Nissan 370Z Forum  

Why I Ceased Having My Engine Oil Changed by the Dealer

Originally Posted by >135I Personally I just enjoy working on my car. So I will do most of the work to it, unless I do not have the tech know-how.

Go Back   Nissan 370Z Forum > Nissan 370Z General Area > Nissan 370Z General Discussions


Reply
 
LinkBack Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 04-29-2009, 11:50 PM   #16 (permalink)
A True Z Fanatic
 
wstar's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Houston, TX
Posts: 4,024
Drives: too slow
Rep Power: 3594
wstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond reputewstar has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by >135I View Post
Personally I just enjoy working on my car. So I will do most of the work to it, unless I do not have the tech know-how.
Ditto. Half the fun of owning this car, to me, is doing the mods myself when at all possible. It really adds to the driving experience in my opinion too. You really get to know the car better when your own two hands turned the bolts on it and you've dug around inside it yourself. When I hear or feel something funny on the road, it's really easy for me to picture what's going on with the car, because I've seen it all up close.

I really recommend anyone who cares about their car(s) to at least learn to do basic maintenance tasks themselves, even if they don't feel particularly skilled, inclined, or full of enough free time to do the other stuff.

As for the whole shop insurance thing: there are lots of shops around here like that. Mostly it's the franchise chain places that are the worst about trying to ban all customers from the garage area. But if you dig around, you'll find independent shops that are fine with you being in the garage the whole time under the lift with them, pointing out what you know about the car and what you need done. Just don't hover over the dude's shoulder while he's working, people hate that Explain the situation, agree on the work to be done, and then hang back and observe from a little more distance.
__________________
7AT Track Car!
Journal thread / Car setup details
wstar is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 12:06 AM   #17 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Zboi513's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Cincinnati
Posts: 34
Drives: 370Z
Rep Power: 16
Zboi513 is on a distinguished road
Default

^ I agree
Zboi513 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 12:24 AM   #18 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston
Posts: 128
Drives: PW Nismo #407
Rep Power: 16
vReath is on a distinguished road
Default

definitely agree with you SoCal. i used to work at a Honda dealership as a porter and i would just watch the lube tech guys work sometimes. a lot of them just half-a** the work. ever since i quit a year ago, i've been back to visit and some oil changes. the oil, i buy myself and let them do it-i know them so they use what i buy. but one of my friends in parts told me lube tech has been in a lot of crap for messing ppl's cars. worst story he told me, they forgot to put the oil and you can guess what happened.
vReath is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 04:56 AM   #19 (permalink)
HEK
Enthusiast Member
 
HEK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: WESTFIELD, MA
Age: 66
Posts: 491
Drives: '13 Z Tour Sports 6m
Rep Power: 660
HEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond reputeHEK has a reputation beyond repute
Default

One thing I hate about "dealer's/ franchises" doing the oil change is the time it takes to do. Personally I do all the maintenance on my TL and JK, oil changes should take at least a 1/2 hour to drain the pan and not put the drain plug back once the stream of oil is still visible.
I let my cars drain for at least an hour ( crazy but I get an extra pint in the pan ) and I don't use a oil filter wrench, just hand tight.
I'm not sure about the Z's engine and the oil required but I use either Mobil 1 or Castrol Syntech which ever is on sale and I buy a few 5 qt. jugs at a time.
HEK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 08:26 AM   #20 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: united states
Posts: 199
Drives: Nissan 370z
Rep Power: 257
msl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond reputemsl82 has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by >135I View Post
Planning on doing my first oil change myself this weekend. Either one of you guys use royal purple??

Dont you need a jack, or some other machine to lift up your car in order to change your oil? How do you change your oil?

Also, is royal purple better than Synthetic Mobil oil (the best one)?

Do you guys trust franchise stores, such as Jiffy Lube to change your car oil?

Many thanks.
msl82 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 08:56 AM   #21 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22
Drives: 2007 G35 Coupe
Rep Power: 16
ACoupe is on a distinguished road
Default

You're supposed to change the oil in a car?????
ACoupe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 09:14 AM   #22 (permalink)
Enthusiast Member
 
SiXK's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Orlando
Posts: 352
Drives: 09 370Z / 91 300ZXTT
Rep Power: 185
SiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond reputeSiXK has a reputation beyond repute
Default

I know a guy here in orlando that has worked for one of the Nissan dealerships service departments for over 20 years. I hire him on the side sometimes to help me work on my Z32 whenever I have a job that takes two people. He told me that the oil change guys forget to put oil back in customers cars "probably once a month" and then crank the car on up. When they realize what they did, he said they turn the car off real quick and put oil in it. If it appears theres no damage they just go with it, but he said probably once or twice a year they have to replace engines due to oil change techs forgetting to put in oil.

He also told me, a few years back, that if they saw someone drive up in a Z32 they would tell them almost anything to get them to go away, as they did not like working on them any longer. I can't imagine taking mine to a dealership and I won't take my 370 either unless its an absolute necessity or an alignment or something else I can't do.
__________________
Magnetic Black 2009 370Z / Pearl Yellow 1991 300ZXTT
SiXK is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 10:07 AM   #23 (permalink)
A True Z Fanatic
 
semtex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Behind enemy lines
Age: 54
Posts: 5,995
Drives: People to drink
Rep Power: 32
semtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACoupe View Post
You're supposed to change the oil in a car?????
I'm assuming you're kidding. Right?
__________________
"There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna
316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) | 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10)
Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.
semtex is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 10:09 AM   #24 (permalink)
Base Member
 
drdre8424's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: https://t.me/pump_upp
Posts: 133
Drives: 09 Pearl 370z Auto
Rep Power: 0
drdre8424 is an unknown quantity at this point
Send a message via ICQ to drdre8424 Send a message via AIM to drdre8424 Send a message via Yahoo to drdre8424
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ACoupe View Post
You're supposed to change the oil in a car?????
Yea! You just drive it till the oil lite comes on.
drdre8424 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 10:13 AM   #25 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 6
Drives: 07 G35S 6MT
Rep Power: 16
U235 is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by msl82 View Post
Dont you need a jack, or some other machine to lift up your car in order to change your oil? How do you change your oil?

Also, is royal purple better than Synthetic Mobil oil (the best one)?

Do you guys trust franchise stores, such as Jiffy Lube to change your car oil?

Many thanks.
Yes to jack or ramps or something.

I think Royal Purple is overrated. The top-end Mobil-1s are pretty good, not sure if it's better than RP, but my guess is yes.

PS - Dealers usually have interns changing oil. I've had two cars that had problems with dealer oil changes.

1) Toyota dealer - Forgot to put oil cap back on. After 60 miles I got out and oil was EVERYWHERE. It was coming out of the grill, burning (smelly) on radiator, etc. I took it back, they apologized and power washed my car, but I was never able to get rid of this burnt oil smell in the AC system.

2) Lexus dealer - Put the oil filter on wrong (missed the threads). Oil was getting on the exhaust manifold and left some nice memories on my driveway.

If I don't change the oil myself, I generally find a quick-lube place near where I live, bring my own stuff, and seek out their best guys. If you roll up to those places in a nice ride, they do seem to care more. I had this guy once that was so meticulous, but their place shut down. I got a new place doing the Infiniti now, I'm real happy with the guy that does my changes (he drives a Camaro SS that's in great condition so I know he cares).

I gave up on changing my Infiniti's oil. There's some 22 screws holding up that plastic underguard, it's just an annoyance to take off/take on all the time.
U235 is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 10:31 AM   #26 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Ontario, Canada
Posts: 22
Drives: 2007 G35 Coupe
Rep Power: 16
ACoupe is on a distinguished road
Default

Quote:
"I'm assuming you're kidding. Right?"
Oh yeah, no worries there. However, my wife's mother drove her car dry and told her husband when the engine seized that she didn't realize you had to change the oil...
ACoupe is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 01:53 PM   #27 (permalink)
Base Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Florida
Posts: 108
Drives: g37
Rep Power: 16
OnCallZ is on a distinguished road
Default

I've had a bmw dealership do a brake job on my 6 series (just replacing rotors and pads), long story short I get my car back the pedal is so mushy the brakes barely had any grip and brake fluid WAS all over the engine bay. Long story short, the dealership was at the closing hours. I left the car with them while they gave me an m3 with 300 miles, I put on 600 miles in a day, they didn't say anything.
OnCallZ is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 02:19 PM   #28 (permalink)
A True Z Fanatic
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Sacramento, CA
Posts: 2,188
Drives: 370z MB 6mt
Rep Power: 914
shabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond reputeshabarivas has a reputation beyond repute
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by SoCal 370Z View Post

...


**For those of you who actually work at a Service Department and take pride in your work—this is not regarding you, and I commend you, but your type is far and few between.
hehe you mean few and far between
shabarivas is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 02:21 PM   #29 (permalink)
Lifetime Premium
 
nogoodname's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2008
Location: Montreal
Posts: 22,357
Drives: E46 M3
Rep Power: 1764
nogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond reputenogoodname has a reputation beyond repute
Default

you got to keep an eye on ur car while at the dealership, anything bizarre can happen.
like a mysterious hole in the muffler.....lol....happened to my dad....wow, did he ever get so pissed off.
nogoodname is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 04-30-2009, 02:48 PM   #30 (permalink)
A True Z Fanatic
 
semtex's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: Behind enemy lines
Age: 54
Posts: 5,995
Drives: People to drink
Rep Power: 32
semtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond reputesemtex has a reputation beyond repute
Default

It's not just dealerships either. Several years ago when I got my 350, I went and bought a new set of wheels from Discount Tire. The car only had 500 miles on it. They ordered the wrong offsets for the fronts, so I had to return a couple of days later when the correct front wheels came in. Seeing how they only had to lift the front instead of the whole car, two of their guys just slid service jacks under the car (one on each side). They didn't bother to make sure they were on proper jack points and just jacked the car up. Well, they jacked it up alright. When I got the car back, I got in and I was like what the hell??? There were these two big humps right in the middle of the floor mats on each side. Their service jacks had indented the floor of the car! I was SO freakin' pissed!!! Did I mention my car only had 500 miles on it at that point? So now anytime I need something done with tires, guess what I do? I take the wheels off, load them up in the wife's Murano, and drive them over to the tire shop then remount them myself when I get them home. It's sad how some people just lack any sense of professionalism and just 'wing it'.
__________________
"There are no small accidents on this circuit." -- Ayrton Senna
316.8whp & 248 ft/lbs (Dyno Dynamics) | 319whp & 256 ft/lbs (DynoJet) (04/23/10)
Stillen G3 CAI, CBE, Pulley / F.I. LTH / GTSpec Ladder Brace / Setrab Oil Cooler / UpRev-tuned by Forged Perf.
semtex is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Bookmarks


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On
Trackbacks are On
Pingbacks are On
Refbacks are On


Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
What engine temp are you normally around? RCZ Engine & Drivetrain 92 06-25-2016 03:58 PM
Aftermarket engine hood 355890 Exterior & Interior 14 10-18-2009 07:53 PM
General Engine Question nogoodname The Lounge (Off Topic) 4 04-20-2009 06:23 PM
Dealer Invoice at my dealer . . TN370ZLC Nissan 370Z Pricing / Ordering Discussions 8 03-17-2009 01:44 AM
Some New Engine Parts 370Ztune Engine & Drivetrain 12 02-21-2009 02:44 PM


All times are GMT -5. The time now is 06:38 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Search Engine Optimization by vBSEO 3.6.0 PL2