Re: Dealer Oil Change, Mobil 1 & that "sleazy feeling"

[Bunmar@aol.com]

I recently had my 10k mile service and they rotated my tires.  I believe it is
part of the 10k mile service.  I'd check your owners manual on that one
anyway.  Best of Luck.

Chuckem
'98 GLX



In a message dated 7/6/98 11:03:11 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
cleland@stlnet.com writes:

> So I went down to my {VW,Nissan,Olds,Cadillac} dealer to get my second
>  free oil & filter change today (~10000 miles).  When I made the 
>  appointment, the phone rep made a big deal out of the fact that I would
>  receive the "10K Maintenance", not just an oil change.  OK, whatever.
>  
>  I showed up this morning at the appointed time, with a 6-pack of 
>  Mobil 1 15W-50.  Talking to the service writer, I told him that I was 
>  here for the 10K Maintenance, and that I brought my own oil.  He said
>  great, just sign here and we'll take care of it.  I told him that my
>  wheel-lock key was in the glove box, if they were going to rotate the 
>  tires, and he said "Well, the 10K service is just a glorified oil
>  change, and if you want the wheels rotated it'll be $12.00".  I said
>  no thank you and went to the waiting room.
>  
>  About an hour later it was done, and I went to pick up the keys.  He
>  ripped out my copy of the service order, and handed me my keys.  I 
>  looked it over, and in the parts column there was this doctor-like 
>  chicken scratch, which clearly indicated that they used the following:
>  
>  1 - &^(*&^%$&%SFDSDF "Oil Filter"
>  1 - (^(^(*&S^DF(*&S^ "Washer"
>  5 - )(*S&)D(F&(S*D&F "O"
>  
>  I asked him to translate, since I'm not a MD (or a VW service tech). He
>  looked and said "Hmmmm.. Oil filter, gasket, and.... I don't know what
>  that last one is."  I said "You mean you used "5" of something on my 
>  car and you don't know what it is? "Oh yeah, that must be the oil".
>  I said "But I brought my own oil, he did use it didn't he?"  "Oh yes, 
>  I told him to use it and he did.  Here, let me fix the receipt".  He then
>  took *my copy only* of the receipt and scratched out the oil.
>  
>  So, now I am getting that "sleazy feeling".  Did they use my Mobil 1? Or
>  did they use their ACME Crude Oil brand and toss my nicely packaged
>  6-pack of Mobil 1 into their pickup truck?  If they did use my oil, I 
>  guess they'll charge VW for the 5 quarts anyway, since he didn't correct
>  his own copy.
>  
>  Just another example of slimy practices at car dealers.  I think I'll be
>  doing my own changes from now on.
>  
>  BTW, is there a good way to tell if the oil that's in the car now is
>  really the Mobil 1, or not?  I would like to verify it for myself before
>  VW calls and I read them the riot act about their idiot dealer.
>  
>  Thanks! 
>  
>  --------------------------------------------------------------------------
>  Matt Cleland					cleland@stlnet.com
>  98 Jetta GLX
>  Black/Biber