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Engine Oil change
Posted by Jose A. Adams
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Engine Oil change May 18, 2006 02:52PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 4 |
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Re: Engine Oil change May 19, 2006 04:24PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,550 |
<HTML>In the USA the machines that suck oil out of the crankcase are not at all popular.
The USA market for oil change is to drain the oil.
In all parts of Asia, especially in Japan, Korea and Taiwan these suction machines are quite popular and a major device in the oil change business.
What country are you located?
Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS
www.detailplus.com
buda@detailplus.com</HTML>
buda
The USA market for oil change is to drain the oil.
In all parts of Asia, especially in Japan, Korea and Taiwan these suction machines are quite popular and a major device in the oil change business.
What country are you located?
Regards
Bud Abraham
DETAIL PLUS SYSTEMS
www.detailplus.com
buda@detailplus.com</HTML>
buda
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Re: Engine Oil change August 09, 2006 01:01AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
Gentlemen: It may be worth pondering whether an oil change business is compatible with detailing. To me, it conjures up the image of a guy in oil-stained coveralls crawling all over my upholstery. That may be a strong pschological obstacle for the customer to overcome.
One quick lube place I know offers a full detail for only 125 dollars and they have had very few takers.
Doug Delmont
" The harder I work, the luckier I get ".
One quick lube place I know offers a full detail for only 125 dollars and they have had very few takers.
Doug Delmont
" The harder I work, the luckier I get ".
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Re: Engine Oil change August 09, 2006 01:30AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,550 |
Doug:
If you read the most recent fast oil change & lube survey done by National Oil and Lube News, which by the way, I write a regular column on detailing and car washing, you will see that that 11% of these businesses in the USA are reporting they offer detailing services.
And, I can see you do not go into quick lubes often as I have never seen a tech with particularly dirty coveralls. They usually have a color coordinated pair of pants; jacket; cap and dress type shirt.
They certainly are more well dressed, clean and well-groomed than most detailers in shops I visit or train at.
The reason for anyone not selling detailing is salesman (person)ship. Detailing in conjunction with another business will not sell itself, you have to ask for the business.
This was/is proven in car washes that offer detailing. The ones who "sell" it to the customers are the ones who do the high volume.
Regards
Bud AbrahamDoug Delmont wrote:
> Gentlemen: It may be worth pondering whether an oil change
> business is compatible with detailing. To me, it conjures up
> the image of a guy in oil-stained coveralls crawling all over
> my upholstery. That may be a strong pschological obstacle for
> the customer to overcome.
> One quick lube place I know offers a full detail for only 125
> dollars and they have had very few takers.
>
> Doug Delmont
>
> " The harder I work, the luckier I get ".
buda
If you read the most recent fast oil change & lube survey done by National Oil and Lube News, which by the way, I write a regular column on detailing and car washing, you will see that that 11% of these businesses in the USA are reporting they offer detailing services.
And, I can see you do not go into quick lubes often as I have never seen a tech with particularly dirty coveralls. They usually have a color coordinated pair of pants; jacket; cap and dress type shirt.
They certainly are more well dressed, clean and well-groomed than most detailers in shops I visit or train at.
The reason for anyone not selling detailing is salesman (person)ship. Detailing in conjunction with another business will not sell itself, you have to ask for the business.
This was/is proven in car washes that offer detailing. The ones who "sell" it to the customers are the ones who do the high volume.
Regards
Bud AbrahamDoug Delmont wrote:
> Gentlemen: It may be worth pondering whether an oil change
> business is compatible with detailing. To me, it conjures up
> the image of a guy in oil-stained coveralls crawling all over
> my upholstery. That may be a strong pschological obstacle for
> the customer to overcome.
> One quick lube place I know offers a full detail for only 125
> dollars and they have had very few takers.
>
> Doug Delmont
>
> " The harder I work, the luckier I get ".
buda
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Re: Engine Oil change August 13, 2006 04:02AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
Bud : I hope my absence from quick lube places doesn't count against me too much in your estimation. Anyway, I was speaking of a possible image problem from working with dirty oil and later, pristine upholstery.
I never intended to impugn the cleanliness or appearance of the lube technicians.
I should add that the quick lube business appears founded on hiring kids to do the work of mechanics ( understanding threaded fasteners, torque, gaskets, oil types, ratings and viscosities, diagnosis of oil contamination and other problems as well as safety ). All of that is expected for minimum wage.
These places do not normally wait for the oil to drain completely before re-installing the drain plug so an extra half-quart of dirty oil remains in the engine. They then fill the crankcase from a bulk supply only up to the fulll mark. If you fill from cans, you normally end up a half-quart over, so figure they are saving a total of one quart on each oil change . They still charge the same flat fee for their service.
Stories abound of these operations attracting customers with underpriced oil change service and then selling overpriced and often unnecessary parts and services. One woman was sold an air filter three months after I had changed it for her. The old one looked fine. The replacement was a no-name knock-off of a Fram, at twice the price of a genuine Fram from Wal-Mart.
Note : They often use no-name oil filters too.
So I'll plead ignorance of the lube shops. I do my own maintenance.
Doug
" There is always less honesty, intelligence and money than people think. "
I never intended to impugn the cleanliness or appearance of the lube technicians.
I should add that the quick lube business appears founded on hiring kids to do the work of mechanics ( understanding threaded fasteners, torque, gaskets, oil types, ratings and viscosities, diagnosis of oil contamination and other problems as well as safety ). All of that is expected for minimum wage.
These places do not normally wait for the oil to drain completely before re-installing the drain plug so an extra half-quart of dirty oil remains in the engine. They then fill the crankcase from a bulk supply only up to the fulll mark. If you fill from cans, you normally end up a half-quart over, so figure they are saving a total of one quart on each oil change . They still charge the same flat fee for their service.
Stories abound of these operations attracting customers with underpriced oil change service and then selling overpriced and often unnecessary parts and services. One woman was sold an air filter three months after I had changed it for her. The old one looked fine. The replacement was a no-name knock-off of a Fram, at twice the price of a genuine Fram from Wal-Mart.
Note : They often use no-name oil filters too.
So I'll plead ignorance of the lube shops. I do my own maintenance.
Doug
" There is always less honesty, intelligence and money than people think. "
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Re: Engine Oil change August 13, 2006 06:01AM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,550 |
Doug:
Bemoan all you want the quick lube industry but it began in the mid 1970's and in spite of all your critical remarks it has grown and flourished.
In fact, this industry literally revolutionized the automotive aftermarket in that it took "service" away for the service stations where for years a consumer got their car lubed and oiled. And, they took it away from the dealer too.
Your comments sound like nothing but sour grapes to me. Bemoaning a very successful industry that is growing and flourishing as I said.
If you have never been in one how can you make the statements you do about the business. You ought to read the two magazines in the industry and attend the industry trade show, the quick lube industry is a very professional industry, but like any auto service business it has it's flakes, just like the detail business.
At least in this business the people are trained professionally, not by the seat of their pants, trial and error. You do not have people in this industry testing oil and grease and tranny fluid to determine which is the best and last the longest as we see in the detail industry where a detailer thinks he knows more than a chemical company who formulates and produces the product.
No, far from what you would like to think, the quick lube industry is one professional industry filled with very professional business people.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
Bemoan all you want the quick lube industry but it began in the mid 1970's and in spite of all your critical remarks it has grown and flourished.
In fact, this industry literally revolutionized the automotive aftermarket in that it took "service" away for the service stations where for years a consumer got their car lubed and oiled. And, they took it away from the dealer too.
Your comments sound like nothing but sour grapes to me. Bemoaning a very successful industry that is growing and flourishing as I said.
If you have never been in one how can you make the statements you do about the business. You ought to read the two magazines in the industry and attend the industry trade show, the quick lube industry is a very professional industry, but like any auto service business it has it's flakes, just like the detail business.
At least in this business the people are trained professionally, not by the seat of their pants, trial and error. You do not have people in this industry testing oil and grease and tranny fluid to determine which is the best and last the longest as we see in the detail industry where a detailer thinks he knows more than a chemical company who formulates and produces the product.
No, far from what you would like to think, the quick lube industry is one professional industry filled with very professional business people.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
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Re: Engine Oil change August 13, 2006 03:04PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
Bud : Some years ago, 33 shops of one major lube franchise were ordered to stop showing people contaminated fluids and falsely claiming the fluid had been suctioned from the customers' cars. All of those franchises were under the same ownership.
I took a Chrysler Cordoba to a Lube shop one freezing day because I didn't feel like changing my oil myself. Big mistake. They stripped out my drain plug, failed to air up the tires and failed to grease the front end. So I have only one personal visit to relate but that is a 100 percent failure rate.
One girl left a lube place with low oil pressure indicated. I checked the oil but it was up to level. She drove back and they found they had improperly installed the internally-mounted oil filter on that GM car. One shop forgot to install a drain plug washer/gasket on a Toyota.
These places would have to charge $35 to make money on an oil change instead of the $22 or so they charge. Obviously, they must sell extras to stay afloat so there is a built-in pressure to cheat and gouge. The average bill is over $40.
Maybe you feel I should stop testing waxes and simply trust the makers of...oh...Turtle Wax ?
Bud, you have an annoying tactic of saying anyone who disagrees with you lacks necessary knowlege or experiance. Your assumptions about me are as empty as the oil pan on a local car that a lube center forgot to fill.
Im not sure how to defend detailers except to say that if you exclude the dealership butchers, most are energetic, hard-working, honest and at least try to do a good job. We have two in my area that I would trust with own car .
Doug
I took a Chrysler Cordoba to a Lube shop one freezing day because I didn't feel like changing my oil myself. Big mistake. They stripped out my drain plug, failed to air up the tires and failed to grease the front end. So I have only one personal visit to relate but that is a 100 percent failure rate.
One girl left a lube place with low oil pressure indicated. I checked the oil but it was up to level. She drove back and they found they had improperly installed the internally-mounted oil filter on that GM car. One shop forgot to install a drain plug washer/gasket on a Toyota.
These places would have to charge $35 to make money on an oil change instead of the $22 or so they charge. Obviously, they must sell extras to stay afloat so there is a built-in pressure to cheat and gouge. The average bill is over $40.
Maybe you feel I should stop testing waxes and simply trust the makers of...oh...Turtle Wax ?
Bud, you have an annoying tactic of saying anyone who disagrees with you lacks necessary knowlege or experiance. Your assumptions about me are as empty as the oil pan on a local car that a lube center forgot to fill.
Im not sure how to defend detailers except to say that if you exclude the dealership butchers, most are energetic, hard-working, honest and at least try to do a good job. We have two in my area that I would trust with own car .
Doug
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Re: Engine Oil change August 13, 2006 04:48PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,550 |
Doug:
Every industry has it's butchers, even numerous doctors and dentists, but you seem to want to single out the lube and oil industry as some type of villians.
Further, I am not judging you or trying to know you, only commenting on what you are saying.
And, if I disagree with you it is not about you, nor is it my needing to be right, it is simply my disagreeing with you and stating my opinion.
Why must it be an attack on you if I disagree, why must it be that if I disagree with someone opinion I am a know it all?
This is a public forum and anyone and everyone has a right to share ideas and opinions, and if someone disagrees it is just that a disagrement.
I do not need to be right, it is certainly not going to change my lifestyle or make me any better as a person to by right. It is all about sharing ideas and opinions.
Please take it as that. Nothing personal in it at all.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
Every industry has it's butchers, even numerous doctors and dentists, but you seem to want to single out the lube and oil industry as some type of villians.
Further, I am not judging you or trying to know you, only commenting on what you are saying.
And, if I disagree with you it is not about you, nor is it my needing to be right, it is simply my disagreeing with you and stating my opinion.
Why must it be an attack on you if I disagree, why must it be that if I disagree with someone opinion I am a know it all?
This is a public forum and anyone and everyone has a right to share ideas and opinions, and if someone disagrees it is just that a disagrement.
I do not need to be right, it is certainly not going to change my lifestyle or make me any better as a person to by right. It is all about sharing ideas and opinions.
Please take it as that. Nothing personal in it at all.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
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Re: Engine Oil change August 20, 2006 02:25PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
Bud : I indicated above that the lube centers have built-in defects in their concept ( short drain time, no-name parts, low wages and hiring of unskilled workers, underpricing and a resultant pressure to sell add-ons to name a few ).
These systemic problems don't exist in Dentistry. I doubt you'd like to have your teeth cleaned in a hurry by a kid with no knowlege of gum disease and oral cancer or loose fillings but training in the actual cleaning only. The cleaning would cost only $25 but the " dentist " would try to sell you whitening treatments and other add-ons. No thanks.
I have not called you a know-it-all or any other thing. I simply noticed that you attributed my opinions to ignorance of the lube industry instead of attacking the opinions themselves.
Doug
" Don't play the lottery. If the state wants your money, they will set up a radar trap soon enough. "
These systemic problems don't exist in Dentistry. I doubt you'd like to have your teeth cleaned in a hurry by a kid with no knowlege of gum disease and oral cancer or loose fillings but training in the actual cleaning only. The cleaning would cost only $25 but the " dentist " would try to sell you whitening treatments and other add-ons. No thanks.
I have not called you a know-it-all or any other thing. I simply noticed that you attributed my opinions to ignorance of the lube industry instead of attacking the opinions themselves.
Doug
" Don't play the lottery. If the state wants your money, they will set up a radar trap soon enough. "
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Re: Engine Oil change August 20, 2006 02:45PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
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Re: Engine Oil change August 20, 2006 04:49PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 3,550 |
Doug:
It is always dangerous to make blanket, general statements. I do not have all the answers, but logic tells me that what you say about the fast lube industry cannot be reflective of the industry as a whole. Why?
Because if what you say is true that industry would not have flourished nor grown and continued to grow if all of them were hiring incompetent people and taking advantage of their customers. You do not exist too long in business if that is your modus operende.
I am not challenging you, I am only challenging the logic of what you say.
You, like many of us, on this forum have a great deal of opinions about a lot of things, and that is good. But, as we all have a right to do, your opinions "butchers," and they get away with it because they have strong associations behind them. There is no stronger association than the American Medicial Association and they do protect their own.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
It is always dangerous to make blanket, general statements. I do not have all the answers, but logic tells me that what you say about the fast lube industry cannot be reflective of the industry as a whole. Why?
Because if what you say is true that industry would not have flourished nor grown and continued to grow if all of them were hiring incompetent people and taking advantage of their customers. You do not exist too long in business if that is your modus operende.
I am not challenging you, I am only challenging the logic of what you say.
You, like many of us, on this forum have a great deal of opinions about a lot of things, and that is good. But, as we all have a right to do, your opinions "butchers," and they get away with it because they have strong associations behind them. There is no stronger association than the American Medicial Association and they do protect their own.
Regards
Bud Abraham
buda
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Re: Engine Oil change May 25, 2007 07:46PM |
Registered: 17 years ago Posts: 1,182 |
A link posted on Mobileworks forum under the thread entitled Consumer Beware inspired me to revisit this lube center topic. The link is to a video of a T.V. news undercover investigation of nine Jiffy Lube locations.
[mfile.akamai.com]
Doug
[mfile.akamai.com]
Doug
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