Lube Centers

Lube Centers

By Jason Green

July 21, 2013

Need an oil change? There are many places you could take your car to for one. When deciding where to service your car, lube centers are on the list. These places can be great for oil changes! No appointment needed and most of these places will have you on your way within half an hour or faster. During the oil change there will be an inspection done on your vehicle. This is done more for the lube center’s benefit than yours, but it can certainly be beneficial to you as well (or not).

A well run lube center is an impressive machine to watch. It starts with the greeter who you guessed it, greets you! The greeter is there to welcome you, ask what type of service you are looking for, and to let you know approximately how long of a wait should be expected for your service. Once in the building a team of technicians swarm your car. There is the hood tech that inspects the engine compartment, checking fluid levels and their conditions, filters, battery, and some other engine components as well, eventually ending with that hood tech adding oil to your engine.

Then there is the pit tech (the technician underneath the car). The pit tech will drain the oil from your engine and change the oil filter. The pit tech will also lube the chassis and check the fluid levels and fluid conditions of any gearboxes if the vehicle is four wheel drive. A lube is when a vehicle’s chassis grease zerks are filled with grease when the chassis boots get low on lubrication. Grease zerks are going the way of the dodo. Auto manufacturers are phasing them out with “sealed systems” which do not require the constant refilling of the boots to keep the chassis properly lubricated and connected. But a good pit tech will still keep a watchful eye out for any safety issues concerning your car’s undercarriage.

While the hood tech and pit tech are busy doing their jobs, there will probably be a courtesy tech whose job will be to check your tire pressures, wash your windows, lubricate the door hinges, and perhaps vacuum your car. Watching all of this attention being given to your car is impressive and it is meant to be. A well trained and managed lube center can be a fine place to have your car serviced at. The other side of that is a poorly trained and managed lube center can end up costing you a lot of money in missed inspection items or with improperly performed maintenance. Let your gut guide you when deciding if you are dealing with a quality lube center or not. If you get a feeling that something is lacking during your lube center experience don’t ignore that voice in your head.

Once the hood tech is finished with the inspection and getting any needed information from the other technicians, the hood tech will fill out an inspection form to present to you. A good hood tech will present all the information from the inspection to you starting with the things that checked out good to give you a sense of “this isn’t so bad”. Then undoubtedly will be the recommendations for services to be performed on your car. A well trained lube tech will not come across as pushy, but many of these lube centers put incredible pressure on their hood techs to maintain a certain dollar average amount in sales above the oil change per car. If that average isn’t met… guess what, that lube tech is expendable. It can be brutal. If the tech comes across as high pressure and pushy, decline any extra work on your car and let them know that you don’t appreciate their pressure tactics.

A typical inspection form will include the condition of the car’s different fluids, filters, battery, exterior lights, accessory belt(s), wiper blades, and the lube centers list of available services for your vehicle. Items and services such as…

• Engine cleaners and mechanical engine flush services
• Fuel system cleaner additives and fuel system cleaner services
• Engine air filter replacement and cabin air filter replacement
• Fuel filter replacement
• Transmission fluid change or flush
• Gearbox services for four wheel drive vehicles- front differential fluid, transfer case fluid, and rear differential fluid
• Radiator (engine coolant) fluid change or flush
• Power steering fluid change or flush

There are even more services available in some lube centers such as a/c system inspection and recharge along with other items and services I may have failed to mention. You get the picture. There is a lot of opportunity for these places to make money from you servicing your car. If recommended honestly and correctly additional performed work benefits you and the lube center.

Here are some common tactics used at lube centers to help increase their sales.

• Fluid samples comparing used versus new, they will use the terms “dirty” and “clean”
• Filter samples comparing your engine air filter or cabin air filter next to brand new ones
• Pamphlets regarding their offered services, such as fuel system cleaning and others
• Repeatedly asking for the sale

When considering to approve or decline these additional services keep these things in mind. Air filters will typically last 30,000 miles unless you drive in particularly dusty conditions. Lube centers will try to sell you these air filters every 12,000 to 15,000 miles regardless of the manufacturer recommendations. Unless the engine air filter looks dirty to you, it can probably wait. Unless you feel really comfortable with your chosen lube center I would hold off on more technical maintenance until after a few visits to the business satisfies you that the technicians are competent and well trained. Wiper blades or inserts are easy to see if they are needed. Streaks on the windshield or rips in the wiper inserts make okaying replacement a “cut and dry” (pun intended) decision!

After the hood tech finishes the inspection review, oil will be added to your car and before you know it, you are on your way. I recommend checking the final engine oil level before leaving as well as making sure there are not any indicator lights on your meter gauge display. If the oil level looks ok (ask the tech to show this to you if you do not know how to check your oil level) and there are no warning indicators on your display, you are good to go until your next oil change!