The Wal-Mart experience

[zionzr2]

Well I was at wallyworld to get an oil change and tire rotation....I provide my own filter (Pure ONE) and they say no problem....After its done i go out and pop the hood and theres a ORANGE FRAM Filter staring me in the face. My filter, which was ready for them to use, was gone. I had set it on the dash. Then I had to go back in and make them fix it and give me a refund for the FRAM they charged me for. Luckily they found the filter I wanted them to use. You just cant trust anyone with your vehicle anymore....To be fair,Wal-mart has usually treated me well in the past. This particular location is suffering in the quality of work performed....as I have stated in the past I would love to do my own work, but my lease forbids work done in their parking lots. If there were only a public place that i could go and do my own service work.

[djnewm]

unfortunately, Meijer's only exist in certain areas. I live in Northeast Ohio now, but when I live in Northwest Ohio, Meijier's were commonplace. Here, they've never heard of them.I usually do all my car work at my buddy's house. He's got a 3 1/2 car garage and plenty of tools, so there is alot of space to work. Apartment life sucks.

[northvibe]

wait, why would you need a public place to do a oil change? yeah i never trust anyone but myself to do oil changes. I dont even lift my car up, just throw down a sheet and lay down on my back and away i go

[Mrizzle05]

well that sucked... i been there too. never a place to do your own work.i used to use wal-mart... cheap and easy. i just had them use a name brand that i cant think of right now (air head moment).never could check if they did... just prayed they did.Just dont use your scissor jack that comes with the car for it. my buddy was changing mine once and my car fell on him... thank GOD it wasnt lowered then. or he would have not been here today. all he got was a scrape on the chin and a 6 pack of beer after.

[scherry2]

Quote, originally posted by northvibe »wait, why would you need a public place to do a oil change? Quote, originally posted by zionzr2 »as I have stated in the past I would love to do my own work, but my lease forbids work done in their parking lots.

[dkim1]

what a horror story mrizzle.when i was living in an apartment, i did the oil changes. even though i wasn't allowed to, i was very clean with no oil drippage. i don't think they want you to do nitty gritty stuff like changing the radiator and such. but, i would change my own oil in any apartment complex, zion.

[Mavrik]

I used to work for Wal-Mart in automotive and granted I never messed up an oil change myself... but what I saw there makes me know I'll never take my car to one for an oil change. You get min paid employees who know they are expendable and don't care about your car usually. At least they filled your car with oil

[northvibe]

Quote, originally posted by scherry2 »I couldnt tell if that was a car lease of a house/apartment lease.....sorta confused me

[ColonelPanic]

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »You get min paid employees who know they are expendable and don't care about your car usually. At least they filled your car with oil Expendable people, like those who wore red shirts in the original Star Trek! If they put oil in the car, it is also important that they use the proper filter. That is exactly what didn't happen when a guy I work with took his Stratus in there for an oil change. They ended up being able to drive the car a day or so before it lost all of the oil and bye-bye engine!Wal*Mart had to put a new, er they put a rebuilt engine in the car for free of course. Should have been new. At least the guy's wife wrecked the rental PT Cruiser they had when the car was getting the engine replaced, not much damage but it's the thought that counts.

[Jahntassa]

My previous boss brought his Civic to Walmart for an oil change and they were nice enough to rip off his exhaust!

[redlava]

I have said it once I will say it again, I will never get auto service done at a place that I can buy underwear and a kids bicycle.

[jake75]

My Pontiac dealer has an oil change club - 10 oil changes for $119.95 & no shop charges added. They probably make it up on those who lose the card or never use the service though there does not seem to be any expiration date (unless the dealer goes belly up). The Goodyear dealer 1/2 mile from me has $17-20 oil change coupons all the time - they add a small shop charge. Sometimes the Goodyear coupon includes a tire rotation. So that's where I go when I need that done. Why would I ever go anywhere else.

[Mrizzle05]

I go to goodyear too now... guys really nice and i only pay like $24 and when my fiance went she paid like $14 & free tire rotation... but she didnt need it.They are better then firestone here or Jiffy lube. they suck

[jake75]

Oil Change coupon $14.95 in todays Goodyear ad! Five qts. of oil and a filter have to cost you $12 these days.

[dickypramkus]

Heck, you could always go to Pep Boys or AutoZone and change your oil in the parking lot. That's apparently how they do it in my hood at least. I've actually seen people install radiators and brake rotors outside the store.

[zionzr2]

Quote »Heck, you could always go to Pep Boys or AutoZone and change your oil in the parking lot. That's apparently how they do it in my hood at least. I've actually seen people install radiators and brake rotors outside the store.I dont have an autozone or a pepboys the only thing near here is a Checker and they dont want work done in their lot either....Madison sucks

[dickypramkus]

Well, Pep Boys and Autozone don't want work done in their lot either, but that doesn't seem to stop anybody. Seriously though, you could probably find a nice empty office parking lot on the weekend to do a quick oil change if you wanted.I've been keeping an eye out for a place that has a deep culvert I can drive over so I don't have to jack up my car. I thought of digging a ditch in the yard, but I figure my landlord might not like that.

[vibebob]

along the lines of ColoelPanic, many years ago a friend took his car to Sears for an oil change, picked up the car and started for the base. about 5 miles later his engine seezed up. NO OIL in it. went back to Sears and told them what happened and said they were going to make it right. Sears said he should have checked the oil before he left. " (removed) are you talking about ??? " was his response. They stood firm about not fixing his car. He went to base legal office and they told Sears they would fix his car AND give him a rental for the duration. It took Sears 4 months to get the motor replaced at the dealer. That $30.00 oil job cost sears about $8,000.00not much after this many Sears stores stopped performing car maintenance across the country.

[BlueVibeGirl]

Hubby got a year of free oil changes at the GM dealer when he bought his 05 Colorado. Before that he used Sears. I used to use Penske (kmart) until they closed. I usually used Walmart or Sears. The last oil change in the PT they found that someone stripped the thread on the oil drain. Used a self threader. Walmart found that but I don't know if it was them or Sears. I think I'd rather pay the extra for the gm dealer to do it, besides they wash the car afterwards.

[NascarXprt]

wow your dealer washes the cars afterwards?!?! mine dosent do that.

[BlueVibeGirl]

Yep and not just spraying off. They hand wash and dry. They have an excellent service dept.

[AKLGT]

ya, the GM dealer did the same here too. atleast i remember they used to. i don't think i'd use walmart or any of the other shops to do my oil changes... cause you never know what accident could happen. luckily, mav works at the dealership, so just have him take care of it.

[fire_502]

Why don't you change your oil in the walmart parking lot? If you went in and bought something first, you'd technically be a customer. If you pulled around the side of the building, I wonder how many times you could do it before they told you to stop. Probably a few. Or what about those car-pool lots they have near expressways? I bet they're not that busy on the weekends. Just a thought.

[Lancer]

I always had the use of the fire station I worked at when I lived in Plymouth. It was nice! Clean floor and lots of tools and rags. The best part was that it's heated in the winter when I needed it most!Now, I do everything in my garage or driveway. In the winter I try to time the oil changes so they land on the 'warmer' months and use synthetic exstended life oil.

[jasonvibe]

Some people believe the PureOne filters are the best. But being so great at filtering results in reduction of oil pressure on start up. On my other vehicles w/oil press. gauges I noted a 10-20% reduction in oil pressure. I no longer use the PureOne.