GenVibe - Community for Pontiac Vibe Enthusiasts

When I bought my Vibe, the dealership offered free oil changes for life. So I called to schedule my first oil change. I asked if I could get synthetic, and said it would cost an extra $50.00. How do they go from free, to 50 bucks? I haven't priced Synthetic oil yet, but that seems like allot of money. I think I'll be doing my own oil changes. BTW, I like my Vibe, but I hate my dealership. I wish I would've went elsewhere.

an extra $50???? that makes no sense! the oil costs less than that! if that was the case, the oil would be more than $10 a quart. i say talk to the manager.

before you get your panties in a knot... consider this. They are probably using Mobil 1 synthetic which they obviously don't stock as a GM product. That means they are getting it from an outside source. Know what that means? That means mark up. $50 while a lot is only about $8 more then what we charge for Mobil 1 here at Subaru in Alaska.You may have life time free oil changes or what not. But thats with regular oil. Since you requested Synthetic... its only common sense to have to pay for the oil at that point.

yes, but he's talking $50 extra! that's on top of the price of the regular oil change (which he doesn't pay) that would put the price of a synthetic oil change at around $70+ no friggin' way.and i'm not the one who wears the panties sis, my girlfriend didn't tell me when i could get my new car.

By all means change it yourself. No need to take it to the stealer, you'll save dinero, and you'll have peace of mind knowing that you did the job right. Beautiful thing about the Vibe is that you can change the oil & filter without jacking it up or using ramps.

I wasn't surprised that I had to pay extra for synthetic, I was amazed at the price. I just thought it was excessive. I have debated just going for the free changes and using regular oil. I'm trying do decide if the advantages of synthetic are worth giving up the freebee.

How often will they change with dino for free?

if they will do it at regular intervals as needed, i say just go with dino juice, it works fine.

That depends on how long the interval is. 7500 mi. is too long for dino in Vibes IMO. I had an oil analysis done at 5000 mi. on Havoline dino and it was shot. Next analysis will be 3qts. dino 1qt. syn at 4000 mi. IMO the VVTi and the timing chain make the xZZ engines hard on oil.

It's lifetime, as long as I own the car. They'll change it at 5,000 miles. If I remember correctly, there's a maintenance schedule in the back of the owner's manual that says every 5,000. I just hit my first 5,000 this week.

Well, you're right that $50 is excessive. Just keep in mind that the stealer, like any quickie lube place, is putting in the cheapest bulk dino they can get, and viscosity may or may not be correct.

Your missing the point Drunken.Say a customer comes in and wants an oil change. I'll use the prices I work with every day as an example. Its $34.95. Break that down its $7.00 for the oil filter, $7.50 for the bulk 5w30 regular oil and $1.00 for drain plug gasket. $19.45 is labour and shop fee.Now take the free oil change. Its still the same cost in parts but sales pays for it. The labour is less. However if the customer requests synthetic. Guess what? They will pay $42 for the oil. Yes thats $42 for synthetic oil. If they want synthetic oil used for their regular customer pay oil change... guess what, we deduct $7.00 and add $42.00 for the synthetic oil. So again to be charged $50 for synthetic oil on top of a free oil change is not a rip off. Its $8.00 over what customers pay here at Subaru. Its not $50 above the normal cost of the oil change... but since the life time oil change is not paid for by the customer, then sales is only billed for the labour, the filter and the drain plug gasket if used. The $50 cost of the oil is billed to you.Makes sense right?

Sorry Mavrik but $42 for synthetic is excessive too (maybe not in AK though), unless you're using a boutique oil. OTOH, excessive pricing is what one should expect from a dealer.

yeah, subaru may be the cure for cancer, but their price for synthetic sucks, thus proving my point. your dealer is a rip off too. over $10 for a quart of synthetic!

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »yeah, subaru may be the cure for cancer, but their price for synthetic sucks, thus proving my point. your dealer is a rip off too. over $10 for a quart of synthetic! You guys are forgetting what I mentioned in my first post in this thread. Its called MARKUP. Since Synthetic oil is not a genuine Subaru or GM part... its ordered in from an outside "aftermarket" source like NAPA or something. Its then marked up in price. Everyplace does it with everything not just in the automotive industry. Is it expensive? Yes. Is it wrong or a rip off? No.As I suggest to everyone who feels comfortable buying their own oil to do so and bring it in. Save the $7.00 off the oil change cost. Wanna know how much I paid for oil last time at Wal-mart here in Alaska? About $34... so $8.00 mark up is not a great (removed) sin.

are you trying to tell me the dealer pays full price for the oil? (yeah right and i drink sam adams)

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »are you trying to tell me the dealer pays full price for the oil? (yeah right and i drink sam adams)That doesn't change the fact its still marked up.

way more than the "trivial" $8, am i right?not to mention, $20 for 10 minutes labor, $7.50 for a $3 part and who the hell needs a drain plug gasket?so there, it's a ripoff.

I have lifetime oil changes on my truck, I get it done every 5000 miles. When I asked about synthetic they said sure no problem just bring in your own oil and we will do the labour, filter, lube etc. I'm sure your dealership will do the same if you suggest it. The dealership is still saving money from not having to supply the dino oil, but you will be getting a synthetic oil change for only the price of the oil. One jug of Mobil1 is about $27.00 at Walmart and that's all you need.

Quote, originally posted by drunkenmaxx »way more than the "trivial" $8, am i right?not to mention, $20 for 10 minutes labor, $7.50 for a $3 part and who the hell needs a drain plug gasket?so there, it's a ripoff.how ever you want to look at it.

Like Sunny said, go buy what you want and take it to the stealer. I just bought 4 qts of the new Mobil 1 0W-30 at Walmart for $5.80/qt. Both local Walmarts here only carry the 5 qt single jugs so I buy 4 single qts, since that's what the Vibe holds.

I would just buy the Mobil 1 at walmart and bring it into the dealer.. I'm sure they would honour the free oil change.. especially if they are saving on oil costs..CheersMartin.. oh and I do my own oil changes with mobil 1 and it costs me $45 Canadian or so..

I would rather use regular oil for the first 20-30,000 km anyways.

MobilOne 5 qt container $20.82 @ WalMart. Fram SureGrip oil filter $4.49. Doing the job yourself priceless.

Quote, originally posted by mathteacher’04vibe »MobilOne 5 qt container $20.82 @ WalMart. Fram SureGrip oil filter $4.49. Doing the job yourself priceless.Paying $4000 when you mess up... expensive.

silly people... stop this silly argument- if the dealer wants $50 for your lof w/ synthetic then thats what it is. Too bad, and yes I guess it is a "rip-off"The dealer doesnt need to be cost competitive in this because all of my customers that use synthetic dont care how much it costs... they know it was done right. And they have a dealer record of it being done. if you want the best deal from your lifetime lof's then take your own oil. You will get the same filter (free), same labour (free) same drain plug gasket (free).How is that worse then doing it yourself where you have to buy the filter, the oil, and YOUR time MUST be worth something to you.Take your own oil, have them change it and get rid of the old.You still got a better deal then doing it yourself.And Mavrik I think we have the same job.p.s.- our synthetic lof is $65 after taxes and disposal for gas and over $150 for a diesel. No one complains and if they do they are welcome to go elsewhere or bring their own oil next time.

hell, if you can't change your oil properly, you deserve to pay dearly. if i can do it sloshed, it shouldn't be an issue.

How many stories have you heard of a dealer or lube place leaving the cap off and oil spraying everywhere, I know I have heard it plenty of times, so the comment of screwing it up and 4K of damage, Any putz can get under a car, put something under it to drain the oil, take off the filterinstall filter, then plop in some oil. It really is not that difficult. No offense to anyone but just an .02. You go to the dealer, expect to pay, what can you do, you know what you are in for, so be it.

I've been changing my own oil for 5 years now on 3 cars .. with mobil 1 Synthetic.. no problems, no oil leaks, no oli burning and I feel better know I can be lazy and leave the oil in the car for 15,000 kms with no problems.. I think the dealer is paying for it for ripping off customers and having them go elsewhere or having them change the oli themselves..Yourself - Mobil 1 Synthetic with Toyota XRS Filter = $45Dealer - Cheap Bulk Dino Oil with GM Filter = $52

my brother worked for walmart and ruined a caddy engine by forgetting to replace the drain plug!as far as leaving the cap off and spraying oil everywhere, i did that myself once. what can i say, i was drunk, at least i had an excuse!

Speaking of the all mighty dealership.. the ad manager at my work had his oil changed at the dealer.. came home and oil spilled all over his driveway!! either the drain plug was loose or the filter was not tightened.. the point is the dealership is way more irresponsible with your car than you would ever be doing the oil yourself.. at least you would care about your own ride to do it properly.

go back to that dealer and they will make it right. Shampoo the motor, fix the leak and if you complain loud enough send someone to clean the driveway too!!!try to get walmart to do that... thats a fight for sureand it's true, no one cares about your car as much as you do.

Quote, originally posted by CAN-AWD-VIBE »go back to that dealer and they will make it right. Shampoo the motor, fix the leak and if you complain loud enough send someone to clean the driveway too!!!try to get walmart to do that... thats a fight for sureand it's true, no one cares about your car as much as you do.Your a service advisor? cool. Bet we see the same things every day And exatly. If the dealership messes it up, they make it right. At least every dealership I have worked at does, and I've worked at 3 so far.If you mess it up... your stuck with the bill. Plus if something happens to your car and for warranty purposes it requires proof of regular service... its pretty tough to prove when you've been doing it yourself.

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »If you mess it up... your stuck with the bill. Plus if something happens to your car and for warranty purposes it requires proof of regular service... its pretty tough to prove when you've been doing it yourself.With cars I've owned in the past, I saved the receipts for the oil and filter that I purchased at the autoparts store. I keep them in a logbook with the milage of each change, plus any additional maintenance, like rotating the tires. Is that proof enough? I've been lucky enough that I have never needed any warranty work. I've always had Chevys in the past. (No boos, please).

hey man, nothing wrong with chevys!

Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »With cars I've owned in the past, I saved the receipts for the oil and filter that I purchased at the autoparts store. I keep them in a logbook with the milage of each change, plus any additional maintenance, like rotating the tires. Is that proof enough? I've been lucky enough that I have never needed any warranty work. I've always had Chevys in the past. (No boos, please).Out of every 10 backyard mechanics... only 1 keeps records in my experience.

yup Mav... Im a SA at a dodge dealer now, I have been around the horn though... Ford, GM, Nissan, and now Dodge.Quote, originally posted by K-NINE »With cars I've owned in the past, I saved the receipts for the oil and filter that I purchased at the autoparts store. I keep them in a logbook with the milage of each change, plus any additional maintenance, like rotating the tires. Is that proof enough? I've been lucky enough that I have never needed any warranty work. I've always had Chevys in the past. (No boos, please).This will work as long as the records are well kept then the dealer SHOULD be ok with it. But ot may depend on how nice they are that day.

Quote, originally posted by CAN-AWD-VIBE »yup Mav... Im a SA at a dodge dealer now, I have been around the horn though... Ford, GM, Nissan, and now Dodge.This will work as long as the records are well kept then the dealer SHOULD be ok with it. But ot may depend on how nice they are that day.I've been through Dodge, GM/Pontiac/Buick and now Subaru.

I decided to be a manly man and do my own oil change. I always have in the past, so why change now. I went with Quaker State full synthetic @$3.97 a quart, and a Purolator Pure One oil filter @$6.00. I wish I would've changed it before 5,000 miles. It was pretty black and nasty. I tried to take it in for my free oil chance at 3,000 miles, but the service guy told to wait untill 5,000. He said that since most of my driving is highway, I can wait untill 7,000 with the Vibe. I'll probably do that with the synthetic untill the warrantee runs out, but I'd never try that with the dino juice. Not after what I saw at 5,000 miles.

Good plan k-9. Here's my used oil analysis on dino @ 5000 miles. You can see from the TBN that the oil was almost completely used up.

Attached files UOA.doc (71 KB) 

Quote, originally posted by Mavrik »They are probably using Mobil 1 synthetic which they obviously don't stock as a GM product. That means they are getting it from an outside source. Know what that means? That means mark up. $50 while a lot is only about $8 more then what we charge for Mobil 1 here at Subaru in Alaska.If I am not mistaken, I do believe Chevy dealerships stock GM 4718M specified synthetic 5W-30 oil for use in newer Corvettes, but am not sure that oil is carried in Pontiac dealerships as a stocked item.

Quote, originally posted by Baltovibe »If I am not mistaken, I do believe Chevy dealerships stock GM 4718M specified synthetic 5W-30 oil for use in newer Corvettes, but am not sure that oil is carried in Pontiac dealerships as a stocked item.if you think buying Mobil from a dealer is expensive wait til you buy the GM synthetic.

kcorona,Where do you have your Used Oil Analysis done at? I would like to have it done but I don't know where .Thanks,Dale

Hey Dale, I get the UOAs from Blackstone Labs. Test kits are free, they don't charge until you send the kit in for the test. $20 for analysis, optional $10 more for TBN test:http://www.blackstone-labs.com/free_test_kit.html

kcorona,Thanks for the info! I will give it a try.Thanks again,Dale