employees at a national chain store would…what? Gang up on you and do something bad to you if you just said no? I’m not sure why you think they were “BS”ing you either. If you had a leak in your oil pan, 1. you should be thankful they alerted you to it and 2. it would be really silly to pay for a full oil change without fixing the leak first.

for #2, It would not surprise me if they were to "gang up" on me. It was a heavily populated area and I was inside the garage with no other customers around. What tipped me off that it was a scam was that they asked for cash. As for the hole in the oil pan, the oil pan did have a very small leak, but I had oil changes done before and after this instance without much of a mention and I never ran out of oil. After a long period of time between oil changes it would be less than a quart low, so it could not have been that big of a leak.

 

[01spirit750]

To the original poster. Trying to "upsell" auto repairs is the norm. This applies to men and women customers

I had our 2003 explorer in for warranty work (rear differential went out) and the service writer called to tell me that I needed front brakes and the vehicle was too dangerour to drive. Well, I am an engineer by trade and mechanic by hobby. I have rebuilt 5-6 engines in my life.

I told him thanks, I would get right on that. He continued to push, and I declined. So I tell my wife that on Saturday I was doing the front brakes and not to make any plans. I pull the tires and inspected the brakes and they were practically brand new. See, disc brakes generally have about 5/16" wear material when new, mine had 1/4". I usually replace mine when they get down to 1/16". I drove another 20k miles before I needed to replace them

Back in 1997 my wifes Taurus was in for warranty work and the dealer told her she needed a new water pump (which wasn't covered), which I knew was true. They wanted $600. I told them I would do it myself, they told me I couldn't. They said they had to practically pull the motor to get to the water pump. I walked over to the dealers parts department and they quoted me $97 for a new water pump. I took the Ford part number and ordered the pump (exact part number) online with delivery for $32
I told my wife I needed all day to the replace the water pump. I started at 9am and was done by 10:15am. That included stopping and going to the parts store to pickup some gasket sealant.

 

[Magix]

Besides always trying to upsell you, if you're a woman, mechanics will often not want to believe you when you report issues with your vehicle. For the first 3 years I had my current Mustang, I reported problems with the clutch. Every time I went in, I'd tell them the clutch plates weren't separating properly. They simply couldn't believe that a woman would have any idea what was going on mechanically in her car. So, they kept reading off all these stupid service notices indicating that everything was fine and what I was experiencing was totally normal. I pointed out, every time, that the notices did not describe the situation I was encountering, but they wouldn't listen. When I finally ended up leaving the car with them overnight for another matter, just before expiration of my warranty, I finally got them to agree to take a look at the clutch while they had it.

What do you know? They found big issues with the clutch plates and had to replace a good portion of the clutch assembly. Hey, the chick was right all along. How about that?

 

[averysmom]

All these quick serve oil change places make their money on the upsell. The guys who work there make the minimum wage per hour, but they make commissions off the things that they upsell you. Like the oil filter for 40.00 - they get like 10.00 for each one that they can sell to you - so they try to sell as much of that stuff to you as possible.

 

[disneymom3]

We have not been back to JL since several years ago when they tried to sell DH a new air fliter. They showed him one that was all dirty and corroded and told him it needed replacing. He said no thanks. Came home after stopping at Walmart and tried to insert the new air filter he bought. Hmmm, the screws were rusted tight. We took the car into our mechanic and he had to replace the whole cover, screws etc. He said there was NO way it had been opened at all and when he did get the airfilter out it was NOT the same one they showed DH at JL.

 

[squirrel]

I think many places will try to do work that doesn't need to be done when they see a woman.

I took my car in for an oil change and free inspection. I use a different place for my brakes-had used it for many years. The place that did the oil change tried to tell me I needed new brakes and that it was dangerous for me to drive the vehicle. I drove the car home and made an appointment at the brake place for the following weekend. I dropped off my car early in the am and called later to see what needed to be fixed-nothing! The brakes were fine.

A few days later I arrived home and got a call from the oil place wanting me to do a survey. I told the lady I would make time to do it. I told her the entire story and said that I will not recommend the company. A short while later the place was out of business/moved. This was a major company up here in Canada.

I get new blades for my car's wipers at the dealership. I think it was about $5 per blade. I was told when I went to a new Honda owner meeting at the dealership that this was cheaper than replacing the wiper. Also told us tips about getting the moisture out of the car.

 

[msmayor]

Besides always trying to upsell you, if you're a woman, mechanics will often not want to believe you when you report issues with your vehicle. For the first 3 years I had my current Mustang, I reported problems with the clutch. Every time I went in, I'd tell them the clutch plates weren't separating properly. They simply couldn't believe that a woman would have any idea what was going on mechanically in her car. So, they kept reading off all these stupid service notices indicating that everything was fine and what I was experiencing was totally normal. I pointed out, every time, that the notices did not describe the situation I was encountering, but they wouldn't listen. When I finally ended up leaving the car with them overnight for another matter, just before expiration of my warranty, I finally got them to agree to take a look at the clutch while they had it.

What do you know? They found big issues with the clutch plates and had to replace a good portion of the clutch assembly. Hey, the chick was right all along. How about that?

If any mechanic I was dealing with kept putting me off on a problem I had, I'd be changing mechanics.

I think many places will try to do work that doesn't need to be done when they see a woman.

I took my car in for an oil change and free inspection. I use a different place for my brakes-had used it for many years. The place that did the oil change tried to tell me I needed new brakes and that it was dangerous for me to drive the vehicle. I drove the car home and made an appointment at the brake place for the following weekend. I dropped off my car early in the am and called later to see what needed to be fixed-nothing! The brakes were fine.

A few days later I arrived home and got a call from the oil place wanting me to do a survey. I told the lady I would make time to do it. I told her the entire story and said that I will not recommend the company. A short while later the place was out of business/moved. This was a major company up here in Canada.

In the event that happens again, your response should be "Show me the printout of the test you did on my brakes. What percentages are shown for the front brakes? The back brakes?" If they cannot produce those numbers, find another mechanic.

The garage that services the cars my DH and I drive provide this information upon my request every single time I ask, at no additional charge.

 

[squirrel]

I knew that they were lying about the brakes. I take my car in regularly for a brake check. The company I use is very good. I trust them, that is why I wasn't in a huge rush to get it checked.

 

[Gillian]

I was due for a major service on my van but took it to JL for an oil change because DH was taking it somewhere last minute.

They said my air filter and in cabin filter needed to be changed. When I said wouldn't they do that at the dealer? They guy told me that no, the dealership expects the owner to take care of little things like that themselves and they don't do it.

Right. Because the dealership wouldn't take every opportunity to sell you something. Just like JL.

And wouldn't you know it? Changing those two filters was part of the servicing I needed!

 

[ctjsowens]

I stay away from these type of places that do quick lubes and such. I'm fortunate to do all my maintenance myself but if you dont have the time or such I would reccomend a local run shop thats reputable to do this for you. Just ask friends and family and the word of mouth will steer you to the right place. From what i've heard Jiffy is the worst of the quick lube places. Without calling any names two of the most major auto parts stores in the U.S. will install the wipers for free.

 

[kaytieeldr]

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

While I'm not particularly supportive of Jiffy Lube, this statement contradicts itself.

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.

A tad overdramatic, perhaps? Nobody was going to assault you for refusing an offered service; aside from that, it makes no sense to pay anyone twenty dollars to top off your oil. You could have asked to purchase a quart of oil (and kept the receipt if there were concerns about overcharging), or simply thanked them, left, and let a different shop resolve any mechanical issue.