Refusal to use customer supplied oil

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I know an AG&R franchisee. He tries hard to provide fair service for a fair price. That being said, the franchisee's are not mechanics, they need to rely on their back shop guys to feed them info. If the back shop guys are slow, do they makeup jobs to stay busy? It is nice being able to drive in without an appointment and give them a list of things to take care of, but you lose the care and attention of the old man working a 1 bay garage by himself.
 
I stick with a local family business. Never been a fan of franchises. They don't care if I bring in my own parts or consumables and always look for effective ways of saving me cash. That's why I keep coming back whenever there is something I can't handle or don't wanna bother with. I also recommend them to others as I know those people will receive great treatment and they get to support a service-oriented honest local business.
 
slowbird said:
Anyways, the guy at the counter says they don't use Customer supplied oil any more due to a recent lawsuit where a customer sued for supplying wrong oil and the shop used it.
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Hmmmm ...

I have a car with a very specific oil requirement and big warning labels under the hood about the consequences of using the wrong oil (and these engines are known to eat camshafts and lifters if the wrong oil is used, so the warnings are for real).

I wonder if they stock 5w40 synthetic oil that conforms to VW 505.01. (I'm thinking, probably not.)

I wonder what happens to someone who brings in any VW diesel of model year 2004 or later. (I'm thinking, the shop probably puts in whatever they have i.e. the wrong stuff.)

Yeah, I change my own oil, so that I know exactly what goes in there. 347,000 km and no camshaft or lifter issues yet.
 
lucky2 said:
i think you might be wrong, if its a diesel and calls for a certain oil i'm pretty sure thats what goes in it.
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That's the most decisive thing I've read all day!


Yes, I'm being facetious.


If you know anything about VAG TDi engines, you know that Brian is right.


And I wouldnt trust AG&R to put the right air in your tires, let alone remembering to put their generic diesel oil in a customer's diesel motor instead of their 10-30 bulk oil.
 
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lucky2 said:
i think you might be wrong, if its a diesel and calls for a certain oil i'm pretty sure thats what goes in it.

i look at this way, if you go to the restaurant you don't bring you own steak so why bring your own oil to a shop. they really don't make **** off the oil change anyways,
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I think what brian said absolutely could be true, the VW505.01 spec oil isnt sitting on every shelf, and i could feel pretty confidant that some of the quick lube shops see "synthetic oil" and are thinking they have whats required. I've had quick lube people look at the computer and say "its recommended for synthetic" and i've said yes, do you have one that meets VW spec? and the reply is almost always , says" meets or exceeds OEM specs". I have to leave, I'd rather go 500k over a change than put the wrong oil in.
I drive a lot and i'm not always in a convenient place for a change.
 
Who cares? If I owned a shop I wouldn't use oil that wasn't bought from me either.
Change your own oil if you wanna buy your own oil.
 
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I have not heard good things about AG&R.

I have heard far too many stories about shops in general just using their barrel of dino 5w30 for absolutely everything, dealerships included. But by the same token, most shops won't touch customer supplied anything, even trustworthy ones. So you have to ask yourself, "Do I completely trust this shop?" If you're trying to think ahead of them by supplying oil that you think they wouldn't use otherwise, it would indicate you don't.
 
Weird 25 years in this industry, never worked at a shop that has to declined to use the customer supplied oil.

**
Oil and Filter change, customer has supplied his/her own oil.

No big deal, no-one is getting sued lol.
 
I've worked in a tire shop for 7 years and we have always refused to use customer supplied oil.
Company policy. Liability issues plus a deal with a supplier. Same for filters.
Personally I don't care but I follow the company policy because they are the ones who pay me, not the customer.
 
Saw an episode of W5 I think, where they took a car in with an intentionally loose battery cable, and a hidden cam under the hood. 5 or 6 green and ross shops scammed the people for hundreds of dollars in "repairs"
 
kellen said:
Saw an episode of W5 I think, where they took a car in with an intentionally loose battery cable, and a hidden cam under the hood. 5 or 6 green and ross shops scammed the people for hundreds of dollars in "repairs"
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yep that was the same episode I was referring to...
 
DemonPig said:
I've worked in a tire shop for 7 years and we have always refused to use customer supplied oil.
Company policy. Liability issues plus a deal with a supplier. Same for filters.
Personally I don't care but I follow the company policy because they are the ones who pay me, not the customer.
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What happens when someone brings a 2004-onward VW TDI diesel in and wants an oil change? What ends up getting put in the engine? Or do you turn the customer away with the explanation that you don't have the oil that VW specifies for that engine?

I have only ever seen VW 505.01 (for 2004 - 2006) or VW 507.00 (for 2009 onward) oils at VW dealers and VW specialist shops.
 
and this is the reason that only i touch my and my g/f car....WAAAAY too many horror stories of even the simplest things like the oil change being messed up.

Some 12 bucks an hour 20 year old apprentice whos thinking about that hot blonde hes gonna try and nail tonight is not gonna pay the same attention to the job as me who is working on my own or beloved cars.

you bet every bolt it snugged twice and everything is double checked before the car gets off the jack. If i screw up, sure, its gonna cost me, but if a shop screws up, its gonna cost me money to pay them AND for the damage they inflicted. (like the idiots at Mr Transmission who jacked up my pristine BMW by the rocker panel seams and crumpled them when there are CLEARLY marked jacking points 6" away and then proceed to tell me that, "thats how they jack up all the cars"....)

oh and 22 out of 30 mechanic shops got failed!? thats pathetic...
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