Oil Change During the Pandemic
 

I need to get my oil changed (synthetic). The pandemic hit right when it was time for a change. I naively thought I could just wait it out for a couple of months. (HA!) My question is, is there a garage that will change oil without having a mechanic get in your car? In other words, I drive the car in and out of the garage myself.

I've used Valvoline a few times. You stay in car, they change oil, you leave. A bit pricey, but convienient.

Same here but I went to a Prompto location. All employees were masked and only one of them interacted with me. Stayed in my truck the whole time. $44.95 for synthetic. They will tell you if your air filter is dirty but no pressure to up sell at all.

...... reset the check engine light!
 

Relive 1988 with the $19.88 Pit Crew or Pit Stop oil change at the Walmart in Tilton or Plymouth.

For 19.88 they change the oil, top off fluids, air up tires, and reset the check engine light ....... what me worry?! ...... and keep on truck'n!

Quick Lube
 

Almost all of the "Quick Lube" type places are drive in drive out. Never once had a service tech get in my car during an oil change at this type of place.

Dan

What make, model and year is the car?

Jiffy Lube if there is one in your area, you drive in stay in your car and they work it and you leave.

I do not endorse them, but I know they are doing it that way

Valvoline...
 

Used them a few times and although a bit expensive, you can find discount coupons.

When I say expensive, that's compared with other services in the Lakes Region...Out here in Baghdad-by-the-Bay, on the left coast, it's a bargain.

I put off getting my two vehicles inspected until the end of June. I was only three months late but I wasn't comfortable about some stranger being in my vehicles. Things calmed a lot from March but I would have been happier if I could just drive them in and stayed in them. The garage I go to said I couldn't do that and I suspect it had to do with insurance. One of the vehicles needed an oil change and tire rotation in May and I did it myself. On a positive note it was a change from the new normal and it was actually enjoyable.

I have sworn off all the chain quick lube places after using them in various states and having bad experiences. They are hiring warm bodies, not mechanics. sStripped drain plug, fill cap lost, tire air caps left off, charged for filter but not changed and a few others.

And if you use one of those places there's a good chance they're going find something that "needs" to be done and give you an overpriced quote. But they can take care of it while the car is up on the lift. Don't think so!

True story. Last time I was in one of those places the guy was giving the hard sell to some woman about a transmission flush or fuel system purge or something. She turned to me and said men know more about cars, what do you think. I said unless he can show you in your owners manual what he claims it says he's full of S.

The good news is I got kicked out and didn't have to pay for the oil change.

There is NO money in changing oil. You can't afford to pay a mechanic to change your oil so these quick oil change places try to upsell other services. Most of the workers that are changing your oil were probably flipping burgers at McDonalds before that.
These places have one manager that oversees all these workers and he's not even a mechanic. If he was he wouldn't be working there.
I use to do oil changes for $30 and there wasn't much profit considering the time it takes, esp with the newer cars that have shields that have to be removed to get to the filter.
The only reason I did them so cheap is I heated my shop with a waste oil heater and I never paid a cent for heat in the 12 years there.
I had a 40 x 60 building that probably would have cost 10K in oil per season to heat.

Why does this matter?

Are you saying that no mechanic will get in my car at Wal-mart?

The last time I had my oil changed at Wal-mart in Tilton they (1) put the lift arms in the wrong place and broke the rocker panel and (2) stole my inspection stickers out of the car before I had a chance to put them on my plates. I won't go there again.

If it is a current model Subaru it will have an oil filter on top of the engine.

That is a very convenient place to access and change it.

I find that the oil drain location can be fairly easy on most cars, just some better than others.

So if it's an easy Subaru I might be able to help a fellow pandemic victim out.

Laconia Valvoline
 

A new Mercedes customer took her car to Valvoline to save money. After the work perform she drove to Wolfeboro where she lived. Check engine light went on but she wanted to get home. When she reaches Wolfeboro, her engine overheated and she pulled over and called AAA to tow to the nearest garage. Mechanic says wrong oil filter, kept oil from flowing, cooked the engine!
She needed a new engine. Valvoline denied any wrongdoing and refused to replace the engine. A good year battle in court and they lost. Not only did they had to pay to import a new engine from Germany, installation, rental, and her lawyers!

That's why somebody asks what make of car.

Thanks for the explanation! It's not a Subaru.

Sanborn's in Laconia
 

Does anyone know if Sanborn's in Laconia is open, and whether everyone is OK there? I emailed them but didn't get a reply.

Pig headed?? I'm not a mechanic. It was a polite question. I didn't realize there was any difference between cars . . . until 8gv politely answered my question. Now I know.

This appears to be quite common.

First thing to do when check engine light comes on is to check the engine oil, transmission fluid, and coolant. But of course, too many today don't even know how to open the hood. And even with that, they don't know how to check any fluids.

Had a close friend visit. She was driving locally. Check engine light came on then the temperature light came on. Yep. She kept driving till he got here.
The serpentine (fan) belt broke. Fortunately she did not cook the engine.

No thought to STOP. Call anyone for a ride. Or horror or horrors have AAA or towing on the car insurance policy.

Many of the newer German cars don't have oil dipsticks to check the oil. They have a sensor that reads oil level and the computer will tell you when and how much oil to add.
I believe you can still check coolant but the computer will also tell you if that's low.

Ditto for Italian cars, you have access to nothing but washer fluid, let the computer think for you.

Just bring it to a dealer - I just did yesterday and the whole inside of the car was covered in plastic sheeting when it was waiting for me outside. In many cases they are less costly than the drive-thrus, which I wouldn't go to ever for any reason.

I hate there are no dipsticks. How difficult or expensive is it to add a dipstick


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I’m sure it’s more expensive to let people decide when to change their own oil when it’s the computers job. Else you see cut corners and damage due to inept maintenance when people try and save a few dollars (less likely with premium car owners I know, but why chance it)?

Some of the earlier models had the dip stick tube but no stick. The dealer had a stick to check it but the newer models have no tube or stick and it would be extremely expensive to try to add one. The newer fords have no transmission dip stick or tube so there is no easy way for the owner to check the fluid. They are trying all the tricks they can to keep you from going to an independent auto service center.

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...... #1 best used car ever, over in Maine
 

http://www.duvalautosales.com/detail...on-xb/60225932

If you want the world's greatest used car that has a dip stick, 5-speed manual, front wheel drive, roomy inside, 2000-lb tow capacity, good to go another 125k miles up to 250k, easy do-it-yourself oil changes using the drive-on driveway lifts even in January, easy-to-do annual one gallon coolant remove/add ....... for $4995 ....... located two hours away in Turner, Maine.

Color: hypnotic teal mica (medium blue), satin black interior

Was made by Toyota in Japan in the town where the 2011 tsunami hit and destroyed the factory and is a testament to Japan made, long lasting quality car.

Should buy it for myself and stop waiting for my 2013 Scion xB to drop dead ..... because it keeps going and going and going at 205k ...... like, when the h is my old Scion finally going to drop dead?

Can anyone vouch for the Tilton Valvoline? I've heard horror stories about just about every "quick lube" type of place but Valvoline is the only place close to me I've found for a "touchless" oil change.

So many good independent shops in the area. Why risk it


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My wife goes there and I got stuck recently and my ford dealer couldn’t get me an appointment while I waited so I went there. It’s more expensive than my $49.99 “works” at the dealer but very convenient. The techs knew what they were doing and were very courteous. Of course they recommended some services I didn’t have time to wait for. I may go back for the tranny fluid and transfer case fluid. Those services are way cheaper than the dealer and are simple tasks which they do frequently. Years ago, I used the quick change places all the time and never had any problems.

I have been to the one in Laconia across from the Dairy Queen A few times and I found them to be quite responsible and thorough.

Yes they are young and probably not qualified to replace your motor but this isn’t rocket science. I found the young men and women there to be hard working, courteous and professional and would go back again without hesitation!

Dan

Specifically Tilton Valvoline?

I called a lot of shops today and the vast majority will not do "touchless" oil changes. Because of insurance, they said (customer not allowed to drive car into garage, onto lift).

Yes, just up from 93 exit 20.

The Tilton location is “touchless” as you say...you drive your vehicle over the pit.