Re: Oil filter/Quickie oil changes

[Richard Beels <beels@technologist.com>]

I have a friend who used to work in one of the non-oil company owned quick
oil change franchises.  I asked him about this one time and he said that
the place used recycled oil and generic everything (filter, belts, etc...).
 He stated it was general practice in the industry and he'd never go to a
quickie lube again.

The only time I used them was when I was living in Cali and working as a
driver for a car broker.  Insert: Great job, get to pick up all kinds of
cars at the dealer and drive them back to the store, sometimes quite
circuitously...<g>  Went to a minute-lube to get the oil changed on 1
mid-70's Tercel hatchback with, ohh, 250K or so on the dial.  and the guy
actually pulled the rear diff bolt to check the level.  Problem was, he
left it in the pit.  Got a phone call a couple hours later.  Yes, they came
out to us, refilled the diff, put the bolt back on and gave me a big stack
of free coupons...

At 08:28 PM 10/7/1998 ,  John Larson was inspired to say:
>  Bob, it's my understanding, from conversations with reps from a few local
>  bulk oil distributors, that the oil sold  to the lube  centers and the mass
>  outlets like Firestone is made to lower quality standards than the premium
>  oils we've come to know through their advertising, although they obviously
>  meet the minimum standards on the label. Perhaps it's the additive package,
>  perhaps it's something else. I'm not an expert on oils, and I'm loosely
>  repeating hearsay, although I've dealt with these reps for years, and did
>  participate in these conversations, prompted by asking why these places
could
>  sell oil for far less than I pay for it wholesale, not withstanding
economies
>  of scale.


Cheers,
	Richard
	88 90Q - <insert pithy witticism here>
	88 Golf GTi - PRO Rally