Is it just me or is there a conspiracy by car repair people to do everything in their power to either not fix people's cars or to damage them further?

I took my car down to a national chain's auto center earlier in order to get my oil changed.  Correct me if I'm wrong but that is one of the more simple car maintainance  tasks.  Anyways after an hour I'm told they couldn't change my oil because my car had too much in it and there's a company policy against changing oil if there is too much.

Can't those people just get another bleeping bucket?

NEVER go to Jiffy Lube ;o). Or Meineke.

Laurie

Blame the lawyers.  Too much oil can damage your car, and the mechanics
could then be subject to lawsuits for the damage.  Too much oil can also
be a symptom of bad gaskets letting antifreeze or unburned gasoline flow into the oil. 
In either case it would be hard to determine whether the mechanic caused the
damage or it was already there before he changed the oil.

This is ludicrous... farcical even.

I work in a marina and boatyard where we maintain our clients' sailing yachts and powerboats. This is just part of the normal service. Yes, we have to pay to dispose of used oil, batteries, etc. in an environmentally friendly way, but the customer just pays a little extra for this service.

In the end it comes down to how much they value their customers. Policy schmolicy.

(edit) True, ockham, but disclaimers cover that well enough for us.

Yeah, I wouldn't go to the cheap oil change places.  I know it costs more, but go to a real mechanic.  Every time I go somewhere that either isn't my car dealership or an authorized repair shop, something, little and stupid happens, and I'm done with dealing with that, lol.  The last time, it was using real oil instead of synthetic.  The time before, it was forgetting to put the air filter back in place...and then asking me to start the car with the air filter in his hand.  

He was holding the air filter that should have been in your car?

...

Jen, I'd like to take it to the dealer, but that's so expensive and even the dealer does sloppy work sometimes.

Ockham, can't they say we've put in X amount of oil and if there's too much next time you've got a major engine problem?

Yeah.  I'm pretty sure my blinking was audible at that point when I stared at him in disbelief and told him that I'd only put the key back in the ignition AFTER the air filter was back in my car. 

Yeah, it can be expensive, but it's worth it to me.  I <3 my car.  She's only 2.  :lol:  When it comes to my car, if I can't fix it myself, I take it to people who know what they're doing (and, yeah, everyone screws up.  It's called being human ;) ).  And I can't fix cars :P

Arguably the most astounding thing I've ever seen at a nationally advertised car repair place that shall remain nameless:

We're all sitting in the waiting room. My car's parked out in the lot, waiting for a tire rotation and a fluids check. A guy who owns a PT Cruiser suddenly gets up and starts screaming through the plate glass that separates us from the garade, BECAUSE... the mechanic working on his car has decided to give it a test drive around the building...

... with the hood still up.

Swear to God, I thought the guy was gonna kill him when he pulled back in.

There are little 'How To' books that teach how to change your oil yourself.  There are even books that teach you how to replace your spark plugs, time your engine, and even clean your carburetor.
DPH

Quote - And I can't fix cars :P

Can you model them instead? :huh:

Do it yourself, you'll feel real good after and then you can drive the car to a shop and treat yourself with the money you saved, only 5 things to remember when changing oil, warm the car up first, park it in a flat surface, leave plenty time to put it in as its slow to settle, have plenty trays/buckets and the most important use a ring spanner (NOT an adjustable) to undo the plug coz they can be real stiff...........Steve

Quote - Do it yourself, you'll feel real good after and then you can drive the car to a shop and treat yourself with the money you saved, only 5 things to remember when changing oil, warm the car up first, park it in a flat surface, leave plenty time to put it in as its slow to settle, have plenty trays/buckets and the most important use a ring spanner (NOT an adjustable) to undo the plug coz they can be real stiff...........Steve

Amen!

Learned years ago how to do it myself. I've never paid a dealership, or shop or anyone else to do it, unless I KNOW for a fact that they know what they are doing.

how do you get under the car to remove the plug ?

I've seen some really lame stuff happen in the quick lubes. I had a screw not put in that ended up being sucked into my turbocharger which ble wout the vanes...cost them $4500 to get it fixed.
A friend of mine drove off not knowing they didn;t tighten the drain plug..by the time he got on the interstate the oil all drained up and his engine froze up.

One day, they told me my radiator cap needed replacement. This is on a car that was avbout 4 months old. The guy had this test jig that he put the cap on...he pressurized it, then showed me how it was leaking. I said wow...let me see how a new one works? He put tha ton and it leaked down to. He then got all flustered and got his 19 year old manager..who conveniently adjusted the valve so it didn't  leak anymore...so I told him to put mine on there again..he did, and guess what..it didn;t leak. what a carnival act.

stay clear of those idiots.

Jack it up then make sure you put something under so it can't fall on you, remove the sump plug and then let it down off the jack while it drains........I was told most place suck the oil out through the dip stick hole, which to my mind isn't doing it right....Steve

You want to let it drain downwards, so as to try to remove all the little engine filings drain out along with the old oil, before putting in fresh.
Be sure to use either a good scissors jack or a hydraulic jack that lifts from underneath the chassis, so as to obviate the danger of slippage.
DPH

Very true DPH but NEVER EVER get under a car that is held up with ONLY  a jack.........Steve

Jack it up, then put a couple of cinder blocks under the chassis at both ends, next to the front and rear tires, and then remove the jack to make sure that the car rests on the cinder blocks. That should hold it fairly steady.
DPH