Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?

so i go in to get my oil changed at one of those econo-lube places, and the guy tells me i need an engine flush and transmission fluid change. he said the manual transmission fluid was dark, but the funny thing is, i actually do most of my maintenance myself, and i just changed it like 1500 k ago.

LOL, i should have called him on it, but i was just wondering if anyone else has had similar experiences where they try to sell you something you know for a fact that you dont need?



i wonder how many people who dont know anything about cars get screwed by these jerk offs. another thing, to check the manual fluid you need to take the bolt off and actually stick a guage inside the transmission, which will be full of hot fluid. he came back with it on his hand. did he cool it off or something? wouldnt it have burned him?Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?My favorite is going to a lube place and about halfway through the job, here comes the grease monkey, with your brand new 2-day old air filter in his hands and he tries to sell you a new one. I always tell those guys I have a new one at home in my garage and I'll change it myself later. The people that work at these places aren't mechanics, they are monkeys trained to change oil. I bought a battery from one and it crapped out on me 14 months later. I took it back and told them it had a dead cell. The manager told me the battery was fine, it was my alarm system causing the problem and he refused to warranty it. I took the battery to an auto parts store. They tested it and it had 2 dead cells and I bought a new one from them. No problems since and this was nearly 3 years ago.Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?I hadn't finished reading your first sentence and I knew you had been ripped off.



These places don't know how to change transmission fluid. There are many different types of fluid, and if you put the wrong one in, your tranny is toast.



The web is full of these stories.



Did you let him change your tranny fluid? Actually all of the horror stories I have heard have been with automatic transmissions, so it may not be too bad.Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?Those guys are programmed to upsell their extra services.Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?A good reason to change your own oil. Install a Fumoto valve on the pan and you don't have to worry about the oil pan bolt.



I was a handyman for a house of nuns, and the JiffyLube place they went to said they checked the battery. A week later, the car wouldn't start and I checked the battery, two cells were dry.



JiffyLube Answer %26quot;We definitely checked the battery, so the cells dried out in a week. WRONG!!!!!Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?you go in to one of those places, stick by your guns. Tell them, %26quot;I'm sure your right about your diagnosis, but my brother does that for me.%26quot; or some such lame excuse. They catch you napping.Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?I change my own oil for I don't trust the quick lube places. A friend of mine was told that his drain bolt was stripped and the tech actually had a bolt in his hand, what was funny was that the friends truck had a quick drain in it not that stupid %26quot;show to everybody bolt%26quot;. Now what they did was put your old bolt back in and charged you for a new one, which they put the free money in their pocket.



Now not all places do that, there are good shops out there, just be aware that many will push for unnecessary work that you don't need and may not get while you are being charged for it.



If you are going to use these shops just find one whom you feel comfortable with. Ask friends and family members whom they trust and why. A good mechanic will not do unnecessary work but will take care of safety issues. I would test the mechanic like take a vacuum line off or unplug a sensor and take it to them and have them check out the car for you. A good mechanic will find the disconnected part and reinstall the connection and tell and or show you what was found. A dishonest mechanic will try to sell you a not needed part.Anyone get ripped off at an oil change place?Yeah your getting ripped off.