When getting an oil change?

Question

Do they ALWAYS tell you that you need a new air filter? Are they trained to insist yours is bad. I went in for an oil chnage today and the mechanic was forcing the issue on me. My car only has 3000 miles on it, and I know that they last for at least 10,000 miles. When he showed it to me it was clean as all can be! But he kept insisting it was dirty and needed replaced. This has happened to me several times.

So do they train them to sell air filters?

Answer 1

Oh yes do not go back there bad mechanic bad. Ask around find a new shop go to shop look at shop are they clean nice have all there teeth make sure you have more oil in your car then they do in there hair.

Answer 2

The price of an oil change is less than the price of the oil and filter. They do it so cheap to get you in the garage so they can sell you other things, that they mark up so high, it makes it worth it for them to do the oil change.

Answer 3

yes thats how they make their money,get you in with an inexpensive oil change and try to get you to buy their summer or winter or whatever plan, so you wont go somewhere else. the places i like are the ones that tell me they rotated the tires. I have locks on the wheels!

Answer 4

They get a commission from it. It may only be $1, but if they can get one every hour, thats a $1 raise for them.

Answer 5

Tell them to stop digging around the parts of the car they're not supposed to be in. You wanted an oil change, what the h**l are they doing in your airbox? best to just tell them off and go somewhere else. That's BS.

Answer 6

Ok well whoever was telling you that was not honest and was just trying to make money. I work at a shop and I only reccomend an air filter when it is dirty or very dirty (iv seen one and wonderd how the car is able to run lol) but I never reccomend one if you dont need it. Its reccommended every 12,000 miles but it could be less or be more depending on the driving environment but i have never seen one dirty with 3,000 miles of use. Try to go to a different place cause the place you were at were very unhonest.

Answer 7

I have had that happen once, but it was more like a "you should probably have it changed, but you'll be good for another 3000 or so miles" kind of thing.  I take my car to Grease Monkey and they are always really great about everything.  One location will always pull the filter out and bring it to me with a flashlight to show me how it is while the other location will just tell me that it's fine or could stand to be replaced.  They're really great guys to work with.  

My car is pretty simple, so it's easy to get to the air filter and replace it.  When they tell me that it needs to be replaced I just go get a filter from Walmart or a parts place, spend $10, and replace it myself.  They normally charge a bit more than that, so I usually opt to do it myself.  If you want to rattle the people that change your oil, next time they tell you that it needs to be replaced and it doesn't, look them straight in the eyes and tell them that you'll replace it yourself when it needs to be and they don't need to worry about it.  :)

Answer 8

Go somewhere else. That's ridiculous. They do not all do that. Why put up with that garbage. With that kind of pressure, God knows what they're doing to your car while you're not looking.  

Answer 9

To be short, yes.

In a shop, you get paid flat rate. meaning if the book says an oil change should take an hour and you do it in 30 minutes, you still get paid an hour. but if you do it in 2 hours, you only get paid the one hour. so in order to get more hours, they try upselling. if an oil change comes into my shop, while im underneath im checking out the tie rod ends to see if they need serviced and if im looking under the hood, im looking for signs of worn hoses from the radiator, signs of rusty looking coolant, discolored brake fluid, etc. I do it honestly but thats the difference between a Technician and a mechanic

Answer 10

Yes. They are trained to sell you that stuff because the mark-up for them is high and the work required for replacement quite low. Even if your air filter was dirty, you'd be better off going up the road and buying one and switching it out yourself rather than letting them do it.

Another one they always suggest to me is tire rotation. I had new tires put on my vehicle and got an oil change only but a few days later. The guy changing my oil said "looking at your tires, it seems they haven't been rotated recently. We can do that for you today. It only costs 59.99 Sound good?" I was like "uh, I had these brand new tires put on my car three days ago so that's quite impossible but thanks anyway." He looked at me and said "oh maybe next time" and I was thinking probably not going to be a next time at this place since I know he didn't even look. It's ridiculous, I know and insulting.  

Answer 11

Thats crazy. bring your car somewhere else. Most honest shops in my area are small private owned shops, NOT any firestones or midas shops or any of those (what I call) Fast food chain shops. Those places are often run by hired help and the care and profesionalism is often times absent.

Answer 12

they can tell you and it,s up to you if you want 1.