Another Hustle in the Quick Lube Business That Will Make you Change your Own Oil

A large number of car owners have a distrust of “quick lube” facilities. There seems to be one on just about every corner, and on the surface they seem like a great convenience. You stop in, and if they aren’t busy, they’ll literally change your oil, top off your other fluids, inspect your car front to back, and send you on your way in a matter of minutes without you even having to step out of your car. Seems like a great concept, especially considering they generally offer these services at a pretty reasonable cost.

However, there is a huge problem with these establishments, and it comes from greed and a willingness to exploit the ignorance of the general public when it comes to their cars. We get it, a company has to make money to keep the doors open. We’re not here to knock anybody for turning a profit. However, it seems like you see or hear something weekly about another one of these places finding ways to rip their customers off without most of the drivers ever having any idea they’ve been duped.

This local news exposé shows just one of many scams these places run to maximize their bottom line without providing what the customer thinks they are getting. It’s no secret that synthetic oil offers more protection and lasts longer between oil changes, and that it costs more due to those exact factors. Those positive attributes make synthetic a pretty easy sale to most motorists. After all, who’s going to hear “it works better and lasts longer” and turn that down?

However, how does the customer know they are, in fact, getting synthetic? Quite frankly, they don’t. I have been to exactly one of these places that had the mechanic actually walk to the window and show me that he was cracking the seal on a brand new bottle of oil. I had no idea at the time what big deal that was, because other places do not do that and now I have to wonder if I too have been suckered too.

Charging the customer for a premium product and providing nothing more than the bare minimum is not only morally wrong, but illegal. Hopefully this chain changes its practice of duping its customers and cleans up its act before anybody else gets shafted.