No in business gives away free stuff. It would be a quick route to going out of business – assuming stuff actually was given away for free. Some businesses would like you to think they are giving away free stuff, though.
Such as “free” oil changes when you buy a new vehicle. This is one of the ways new vehicles are sold to people because most people are excited when they hear they won’t have to pay for oil changes for the first several years. Instead, they’ll be paying for the vehicle – and the cost of the oil changes is folded into what they are paying for it. The only difference is they’re not expected to pay for the oil change separately. The point is they’re still paying for it.
The same goes for other “free” services, such as tire rotations and windshield washer fluid top-offs. If you don’t think so, try this: Add up what it would cost you – if you paid for such services yourself – and then present the itemized cost for them to the salesman prior to you buying the vehicle; see whether he’ll drop the price of the vehicle to reflect what you’ll be paying for all those oil changes, tire rotations and washer fluid top-offs.
What you are getting isn’t exactly nothing. It’s nice to just roll into the dealership and have them do these services and leave without having to open your wallet. Just remember that you already did.
Open your wallet, that is. It just feels like you’re not doing it. Like paying taxes when they are withheld from your earnings, so you never actually have to write a check.
You may also pay in other ways, as is often the case when things are “free.” Like the COVID/flu shots they give away at many pharmacies and supermarkets.
Keep in mind, you have already paid – for the vehicle. That means they already have your money. This can mean they aren’t especially interested in giving away much in the way of service, even though you did pay for it. Allow me to elucidate – as Jules famously put it in Pulp Fiction.
Changing oil and topping off washer fluid, rotating tires is basically monkey work in that just about any anthropoid ape can be trained to do these things. Do you think a dealer is going to task a trained mechanic – they call them “technicians” now – with doing an oil change or rotating your vehicle’s tires? These technicians are the dealership’s earners. They want them working on things that bring in money. Doing an oil change isn’t that, especially since you’ve already paid for it. So they find an ape to do it. It can be pretty much any biped that can fill out the employment forms and he is put to work doing the drudge work that six figure technicians (yes, that’s often what they make and they deserve to make it because not just an anthropoid ape can figure out what’s wrong with a modern, computer-festooned car) would regard as a waste of their time and their abilities.
Not to mention the dealer’s money-earning capabilities.
So they hire a kid just out of high school who needs job. No slam on the kid; he is wanting to work and to learn and changing oil and so on is a fine place to start. But he lacks experience and that often leads to troubles such as cross-threaded oil drain plugs and over (or under) filled crankcases, as well as over-torqued (and sometimes, snapped off) lug nuts and warped brake rotors as a result. These are things you may not notice but that could cost you a great deal more than the “free” oil change and tire rotation.
Here’s where a little due diligence may actually save you some money.
Before you drive off the dealer’s lot, check that the oil level is right (not too much and not too little) and also that there are no puddles underneath the car. Let it idle for a few minutes and then check for that. You may even discover the oil hasn’t been changed – this sometimes happens – even though they told you it had been. Clean oil on the dipstick tells the tale. It is really important to check before you drive off, because that way, if there is a problem, they can’t say it’s not their fault.
You should also visually check all four wheels – to make sure no lug nuts are snapped off (this happens more often than you probably want to know it does) and it’s even better to ask the service manager whether they will torque your vehicle’s lug nuts to the proper value by hand using a torque bar – or do they use the air gun. Watch out for the air gun.
The bottom line is there’s no free lunch and – sometimes – you pay extra for one.
. . .
If you like what you’ve found here please consider supporting EPautos.
We depend on you to keep the wheels turning!
Our donate button is here.
If you prefer not to use PayPal, our mailing address is:
EPautos
721 Hummingbird Lane SE
Copper Hill, VA 24079
PS: Get an EPautos magnet or sticker or coaster in return for a $25 or more one-time donation or a $10 or more monthly recurring donation. (Please be sure to tell us you want a magnet or sticker or coaster – and also, provide an address, so we know where to mail the thing!)
If you’d like a Baaaaa hat or other EPautos gear, see here!
I got three “free” oil changes with the A3 TDI and the Cherokee. In both cases when it was time to change it, suddenly the service department was booked out two months. My guess is that the dealer blocked out a few slots for the free oil changes, or that so many people were taking advantage of the offer. Either way, it isn’t like the service manager is going to allocate much time for a loss leader.
BTW, the Audi dealer always had next day appointments available for the regular service schedule in the manual.
I don’t have time to go to the Stealership for oil changes and wiper fluid top offs.
The only time I will go is if there isn’t a private shop that will work on my vehicle.
Usually, independent shops won’t do valve adjustments or things like that.
I’m 82(today is my birthday) and I still do my ow oil changes. It is a pretty simple process on most cars and once you’ve done it a hundred times it goes rather quickly(usually around a half and hour)…..Bonus – I save a fair amount of money.
I also do my own brakes all well.
My Dad taught me early on in the 1950s that, ‘Nothing in life is free, somebody paid for it.’
In case cases that ‘somebody’ is you.
Still self changing here too. I’m a believer in following the mfg spec oil, engine was engineered for what they specify. 200k plus on a number of Chevy and Pontiac V8s over the years, 10W30 spec’d then that’s what I used. In the ‘80s there were issues with some 10W40 gumming up rings due to the method of getting the oil to a 10W40 weight.
Well, now wait a minute Sparkey – some recent controversy on 0W oils, my 2018 Jeep is 0W20. Toyota problems on USA engines at 0W, but not on foreign units with 5W or 10W supposedly same engine. Yea too thick and you won’t get quick travel to all parts of the engine, cold, great way to wipe a cam. Now though, are they sacrificing engine life with 0W’s in the name of a fraction better MPG? The Jeep has a two stage oil pump that doubles the pressure above 3k RPM, a method to preserve the guts at high load?
Anyone with a 200k plus engine using a 0W20 or less, oil?
I have a 2006 Honda Pilot and a 12 Acura TL with 290 and 245k miles respectively. They both use 0W20 oil, changed every 5000 miles or less. Zero lubrication issues.
The 0W is only thin in cold temperatures. The 20W is thinner at high temps than 30 or 40W oils.
Im not loyal to brands, but I tend to use Mobil1 Fuel Economy on the Acura and Costco Oil on the Honda.
I avoid 30W oils because of teh gas mileage penalty.
I keep the 20W changed, so lubrication is not an issue for me
Hey Sparkey,
Enjoyed reading your post…coincidently, I just started restoring my Dad’s last car, a 1967 Pontiac Catalina, with a 400cu in, 2Bbl carb.
It’s in really great overall shape, only 60,000 original miles. It has been garaged and covered for the last 40 years. I have been debating with myself what weight oil to use. I think i’m gonna go with 10w30 full synthetic oil, I already bought the proper K&N filter.
Reading the Pontiac forum, there are many different opinions by Pontiac(GM) guys.
You may want to talk oils & additives with Eric, that old Pontiac has a flat tappet cam I’d at least recommend conventional oil. I believe he adds something with zinc to protect the cam.
My 79 Pontiac Gran Prix was one of the last with a real Pontiac V8 (301).
At 255,000 it was “loose in the guts” I was using a 15W40 diesel oil its last three years, kept it pretty quiet! Even though they have a side mounted oil filter, tough to prefill, do prefill the new filter halfway before installing – the less air the better going thru those bearings. I believe that helped its long life many 301s were shot at 85k. It got 10W30 up till it started getting clattery around 200k.
PS: That 400 may have an upright filter so a full prefill possible. My 350 Firebird and the 301 Gran Prix were side mount.
Hi Sparkey,
I’m pretty sure all 400/455 Pontiacs have the side mount (passenger side) oil filter! But they do not mount sideways or upside down and so are easy to fill with oil prior to screwing them on!
Yea my 301 and the 350 were sideways, so only half fill was possible before screwing it in place. The 301 had to use a tiny filter to clear the exhaust so regular changes were vital, it was about the size as the one on my lawn tractor.
Hi Johnny,
I am pretty knowledgeable about classic Pontiacs. I would advise using a high quality non-synthetic oil in your old Catalina’s 400. Reason? That engine was put together 60 years ago and the oil pan/valve cover gaskets may seep due to the materials being old and not designed for synthetics. Your engine also has a flat tappet camshaft and needs the additives that are now very scant in off-the-shelf oils. I use either AMSOIL Z-rod or a high quality store bought in my Pontiac’s 455, to which I add a bottle of ZDDP. You can find this additive easily online. Here’s a link to one source: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003FWUWBM/ref=sspa_dk_offsite_brave_1?aaxitk=008782ff497b8a73812e1ab015f0e50a&tqtoken=AgR4lzrBBo4mWn8-70vGBODsl4YUQVY4Js8_t2BdeXIXBKUAGgABAAlyZWNpcGllbnQAC0FtYXpvbkFkc1RRAAEAEWF3cy1rbXMtaGllcmFyY2h5ACRiM2NlMjE3OS0wMzJhLTQ5NTAtOWFlZC00MTczZDMxZmNhMmEAXKdr3OI_9tsKghgtAK2sP8GSbiUwHbl2PLWqPxLtK8nXMwFE6ZdgvB9GW5UInU411LKSZwVfjxnsgU7RHggZDIhHlZ_1C7awRerZY3WNlqSr9ZKZMk611fDimHQAAgAAEADaU8ZFhdBsmJgbkK4h7r8axjw-7fnD8Z44Qf-nmQvx-0hwScbkUsJtaNLwO3cH3vv_____AAAAAQAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAQAAABsweX5NdLXrH9jC3NxI3gA-6Lcxl_xb3gwk-9XLd0Ywh3mXTDtfdpylwFNX&offsiteFlag=1&th=1
Eric,
Appreciate your reply. I will go with your recommendation Thanks a lot. I trust your knowledge. Isn’t Amsoil synthetic also though?
I plan on replacing most all hoses, belts and gaskets , assuming I can source them and dressing up the engine bay with some chrome valve covers and so other chrome doodads.
You bet, Johnny!
In re AMSOIL. They have a VRod formulation that has the ZDDP. I use this in my 455, which was put together with modern gaskets and seals, etc. If I owned your old Catalina, I’d stick with a high quality conventional oil and add the ZDDP.
Manufacturer only cares if you buy their vehicle. Manufacture makes no money when you take your car in for service, the dealership is the only party that benefits from you taking the care to them for service. The manufacturer pays the dealership for the oil change and warranty claims. The manufacture makes 0 dollars when you take the car to the dealership for service or repair. It will be the dealership that tells you that you need a new catastrophic converter. Nothing is free, and I change my on oil.
manufacturer…manufactureR
“manufacture” is a verb, meaning “to make something”.
“manufactureR” is a noun, meaning a company that makes something.
Words mean things.
Meh, I see you spelled it right the first time. Nevermind.
If there was a delete button, I’d use it. There’s not.
Never knew we needed ‘Grammar and spellin police’ here.
I had a 2004 Tacoma 4WD extra cab. I loved that truck. Now here is why I will never buy a Toyota ever again. There was a recall on the frame, I brought it to the dealer. They inspected it and put some underbody coating on the frame. I expected the frame to be replaced, no they said I had to use the truck that way if the frame kept rotting to bring it back. I brought it back a year later as I saw chunks of the frame coming off. They said I waited to long and it was out of warranty, I disagreed. Now this is the important part, I bought the truck in the fall of 2004. They told me that they go by the delivery date located on the purchase order at the very top of the page, right hand side and nothing to identify what the date was for, the date was spring of 2004. I called corporate head quarters. The woman I spoke with told me I was out of luck and I was free to take them to court. I sold that truck for $3000. I will never buy a Toyota ever again.
Hi Viti,
It would have been interesting if you took them up on their offer to sue them perhaps in small claims court. Small Claims in many states is up to $10,000 limit. I remember years ago there was a case in the Southeast where a lady sued Toyota in small claims over some issue. Suddenly this got a lot of attention from upper Toyota management because they didn’t want to set a precedent of losing the case and triggering a recall. They settled with her out of court as I recall.
They were very clear on the 2005+ trucks about the date being the date of first use, this being the day the truck was sold and the manufacturer’s certificate of origin was transferred and the buyer was issue title. My truck was built in September 2006 but not put into service until March 2007, which when the gentleman who sold it to me bought it. My extended warranty ended March 2017. It was all documented by Toyota. The coverage was transferred, although I did have to register my ownership information with Toyota.
They didn’t give me a new frame either but they did replace the rear leaf springs under warranty due to corrosion. This was a separate recall, rooting from the fact that rusted springs with too few clamps (the bands that wrap around the leafs) could break and rotate, which in some cases punctured the gas tank and the truck burned. Not a good day.
At the risk of sounding like a fanboi I will say this, the supplier for Tacoma frames was Dana/Spicer and they built Ford truck frames on the same line. Ford trucks from the same era had (perhaps still have?) this same rotting issue but Ford has never acknowledged or done anything about it at all.
https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/frame-rot-on-prior-generation.38987/
https://www.carcomplaints.com/Ford/F-150/2004/body_paint/frame_totally_rusted_out.shtml
Ornimentals aren’t much on corrosion control, try getting the rear shocks lower bolt out on an ‘09 Acura MDX. Front struts similar, took a 1/2 breaker, impact socket, and then added the floor jack handle as a cheater to finally move the front strut mounts. The rear shocks? Gave up it went to the shop. And the idiot design of the rear shock mount, you can’t torch it off without destroying the shock mount.
Well that explains why I see broken studs every so often on random cars missing lug nuts
‘Clean oil on the dipstick tells the tale.’ — eric
If it even has one. New German Scheiße such as Mercedes Benzs and BMWs mostly don’t. Which means I wouldn’t be buying their crap anyway.
A related ripoff at this time of year is low-cost home HVAC inspections. One of these scammers examined my 1990s propane furnace and told me it was ‘obsolete.’ He was busy measuring the space to determine what size of new unit would fit. He sent me a bill for $150, which I didn’t pay.
Then I figured out all it needed was to have the flame sensor (a thin metal rod) sanded smooth. That HVAC dipstick couldn’t fool me. 🙂
I had a similar issue on a four year old gas water heater. Plumber wanted $1750.00 for a new one installed.
I called Rheem, explained the problem(pilot wouldn’t stay lit), they sent me the new part free, I installed it myself in about 45 minutes.
“Changing oil and topping off washer fluid, rotating tires is basically monkey work in that just about any anthropoid ape can be trained to do these things.”
Which is why you should always change your own damn oil, particularly on a car you want to keep. If you are leasing it and plan on giving it back to them anyway, maybe you won’t care as much if one of their retards fucks it up.
The “free” dealer oil change interval on my 2018 Camry was at 10,000 miles which really isn’t adequate.
The dealer used the 20,000 mile service to pitch complete replacement of the brake fluid despite the fluid testing 0% water content according to my moisture meter at home.
Interestingly, they did not want to replace the coolant when I requested the service at 30,000 miles. “That’s 100,000 mile coolant.”
Bringing it to the dealership is a great way for them to “find” other problems. Free gets less free at that point.
Plus if they can train you to keep showing up to the dealership, then it will become easy to keep doing it.
Rught, they try to “upsell” you stuff that you really don’t need. Last time I brought my car to get tires the guy gives me a whole laundry list of other things that I didn’t ask for that supposedly needed to be done. No thanks, just give me the tires and let me out of here. I feel bad for people not knowledgeable about cars that they scare into paying for a lot of unnecessary “repairs”.
They really prey on women….they can sell them anything.
Look at receipt carefully – has the correct specification oil been used? I have a V6 Toyota RAV 4, a bit unusual – oil the dealer put in was for a 4-cylinder. Service rep opined, no problem. Didn’t imagine he’s a petroleum engineer.
Some newer vehicles don’t have dipsticks, difficult to identify fill errors.
Did they use 0W-20 or was it 5W-20 or 5W-30?
Toyota’s recommendations are confusing even to knowledgeable mechanics, nevermind the kid doing oil changes. Plus the 3.5L V6 was still being used long past when they stopped using it in the RAV4 in 2012, so what they recommend for the Sienna or Tacoma later might be different than your car.
The TSB EG018-06 that changed the recommendations in 2006 and 2007 also muddles things because the owner’s manual and fill cap don’t necessarily indicate what Toyota recommended for 2005 cars, if that’s what yours is.
Anon:
My vehicle: 2012 Toyota RAV4 3.5L V6 (2GR-FE).
That was the last year V6 available in RAV4.
At oil change dealer put in 5W20 (4-cyl oil) rather than 5W30.
More confusion: Toyota’s specifications called for 6.4 quarts at oil
change. Specks were/are wrong, correct fill is 6 quarts even.
I usually change oil myself, but was between moves and my
tools were at other house.
My wife’s 2014 Lexus has the 3.5L V6. I change the oil and have use 0W20 full synthetic since new and the car runs like new at 100,000 miles.
Hi Johnny,
Your Lexus is one of the great ones; specifically the V6. Hold onto that one!
Well, that’s interesting. The TSB EG018-06, which I do acknowledge only directly affects 2006 and 2007 model years, shows ILSAC GF–4 SAE 5W–20 for GR.
The 0W20 would be for 2AZ, although in a 2012 it would have changed to a 2AR 4 cylinder, so that’s just a curiosity in this case. I don’t know if there’s a different TSB or recommendation for later years.
https://www.rav4world.com/threads/eg018-06-engine-oil-recommendation-03-29-06.65493/
Now that said, I have a 2006 1GR Tacoma and still use 5W30 just like the book and cap say and never switched it to 5W20. It’s got 265K on the engine, so I don’t think that was a wrong decision.
Hi libertyx.
One of the automotive podcasts I listen too had a customer ask them why they charged so much more for an oil change than the VW dealer did. It turned out that the independent used the correct VW specific oil from the VW dealer and the dealer used oil from a generic bulk oil container that did not meet VW specs.
Scammers everywhere.
That’s not unusual. Dealerships and even large repair shops keep bulk oil and use it where ever they can.
It’s absolutely true that you need to use VW oil in a VW engine. Found that out with our first one. That engine had 35K and ran great until I did the first change. It started consuming oil like crazy, I was legitimately figuring I got a cursed VW despite my best effort. Decided to drain the oil (I was hoping to just keep one brand/weight 5W30) and re-fill, this time using Castrol’s Euro 5W40 that specifically meets VW/Audi spec.
The engine just turned 190K about a month ago and has had only a steady diet of that same Castrol ever since, never having lost any significant amount since. Now I will admit that I’m not sure it was actually getting past the rings and there was no indication of starvation, so I speculate that the loss could be due to secondary effect, perhaps the PCV system. That has always been a bit finicky about waxy build up, so I have to clean the intake and throttle body every couple of years. But recent compression tests are still fine, oil analysis and emissions tests are always clean, so I’ve never given it much thought since.
Hi Pat, from what I remember from that podcast when the garage called the dealer the parts department admitted the oil did not fully meet VW specs but they felt that the engine would have no problem lasting longer than the period the warranty covered.
For what it’s worth I change all my own engine oil.
What kind of VW do you have? I have always like the way VWs in general operate. They may not be as reliable as a Toyota, but they seem to be decent cars.
Mk 4 TDI Jetta. It’s been an outstanding car. More temperamental than Japanese cars but really not bad. Ours was made in Wolfsburg rather than Mexico, which might have something to do with it.
Hi Pat,
VW’s TDI engine was superb. I am sad – an angry – that it was forced off the market.