Automotive

Costco no longer changes oil on full size vans?

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  • May 28th, 2018 2:51 pm
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They may only have a 9000lbs lift or the tech may not be comfortable lifting it. Both of which would be acceptable reasons for refusing service. Remember these guys aren’t licensed techs.
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Solsearchin1 wrote: They may only have a 9000lbs lift or the tech may not be comfortable lifting it. Both of which would be acceptable reasons for refusing service. Remember these guys aren’t licensed techs.
Exactly. I've lifted and work under countless car on 2-post hoists, but I would NOT stand under something that big on one. I don't care what the hoist's weight rating is. I would only do that oil change on a 4-post, or on the floor. So I can see why a manager might make that decision.

Perhaps Costco could do the oil change on the ground, but I'll bet they only have those tall oil catch tanks, and have health/ergonomic restrictions against having employees lie on the ground to do customer oil changes, or dump a floor catch pan into their main disposal tank.
Last edited by derass on May 24th, 2018 1:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
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engineered wrote: What's a synthetic oil change cost at Costco?
Like $50-$60. My mom just had one done. I was pretty impressed with the cost.

A good deal for someone changing oil themselves would be $30 for 5L of synthetic, and $10 for a filter. So for the extra $10-20, it's almost not worth the trouble.

However, I once had to take her car to Mr. Lube because our garage was full. I think that was $70 for a convention change. Synthetic would have been $90. Pretty bad deal there.

I think one of the big advantages of doing your own oil changes is that the quality of work is better. And that's simply because these shops are on the clock and can't spend extra time and care on simple oil changes.

Doing it yourself, you can use a quality oil and filter of your liking, you have the time to let the old oil drain out as much as possible, clean anything that spills onto the engine and chassis, pre-fill the filter, and make sure the oil level is just right before you close the hood for good. These guys drain it quick, slap on whatever filter they happen to have, fill it up one shot with hopefully with what they're advertising, and they're on to the next car.

There's that one company Oil Changers that advertises their oil changes in 10 minutes or less. I'm scared to think of that quality of that work...
Last edited by derass on May 24th, 2018 1:30 am, edited 2 times in total.
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Solsearchin1 wrote: They may only have a 9000lbs lift or the tech may not be comfortable lifting it. Both of which would be acceptable reasons for refusing service. Remember these guys aren’t licensed techs.
That's a fairly small lift for any sort of real shop, that size is intended for home garages. Although I'm sure some rinky dink operations have them, I doubt that Costco would.

And if they did, they'd be telling the customer that they don't do vehicles over 9000lbs, not saying they don't do vehicles over 10k lbs.

I have a 3/4 ton truck with a 9200lb GVW and I've never been given the slightest trouble at any shop for any work. And I purchased tires at Costco and I have them rotated there. Never a problem, and I can't be the only one with an HD truck.

Most shops would want to be able to do 350/3500 trucks so they'd get 14000lb lifts at minimum. Or they'd have a few light ones and then one or two large lifts for the heavy vehicles.
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Shaynelle wrote: It is difficult to believe but I priced it out. For those who want to DIY that's fine, but it's not cheaper than Costco unless you buy on sale and go with a "lesser" quality oil (and yes, not all synthetic oils are the same quality). Price it out if you like, I did (using the same oil and filter brand of course, no sense comparing apples to oranges) and you'll see. That was at regular price as I am not one to want to buy a bunch of filters and oil and keep them at my house, just not worth it for me. When I priced it out I was surprised as well, but I'm sure it's all about Costco buying in bulk and it wouldn't surprise me if they sell the supplies at or near their cost (plus labour costs) in hopes most customers spend $$ in the store. It makes sense from a business stand point.
I believe the Castrol synthetic that Costco carries is a regularily stocked item and is proced at about $32 for a 4.7L or 5L jug. Figure another $12 for an oil filter.
If Costco does synthetic oil changes at around $60, it's barely worth it indeed, except for the wait time.
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None12 wrote: I don't get why people compare apples to oranges, obviously you can find a sale price on oil but it's not always that price.
CT has at least 1 brand of oil on sale every week. It's not hard to find a deal.

Heck the regular price at Costco is $32 for a jug of Castrol Edge synthetic.

OP wanted to compare like for like....i did just that.
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costco probably doesn't want to do commercial vehicles anymore.
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Dealsfordina wrote: costco probably doesn't want to do commercial vehicles anymore.
I think some two posts hoists aren't compatible with some high roof/ Sprinter type commercial vans

Either the hoist has a support/balance bar on top between the posts that limits the lift height, the hoist lift arms are too short to reach the lift points or they don't have the lift arm attachments compatible with the lift points
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I wouldn't want to hoist that thing either. besides why costco?
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I am not exactly sure, but I think this thread is more a "complain-ey" thread than a real discussion thread.

Also, the "math" to calculate DIY oil changes vs Costco seems to be WAY off, if the conclusion was that Costco was cheaper. You don't even have to wait for Castrol Syntec to go on sale, just buy it at Costco everyday for $30 per 5L.

I am not advocating OP do anything DIY, especially if it isn't worth her hassle but if the idea was that "math" swayed her... then her "math" is pretty bad.
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Anikiri wrote: I am not exactly sure, but I think this thread is more a "complain-ey" thread than a real discussion thread.
I just wish Costco would implement an appointment system for Oil Changes. I don't have the time to wait in line 30 minutes before the store opens for a timeslot three hours away.
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I buy my own materials and get my mechanic to change it. Might cost more than Costco but at least I know:

a) it’s being done properly
b) I’m using the oil and filter that I want to use

lol @ waiting 3 hours to get your oil changed at Costco. Gotta put some value on your time.
Re: Procurement, Life & RFD
nasa25: say you won it in a raffle. That's what I do with like 86% of my purchases
infinityloop: Lying to your SO seems like an unhealthy long term strategy
nasa25: lmao
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nasa25 wrote: I buy my own materials and get my mechanic to change it. Might cost more than Costco but at least I know:

a) it’s being done properly
b) I’m using the oil and filter that I want to use

lol @ waiting 3 hours to get your oil changed at Costco. Gotta put some value on your time.
Does he get offended you think his oil and filter choices are not good enough?
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Shaynelle wrote: Save money you say? Retail, synthetic oil costs just as much to buy as it costs to get the oil changed at Costco. Plus you have to buy the filter so it actually works out to a bit more to DIY.

And as far as you telling me to get my husband to change the oil, I am more versed at car maintenance and repair than my husband.

Actually, retail synthetic oil goes on sale often. For instance, a thread right now discusses a 5L jug for under $30 with a $10 rebate...at least that's what my wife tells me:)
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Gutty96 wrote: Does he get offended you think his oil and filter choices are not good enough?
Not really. He knows that I’m super anal and would probably just appease me rather than cause a stir.

His choices would be fine. I’m just cheap and would rather get my oil on sale and rock auto filters.
Last edited by nasa25 on May 24th, 2018 6:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Re: Procurement, Life & RFD
nasa25: say you won it in a raffle. That's what I do with like 86% of my purchases
infinityloop: Lying to your SO seems like an unhealthy long term strategy
nasa25: lmao
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Gutty96 wrote: Does he get offended you think his oil and filter choices are not good enough?
No, but he probably gets offended by them bringing their own parts. They're losing out on profit.
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derass wrote: Like $50-$60. My mom just had one done. I was pretty impressed with the cost.

A good deal for someone changing oil themselves would be $30 for 5L of synthetic, and $10 for a filter. So for the extra $10-20, it's almost not worth the trouble.

However, I once had to take her car to Mr. Lube because the garage was full. I think that was $70 for a convention change. Synthetic would have been $90. Pretty bad deal there.

I think one of the big advantages of doing your own oil changes is that the quality of work is better. And that's simply because these shops are on the clock and can't spend extra time and care on simple oil changes.

Doing it yourself, you can use a quality oil and filter of your liking, you have the time to let the old oil drain out as mush as possible, clean anything that spills onto the engine and chassis, pre-fill the filter, and make sure the oil level is just right before you close the hood for good. These guys drain it quick, slap on whatever filter they happen to have filter, fill it up one shot with hopefully with what they're advertising, and they're on to the next car.

There's that one company Oil Changers that advertises their oil changes in 10 minutes or less. I'm scared to think of that quality of that work...
Yea, the main reason I do my own changes isn't cost. It's that I can do it faster at home (30min if I'm not rushing, checking other things) than driving to Costco (10-15min), waiting for the shop to do the work(15min-3hours), driving home (10-15min). I also know that I will do a better job than any oil change kid. Too many horror stories of lube jobs gone bad.
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Shaynelle wrote: I've emailed them last night, so hopefully they get back to me soon.
Did they reply to you yet?
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CanadianLurker wrote: Did they reply to you yet?
Not yet, I'm assuming the CSR forwarded it to someone else to address as it's not your standard problem with an item or something like that. I hope they reply soon as the van needs an oil change soon.

I did make a mistake, I typed Chev Express 3500 I think and it's only a 2500. I had 3/4 tonne in my head I think. The GVW of the van is 8600 lbs. So it's heavy, but not unreasonable imho.
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[quote=nasa25 post_id=29365717 time=1527195087 user_id=262980

lol @ waiting 3 hours to get your oil changed at Costco. Gotta put some value on your time.
[/quote]

waiting three hours? Who told you they have waited for three hours? You make an appointment, online. It couldn't be more simple.

The amount of misinformation and assumptions in this thread is nauseating.

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