Vehicle Service/Maintenance with Dealers

[Scram1500]

The parts department of my dealership has cases upon cases of Pennzoil stacked up behind the counter. They must get it for pennies considering the partnership with Shell

 

[WW2]

Not all, maybe some. I'm sure you started at the top of your trade/profession as you left the womb.


What dealers use 55 gallon drums for oil? You would be amazed that most dealers use Pennzoil.

Sure, there are exceptions to everything....I could write a paragraph on my disaster experiences with dealers lube techs...The last time I went, They took out the air filter and left the air box open like a clam shell..Had lotsa intake noise on my ride home...That was the last straw for me...Its not a matter of where they start, its the attitude and work ethic of who the dealers hire and stick back there....

 

[Cbty2050]

Sure, there are exceptions to everything....I could write a paragraph on my disaster experiences with dealers lube techs...The last time I went, They took out the air filter and left the air box open like a clam shell..Had lotsa intake noise on my ride home...That was the last straw for me...Its not a matter of where they start, its the attitude and work ethic of who the dealers hire and stick back there....

Correct exceptions to everything.....

 

[WXman]

Not all, maybe some. I'm sure you started at the top of your trade/profession as you left the womb.


What dealers use 55 gallon drums for oil? You would be amazed that most dealers use Pennzoil.

Every one I've been to. They've got a pump that sends the bulk oil to a filler nozzle, similar to how a gasoline pump works but with a longer hose. They switch out the drums of bulk oil when they go empty. Much easier and cheaper for them that way. I've never once in my life seen a bottle of Pennzoil in a Chrysler dealership.

 

[Cbty2050]

Every one I've been to. They've got a pump that sends the bulk oil to a filler nozzle, similar to how a gasoline pump works but with a longer hose. They switch out the drums of bulk oil when they go empty. Much easier and cheaper for them that way. I've never once in my life seen a bottle of Pennzoil in a Chrysler dealership.

Dealers have large tanks (250-500 gallon or larger) filled with oil. We currently have Mopar ATF, 0w20, 5w20, 5w30, and 15w40 in large tanks. The 0w40, 10w30, 5w30 synthetic and all other oils are by the quart or gallon.

 

[boogielander]

First of all, I never ever let a shop or dealership do basic maintenance on my truck. Why let a minimum wage employee with little to zero mechanical knowledge service a $64k vehicle? Especially one that's as simple as pie to service as a Ram 1500? You can save a LOT of money by doing it yourself and the bonus is you can use quality oil instead of the junk the dealer gets imported in 55 gallon drums.

As for repairs, yes I will go to whichever dealer treats me right even if it's 35 minute drive away. I don't tolerate dealerships who treat me poorly. There are too many other options out there. Some are great, some aren't. Drive to where the service is great.

nothing wrong with the drums. my shop used to use 5 quart bottles for 0-20 and 5-30 but now we transition to 55 gallon drums from the same brand that we use for 5 quart bottles: Idemitsu
That is because we use so much of those bottles it's taking up too much shop shelf and create too much trash, and it's a bit cost effective factoring in the quantity discount.
Of course, for other specialty grade oil like 5-40, 10-60, 20-50, etc we use 1 and 5 quart bottles.
And I highly doubt dealers use oil of questionable origin. My guess is they use manufacture approved oil but in large quantity for cost savings.

As a tech I do agree that you save A LOT by not going to dealers.
For instance, we only charge $20 labor fee for oil change on top of whatever our cost is for oil and filter. Comparing DIY vs bringing it to independent shop... you probably won't save much since the $20 labor fee is now spent on purchasing oil and filter at retail (compared to wholesale) and you could use the time spent on performing the job to do other things.

 

[Cbty2050]

nothing wrong with the drums. my shop used to use 5 quart bottles for 0-20 and 5-30 but now we transition to 55 gallon drums from the same brand that we use for 5 quart bottles: Idemitsu
That is because we use so much of those bottles it's taking up too much shop shelf and create too much trash, and it's a bit cost effective factoring in the quantity discount.
Of course, for other specialty grade oil like 5-40, 10-60, 20-50, etc we use 1 and 5 quart bottles.
And I highly doubt dealers use oil of questionable origin. My guess is they use manufacture approved oil but in large quantity for cost savings.

As a tech I do agree that you save A LOT by not going to dealers.
For instance, we only charge $20 labor fee for oil change on top of whatever our cost is for oil and filter. Comparing DIY vs bringing it to independent shop... you probably won't save much since the $20 labor fee is now spent on purchasing oil and filter at retail (compared to wholesale) and you could use the time spent on performing the job to do other things.

I will say many dealers only charge a minimal amount of labor for an oil change. It's not a huge profit service. We are right around $20 also. We also offer prepaid oil changes, 2 oil changes with rotate for $100 is our current. This is a Mopar service contact oil change.

Our dealer charges $23.25 for an oil change.