I just took my 2011 Toyota to a national chain (Lube Works) to have the oil changed.
5 minutes go buy, and one of the technicians comes in holding a slightly dusty piece of equipment. "Momala, this is your air filter, and it needs to be changed. I have them in stock, for $24.99."
Ummm - NO! My vehicle has a permanent air filter, and I inform him of this. "I never heard of such a thing."
Well, he has now! If I hadn't read my owner's manual, I could have fallen for this scam! Yeah, yeah, I'm an older woman, using a cane, and he thought he had an easy mark. (I called DH at home, and he checked the manual, just to be careful, and sure enough, it said my vehicle has a permanent air filter.)
Don't fall for this type of scam!
CORRECTION! It was LubeWorks, not Jiffy Lube
-- Edited by Lawyerlady on Friday 7th of August 2015 07:16:14 AM
-- Edited by Lawyerlady on Friday 7th of August 2015 07:17:03 AM
Unfortunately, mechanics often view women and the elderly as easy targets. Shame on them!
I took my truck to Midas for an oil change once. Guy said I need a new air filter. I already knew I did and was going to go to Walmart to get one after my oil change. I asked him how much and he said $60. I said Walmart sells them for $15, what is the extra $45 for? He said labor. I said what labor? it takes me less than 5 minutes to change my air filter. He said that it's hard to change air filters and things can go wrong if a person doesn't know what they're doing. I tilted my head, looked at him, shook my head, and told him just finish the oil change so I can go.
Hard to change an air filter?! Really?! Unscrew the 4 screws, lift the housing, remove old filter, put in new filter, replace housing, tighten the 4 screws, done! Soooooo hard! Not.
Unfortunately, mechanics often view women and the elderly as easy targets. Shame on them!
I took my truck to Midas for an oil change once. Guy said I need a new air filter. I already knew I did and was going to go to Walmart to get one after my oil change. I asked him how much and he said $60. I said Walmart sells them for $15, what is the extra $45 for? He said labor. I said what labor? it takes me less than 5 minutes to change my air filter. He said that it's hard to change air filters and things can go wrong if a person doesn't know what they're doing. I tilted my head, looked at him, shook my head, and told him just finish the oil change so I can go.
Hard to change an air filter?! Really?! Unscrew the 4 screws, lift the housing, remove old filter, put in new filter, replace housing, tighten the 4 screws, done! Soooooo hard! Not.
The first things I learned about cars, how to change the oil, filters, blades, and tires.
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A flock of flirting flamingos is pure, passionate, pink pandemonium-a frenetic flamingle-mangle-a discordant discotheque of delirious dancing, flamboyant feathers, and flamingo lingo.
Chef, a few years ago this happened to me over here. Went in for an oil change and the guy said I also needed an air filter. I said no. I later found out that the nuts or bolts or whatever they are holding the oil pan were not fastened tightly/correctly and I started to drip oil everywhere.. I have often wondered if this was payback for my not buying the air filter or what. Took the car to the dealer; he fixed it. Of course, cannot prove anything and the guy was gone the next time I went to the service station. Kind of makes me leery of refusing things....
Unfortunately, mechanics often view women and the elderly as easy targets. Shame on them!
I took my truck to Midas for an oil change once. Guy said I need a new air filter. I already knew I did and was going to go to Walmart to get one after my oil change. I asked him how much and he said $60. I said Walmart sells them for $15, what is the extra $45 for? He said labor. I said what labor? it takes me less than 5 minutes to change my air filter. He said that it's hard to change air filters and things can go wrong if a person doesn't know what they're doing. I tilted my head, looked at him, shook my head, and told him just finish the oil change so I can go.
Hard to change an air filter?! Really?! Unscrew the 4 screws, lift the housing, remove old filter, put in new filter, replace housing, tighten the 4 screws, done! Soooooo hard! Not.
The first things I learned about cars, how to change the oil, filters, blades, and tires.
Chef, a few years ago this happened to me over here. Went in for an oil change and the guy said I also needed an air filter. I said no. I later found out that the nuts or bolts or whatever they are holding the oil pan were not fastened tightly/correctly and I started to drip oil everywhere.. I have often wondered if this was payback for my not buying the air filter or what. Took the car to the dealer; he fixed it. Of course, cannot prove anything and the guy was gone the next time I went to the service station. Kind of makes me leery of refusing things....
I'm sorry you were left feeling like you can't refuse something. Does Japan have any organization that oversees businesses that you could report the service station to should something like this happen again?
I stopped going to Jiffy lube and all other places like that because of the upsell. My air filter was always "dirty". So glad I found a good honest mechanic. Those lube in a box places are doing exactly what Sears used to do decades ago, Sears was sued over it and lost a lot of business.
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Sometimes you're the windshield, and sometimes you're the bug.
Unfortunately, mechanics often view women and the elderly as easy targets. Shame on them!
I took my truck to Midas for an oil change once. Guy said I need a new air filter. I already knew I did and was going to go to Walmart to get one after my oil change. I asked him how much and he said $60. I said Walmart sells them for $15, what is the extra $45 for? He said labor. I said what labor? it takes me less than 5 minutes to change my air filter. He said that it's hard to change air filters and things can go wrong if a person doesn't know what they're doing. I tilted my head, looked at him, shook my head, and told him just finish the oil change so I can go.
Hard to change an air filter?! Really?! Unscrew the 4 screws, lift the housing, remove old filter, put in new filter, replace housing, tighten the 4 screws, done! Soooooo hard! Not.
$60? Yikes. Mine changes it for $29.99, which is fine with me.
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LawyerLady
I can explain it to you, but I can't understand it for you.
The Jiffy Lube I go to will pull up the manufacturer's manual of recommended services based on mileage. While doing that, they "pull" the filters, etc., with me standing right there (so I know they are really mine) and show me what they look like. Last time, they said the air filter was fine. I usually request extra services, such as windshield wiper blade replacement. I know I could get the blades cheaper at Wal-Mart, but it's a PIA to change and I'd rather just fork over a few extra bucks to get it done. I never knew about the cabin air filters either until JL enlightened me. When my Toyota was a year old it I'd smell this stench every time I started the car in the summer months. It was so bad I'd have to roll the windows down for a couple minutes until it went away. After the warranty ran out and I stopped going to the dealership, I started going to JL. They changed the cabin filter and I haven't had a problem since. I asked them to change it last time (to try to be proactive) and JL said it wasn't necessary...for me to hold off on that. So I think my JL seems to be a little more honest.
