Let the dealer do a oil change

Yep! I have 6 freebie oil changes left. I have a great dealer. Going on 15 years now. I'm only 67, always did my own maintenance and beyond over the years. The techs that change my oil are young, but ASE. Not only do I watch what they do.....the senior tech, as in the boss, signs off on every change. He gets underneath, checks topside, everything. Zero problems for me letting my dealer take care of business. Oldest and still family owned (Datsun) Nissan dealer in Colorado. Tynan's and have no problem recommending them either. If your dealer sucks....go to mine..

 

They put mine at regular PSI even though I have supplemental door sticker that states 46 with KO2s. Pissed me off when I had to get the compressor out to add 16 lbs in all 4.

 

I have never had any troubles with my dealer doing the oil changes. They never use the impact and they are always wiping up under there as they are working. Just yesterday morning I saw one guy setting the torque wrench for both the plug and the filter. The oil change dept has always been top notch!

 

I’ve posted several times regarding letting my dealer do my service for me. They have always done a great job and in a couple instances have gone above and beyond what I would consider “necessary” to look after us and our vehicles. They’re a family owned place. One location. Well they also own the local Polaris sled/atv dealership too (and use the same family name on the door). Up here you don’t make many friends or customers screwing over guys that run sleds and atvs.

I had an oil change / rotation before I drove 3k round trip to FL last month. Checked oil level and lugs before we took off (a day or 2 after the Service) and everything was fine. I’ve never had a reason to *not* trust the dealership but shame on me if something went south on the trip (other than our travel). Everything was as it should be. Not one hiccup on the trip either.

 

I'll try and get them to pony up !

 

Anybody have part numbers for the SR5 skid plate bolts and screws?

 

Bolt - 90119-A0169

Screw - 90159-60440

 

It comes from having paid for service and then working on something else and seeing how my things get treated in a paid for garage. I hear you though. For me I at least want to see what I paid for is done.

 

Having been a service writer for 3 years in my past, I can say with 100% certainty that the dealer service model has declined considerably. I'm older, so take what I say with that context in mind:

• In my time as a SA in the late 90's, it used to be that dealerships were the expensive option, but at least you could trust them to do good work and use OEM parts.
• Then mega dealer conglomerates started gobbling up smaller, independently owned dealerships. Conglomerates like JM Family, Penske, Lithia, Group 1, Hendrick, and there are several others. The 2008 recession accelerated this dramatically. TBH, I see this as one of the major tipping points in the dealer service industry.
• When the big owners come in, they start implementing cost-cutting shortcuts like:
  • Using non-OEM parts as much as possible but still charging OEM prices for the higher margins
  • Forcing more and more mechanical work on "lube techs"
  • Eventually, they start employing fewer and fewer ASE-certified mechanics because they command higher wages. When you have tech manuals, like Toyota's TIS, they think "Why pay for a skilled mechanic when anyone who can read & turn a wrench can follow instructions?"

In the end, the bigger the dealer chain...the less I trust them.

Not everyone can do their own maintenance. It's getting to the point, for me, where crawling under the truck is becoming more of a chore for my old body than it used to be.

The best thing you can do is find a local, independent shop. South Main Auto, in my opinion, is the "gold standard" of what type of skills to look for in an independent shop. Love watching his channel and his diagnosing methodology. He reminds me of many of the older ASE guys that I used to work with.

Find a local version of South Main Auto and you'll be set.

Edit: Sorry. I ended up going on a bit of a rant. lol.