Wal-Mart's High Quality Oil Change Service

[84LX89GT]

Being a "apprentice technician" i'd like to take the side of dealerships on this (yeah, i know...boo! hiss! ). They hire hourly people to do alot of the simple, mindless labor such as oil changes ("fast lube" services) and tire rotations. These people usually have little to no actual training and about the same amount of motivation to do it right. This is a VERY generic statement because i have seen some lower level mechanics do things right and double check their work, which is something i pride myself on doing. There is a HUGE difference in the quality of work from the professionals in the industry and the "hacks" who don't care about their work. You're more likely to get hacks at a Jiffy Lube than at a dealership because dealerships like the one i work at usually only give the "oil changers" a chance or two before they're fired depending on severity, whereas i've talked to someone at an oil can henry's who had siezed 8, yes 8, engines.

On the other side, if you do all your maintenance yourself and spend the time to do it right, not only is it more rewarding, but you know you did it right.

I'm not sticking up for people who do a poor job working on cars, as i see them as not worthy to hold a job in the first place, but there are people in the automotive industry who are interested in customer service and doing things right.
I'd say the best way to make sure your car is getting done right is to actually talk with the people who work on your car and find a person who you can trust to do quality work and try and stick with that person. There's alot of repeat customers where i work that come in and say "i want XXXX to work on my car"....just some advise to people who don't/aren't able to work on their car.