About The Site
Search for local and nationwide oil change coupons, specials and deals by city, and state using the handy list of states to the right.
Valvoline Instant Oil Change Coupons
Valvoline is a division of Ashland Inc. and has over 800 company and franchise Instant Oil Change centers.
The Instant Oil Change division of the company was created in 1986 after they purchased a chain of Rapid Oil Change centers in New Yor and Minneapolis, as well as additional chain acquisitions in Michigan – primarily DipStick and Instant Oil Change chains.
They claim to be the second largest Instant Oil Change chain in the United States and focus on being quick, easy, and honest with their customers.
They offer a toll-free number as well, so you can call instantly and at no charge to rate your oil change experience.
Valvoline is one of the most aggressive oil change coupon promoters online, in fact there is a good chance the advertisements provided by Google at the top of this page will link directly to a “Location Finder” from Valvoline as well as links to their latest oil change coupons, offers, and specials.
Oil Change Discount – Where To Find It?
There are a wide variety of places to get an oil change. These include:
- Dealerships
- Quick Change Oil Change and Lube Centers
- Local garages
- Big box stores like Sam’s Club, Costco, Wal-Mart Service Center, and even K-Mart.
If you walk into any of these stores, you can often get on a mailing list to receive oil change coupons via email or postal mail.
You can also check those big bundles of coupons that come in the mail. These often have discount coupons from more than one vendor.
A lot of the big nationwide “Quick-Change” type places offer coupons for oil change right on their website, which can be printed and downloaded. Optionally, with many of these chains, you can sign up to receive others in the mail, as discussed earlier.
Oil changes on a standard vehicle averages around $20-$35. $5 and $10 discounts on oil change specials is common, so think of it like getting a free oil change every third or fourth time you go!
If you are wary of trying a new place, check out our article “How to keep from getting scammed by your oil change center”
If you are wondering how often you should take your vehicle in for an oil change, check out our article “Do You Really Need to Change Your Oil Every 3,000 Miles?“
Midas Oil Change Review
Midas began in 1956 as a full service auto center in Itasca, Illinois and has gradually moved to be one of the largest quick oil change and auto repair centers worldwide.
Reviews on Yelp.com, and other review sites generally tend to give Midas high marks in the service and reliability departments. In one review a customer said:
“I’m proud to say that Midas in Berkeley took the title of “first non-dealership work” for my little Audi. At first I was scared, but after talking with the mechanics and getting the ultimate deal, I couldn’t be more pleased.”
Another customer wrote:
“I got a coupon for a free oil change and thats what I got. No upselling and Don said everything looks good on my car. I was shocked …”
This pledge to take care of customers is supported by, among other things, their multi-point Midas Touch Courtesy Check, which includes a visual check (under the hood and under the vehicle) of all major systems and components , as well as tires and fluids.
Contrary to our Jiffy oil change review, the Midas oil change centers are constantly lauded in reviews, blogs, and opinion sites.
We at Oil Change Coupons List highly recommend Midas Auto Centers for your oil change needs.
Midas also regularly offers oil change coupons and special promotions with no strings attached – as evidenced by the testimony above.
How to keep from getting scammed by your oil change center
Do you trust your oil change repair person? If you do, you are not in the majority. It seems that every year, oil change and auto repair scams end up near the top of consumer complaints year after year.
Old, young, men, women. It doesn’t seem to matter. Frustration, fear, and exasperation seem to be the words people use the most.
The end result tends to be poor work, unexpected extra charges, and lousy customer service. Others have been taken by actual fraud.
Bait and switch
Many scams are sprung on unsuspecting customers who come in (coincidentally) with oil change coupons or a special they read in the local paper. Some complaints have been that a vehicle owner goes in for a $29 oil change special and leave spending a hundred dollars or more. This is usually because the repair person will return claiming there are other things that need to be fixed, or other fluids that need to be filled or replaced.
What To Do If You Suspect You Have Been Scammed
Right away, report your oil change center to your local consumer protection agency, your state attorney general, and let the Better Business Bureau know.
Make sure when you file these reports you have all your paperwork, receipts, written estimates, warranty information, and anything else remotely related. Documentation is their worst enemy.
Speaking of documentation, this is one of the signs you can look for before the oil change even begins. In fact here is a good list to print out and take with you:
Jiffy Lube Oil Change Review
General Company Information
For 30 years, Jiffy Lube has grown from a local chain in Houston to one of the largest oil change chains in North America with over 2200 locations. They claim to serve over 27 million customers each year. A Shell Oil subsidiary, they are definitely one of the largest players in the United States.
Jiffy Lube pretty much pioneered the quick oil change business model. On their website, they claim their model was “created to fill a gap [in the 1970's] left by the departure of full service gas stations and the emergence of the self-serve model.”
They have a few other unique claims to fame. Jiffy Lube introduced the now-ubiquitous window cling reminder sticker to help drivers keep track of their oil change intervals.
Whether it’s just PR spin or not, Jiffy Lube claims to recycle all their motor oil from oil changes. This oil is re-refined and used for industrial applications, such as concrete manufacturing, electricity generation and heating asphalt to pave roads.
They also appear to be very active in philanthropic pursuits, the Jimmy Fund at the Dana Farber Cancer Institute, the American Cancer Society, Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Muscular Dystrophy Association and many local children’s hospitals to name a few.
Since 2004, Jiffy Lube has been making aggressive expansion into China and other foreign countries.
Scams and Expose’s
This site isn’t designed to be an expose site, but out of all the oil change centers we have reviewed, Jiffy Lube seems to consistently have a line of disappointed, and even angry publicly commenting former customers. Take this example of a Southern California TV station investigation, via this summary from Snopes.com:
The report was entitled “Is Your Mechanic Cheating?” and detailed the results obtained by the news team when they took cars to various Jiffy Lube locations around southern California. Through the use of surveillance, surreptitiously marked parts, and tiny cameras hidden within the target cars, the team discovered that at the preponderance of Jiffy Lube locations where they left cars for routine maintenance (e.g., oil changes, fuel filter replacements, transmission flushes), they were charged for work that was never performed. They also encountered a good deal of obfuscation and prevarication from Jiffy Lube employees and officials whom they confronted about the unperformed work, including a district manager who flat-out lied to them about his identity.
Personally I have never had any problems at a Jiffy Lube regarding oil changes, and it is quite possible the complaints may stem from regional attitudes or practices – not company wide policies designed to fleece an unsuspecting public.
Ultimately, you will need to follow our steps outlined in our oil change scams article. In that article we have listed things you can do at an oil change center to detect whether they might have a tendency to scam you.
Do You Really Need to Change Your Oil Every 3,000 Miles?
Even though we are in the business of directing people to oil change coupons via our advertisers, you may want to think about whether or not your oil change is necessary in the first place.
You might have heard in recent years that modern automobile engines generally don’t require oil changes every 3000 miles. Perhaps you have wondered whether or not this is true, wishful thinking, or some combination of the two.
The California Integrated Waste Management Board performed a study not too long ago that found 73 percent of drivers in that state change their oil more often than necessary. It is likely this is very similar in other states nationwide. Obviously this is a waste of money on the part of the automobile owner. But in the grander scheme of things it also means we are consuming more oil than we have to – especially in this day and age of insane oil prices.
The data used in this study dates from 2005 and found that in California, there is almost 154 million gallons of oil waste per year. Just under 60% of that oil ends up being recycled or repurposed. One gallon of used oil can affect the taste of a million gallons of water.
It has been a lingering urban legend that motor oil should be changed every 3000 miles. This is in spite of the fact that most automobile makers will recommend oil changes at 5000, 6000, and even 10,000 miles under typical driving scenarios.
Why the change in specifications of automakers? Because motor oil technology has vastly improved. Synthetic oils and engine technology together means that oil stays cleaner longer, without doing any damage to your engine.
Quite simply, the 3000 mile mentality is a lingering holdover from the days when engines used single-grade, non-detergent oils.
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.
Oil Change Coupons Compiled Weekly
We are going to put oil change coupons on the site weekly.
Changing your oil is one of the most important things you can do to maintain the longevity of your vehicle. For this reason we will be compiling oil change coupons and oil-related vehicle care tips and news. This will hopefully help you to keep motivated to care for your vehicle properly and debunk oil change myths and instill proper vehicle care habits.