Oil Change Coupons and Asking the Right Questions

Many of the most successful businesses have catered to our convenience – from fast food to ATM machines to Ticketmaster. It is no different with oil change service centers.

Occasionally there have been horror stories about quick oil change stores, where a customer is convinced to buy more services. More appropriately, some oil change personnel are recommending service that didn’t need to be done, all because of pressure to “upsell” the customer on services they may not even need.

Some mechanics have reported getting cars into their repair shops after going to a quick oil change location due to stripped oil drain plugs, oil filters wiped clean but not replaced, wrong oil filters, cars not filled to their recommended levels with oil, and so forth.

Bear in mind part of this is simply the nature of the business model. Many of these companies use oil change coupons as a way to lure customers in for an inexpensive service – the oil change. This is a sales tactic to “get people in the door”.

To be fair, there is nothing wrong with this model. It is a tried and true model and is used in many other legitimate businesses as well.

The majority of quick change motor oil business are legitimate and only recommend necessary changes or service in addition to the oil change.

But occasionally, there are oil change service companies that do things described at the beginning of this article.

Here are a couple things you can do to ensure the safety of your vehicle.

Get your vehicle serviced regularly and keep the paperwork.
Anything done to your vehicle – like tune ups, tire rotations, belt replacements, fluids, and so forth should all be done per the vehicle manufacturers specs. This is important because it seems to be the nature of auto service techs to blame the vehicle problem on ANY service you might have had done to the vehicle, and especially if you DIDN’T have a service done that needed to be done. So get your vehicle serviced per the manufacturer and save all your paperwork.

Ask specific questions at the oil change center and write down the answers.
Ask what type of oil they are putting in the vehicle. Ask what oil filter they will be using. Ask them to write these items down on the invoice. Ask them to write down the oil level before draining. Ask them to write down how many quarts of oil they used to refill the engine. Keep your paperwork. Keep a copy or record of any oil change coupons you used.

There are many things you could also ask an oil change technician, especially if you are someone who knows there way around under the hood of a car. If you wish to do so, find your local friend who is an auto repair nut and ask them for any other questions you could ask the oil change service center. Your local friend could possibly recommend a good location they are familiar with.

Keeping a paper trail with everything regarding your vehicle is important and can save you thousands of dollars. Besides, if you are interested in oil change coupons it is likely you want to save every penny you can when it comes to caring for your vehicle.