I went there today for one, they used 10w40 and a fram filter, I don't think they can be making much for $20. wtf...
Andrew
1
2
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:19 p.m. digdug18 Reader
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:22 p.m. zomby woof Reader
They're not likely losing any money on it, but I'm sure the intention is to get you in the door, so you spend more on other stuff.
What do you think Walmart pays for 4 litres of oil, and a Fram filter, maybe $6?
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:25 p.m. 93celicaGT2 UltraDork
I change my own oil for $15 or less at regular consumer prices, and i'm sure they get a huge break being the giant they are...
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:29 p.m. wbjones HalfDork
cheap oil, cheaper filter, and minimum wage...FTW
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:31 p.m. Carson Dork
When they forget to reinstall the filter or pan plug (or trigger happy impact strip the bolt) it costs them a lot more than $20.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 5:50 p.m. mith612 New Reader
At our shop, the going rate for a 'basic' change is $20 as well. About 6 bucks of that is actual labor, the rest is the filter and oil, billed out at over the counter price. But we also check over all vehicles that come in, and we end up doing a lot of service as a result. How Walmart or any of the quickie oil change places make money without full-service is beyond me.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 6:38 p.m. ncjay Reader
No auto repair facility makes much money on oil changes, but they aren't losing any either. Typical oil change takes 15 minutes. Oil costs less than $5, filter might cost a buck or two. The real goal is to get the car on the lift and find something else wrong with the car. I know a shop owner that charges $15 for an oil change and still turns a profit.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 7:11 p.m. Grtechguy UberDork
There's a handful of independent shops around me that charge $15....one that charges $12.
The fact I can't buy the materials to do an oil change on the Aurora (7 quarts of oil), I just pay them the $15.
Bulk oil is far cheaper than shelf packaged.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 7:56 p.m. wbjones HalfDork
will any of these places (that charge so little) use the oil you specify ? + I assume non of them would use a synthetic...
-
Feb. 1, 2010 8:03 p.m. Grtechguy UberDork
nope....but in a $1000 car, I really don't care
-
Feb. 1, 2010 8:08 p.m. patgizz Dork
they(shops in general) want to get the woman or man in there who knows nothing about cars so they can say X, Y, and Z are broken and get the repair work.
they do not know that my wife is going to say no to them and come home and tell me whatever they said.
2.2 gm with the filter sideways on the block back under the ecm hanging off the firewall - they(never walmart - eff them) can change the oil every time for $20
-
Feb. 1, 2010 9:14 p.m. DirtyBird222 Dork
patgizz wrote:
they(shops in general) want to get the woman or man in there who knows nothing about cars so they can say X, Y, and Z are broken and get the repair work.
they do not know that my wife is going to say no to them and come home and tell me whatever they said.
2.2 gm with the filter sideways on the block back under the ecm hanging off the firewall - they(never walmart - eff them) can change the oil every time for $20
oh god when i worked at chevy, people would run when a vehicle with taht motor came in. No one wanted to do an oil change on one of those. You need a triple jointed elbow/wrist to get the oil filter off. Talk about a craptacular design. That should go in GRMs list of "don't do it yourself"
-
Feb. 1, 2010 9:17 p.m. jrw1621 Dork
2.2L Chevy is that the Cavalier or Malibu?
-
Feb. 1, 2010 9:34 p.m. neon4891 UberDork
if i ever get a cheap car with a PITA filter, quik lube it is
-
Feb. 1, 2010 10:07 p.m. vazbmw Reader
It is all about volume Volume purchase of oil, Walmart gets a discount. Then the large volume of oil changes pays for the supplies then the profit comes. It may to 10, 000 oil changes before a real profit is realized. After that is is all profit.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 10:33 p.m. Appleseed Dork
Volume. If Wal-Marx makes one dollar a change and does 300,000 oil changes a week, ..well you get the picture.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 10:34 p.m. Wally UberDork
The 2.2 is the Cavalier. It is the worst oil change I've ever done. From now on any car I buy I'm looking for the filter before I put down any money.
-
Feb. 1, 2010 11:42 p.m. Appleseed Dork
Ain't that the truth. I swear they bolt razor blades near filters
-
Feb. 2, 2010 12:30 a.m. MitchellC Dork
When you go into the store and shop for an hour, you may end up paying $120 for your oil change.
-
Feb. 2, 2010 7:25 a.m. davidjs New Reader
MitchellC wrote:
When you go into the store and shop for an hour, you may end up paying $120 for your oil change.
Exactly! It's the same reason WaWa and Sheetz have cheaper gas... they want to get you in the store to buy the higher margin stuff...
Appleseed said:
Ain't that the truth. I swear they bolt razor blades near filtersThe MKIV VW Golf's had the filter all up front and easy looking, but it was just offset from the only way you could get your hand in, surrounded by radiator and A/C hoses, and every metal edge was sharper than my razor...
-
Feb. 2, 2010 9:32 a.m. mad_machine PowerDork
sounds like my old Hyundai Excel. the filter LOOKED easy.. right there in front, behind the radiator... until you realised that the space was too close to get a strap wrench around it.
I still have and use the plier type oilfilter remover I bought just to do oil changes on that car
-
Feb. 2, 2010 12:38 p.m. poopshovel UltraDork
they(shops in general) want to get the woman or man in there who knows nothing about cars so they can say X, Y, and Z are broken and get the repair work.
+1. I stopped paying to have my oil changed when I got sick of saying "For the last berkeleying time, don't touch the air-box; you broke the berkeleying clips off last time, the filter's good, the PCV's good, my wiper blades are fine, and don't berkeley with the tire pressures!"
-
Feb. 2, 2010 2:08 p.m. zomby woof Reader
Wally wrote:
The 2.2 is the Cavalier. It is the worst oil change I've ever done. From now on any car I buy I'm looking for the filter before I put down any money.
Have you ever done an ecotec 2.2? Easiest, and cleanest oil change in the world.
-
Feb. 2, 2010 3:09 p.m. Rufledt Reader
i can't say from personal experience buy my uncle changed the oil on a MKIII supra and ended up with oil all over his face, hair, and in his ear. must've been fun. but then again he did lose a finger to a wood router, so maybe it was just him...
i DO know that i have 3 different oil filter wrenches, and NONE of them would fit around the filter on a 2001 Sierra. not enough room. and my old E-150 has the oil filter positioned so that when i remove the filter, oil can only pour out onto a cross member, and then on to the ground in a random, unpredictable manner.
also, where to you guys get your oil? why do i remember paying more for oil and a filter than $20? maybe it's because i have to buy an extra couple of quarts to replace burned oil between changes...
-
Feb. 2, 2010 3:16 p.m. alex Dork
Rufledt wrote:
and my old E-150 has the oil filter positioned so that when i remove the filter, oil can only pour out onto a cross member, and then on to the ground in a random, unpredictable manner.
That's when you get creative with a cardboard ramp to route the oil to the drain pan.
I've done lots of oil changes on cradle-frame bikes where the drain plug is behind the frame, so the only place for the oil to go is directly onto the frame. Or hell, BMW K bikes desperately want to drain their transmission fluid directly onto the exhaust, and if you let even a little drip onto it, you'll smell it as soon as you start it up.
And I'm one of those weirdos that prides himself on a clean workspace, so I used to figure out tricks to do messy jobs in a cleaner fashion.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
