Jiffy Lube: good or bad?

[new daddy]

Time for another scheduled maintenance.
Incidentally there was a coupon from the local Jiffy Lube in the mail.

Are they good or bad? Some say go to them instead of going to the dealer and getting ripped off (http://www.acarplace.com/problems/maintenance.html), while others seem to have horror stories about Jiffy Lube (http://www.consumeraffairs.com/automotive/jiffy_lube.htm).

What's the verdict? Does it boil down to who's running the local Jiffy Lube?

I have '07 XC70.

[JRL]

Bad

[Ars Gladius]

If you want to save some money, do the oil change yourself. Really easy and super quick.

Stay the hell away from places like that.

[sjonnie]

Go to a reputable mechanic, if you balk at dealer prices go to an independent who knows a thing or two about Volvos. If you aren't willing or able to do maintenance yourself there are big advantages to using the same mechanic for everything you do to your car - including oil changes. They get to know the car history, what's been done and what to look out for, so can spot problems before they become serious or dangerous, plus they have a vested interest in doing a good job - they want to see you again. The Jiffy Lube model of car maintenance doesn't lend itself to the same level of care, generally they get spur of the moment customers, aren't trained to the same level and you are less likely to get the same guy twice. In the end, they just want you in and out as fast as possible and don't care too much what they do to your car in the meantime. If you don't know a good local mechanic try Angie's List or Car Talk's Mechanic Files, even Google Reviews are better than nothing.

Incidentally, dealers often have specials on oil changes as well, you're not going to pay the same as Jiffy Lube, but at least you're likely to leave with the right volume of oil in your engine, Jiffy Lube prices are for up 5 qts - you need 6, unless you tell them they'll just put 5qts in there and you'll drive off with low oil level. Plus Jiffy Lube will put dino oil as standard, you'll have to ask for higher quality oil, your dealer will use a Synth Blend as standard. By the time you tell Jiffy to put 6 quats of a synth blend the price will be near dealer price anyway. Of course the thing about the dealer special is that they are getting you in to their service center so they can check everything else out and call you back to say your brakes are bad or you need new control arms or spark plugs -which may all very well be true - but you'll pay top dollar to get them to fix it. Best to find that indy mechanic who doesn't offer specials but will give you a lower price on all the work you need.

[new daddy]

Go to a reputable mechanic, if you balk at dealer prices go to an independent who knows a thing or two about Volvos. If you aren't willing or able to do maintenance yourself there are big advantages to using the same mechanic for everything you do to your car - including oil changes. They get to know the car history, what's been done and what to look out for, so can spot problems before they become serious or dangerous, plus they have a vested interest in doing a good job - they want to see you again. The Jiffy Lube model of car maintenance doesn't lend itself to the same level of care, generally they get spur of the moment customers, aren't trained to the same level and you are less likely to get the same guy twice. In the end, they just want you in and out as fast as possible and don't care too much what they do to your car in the meantime. If you don't know a good local mechanic try Angie's List or Car Talk's Mechanic Files, even Google Reviews are better than nothing.

Incidentally, dealers often have specials on oil changes as well, you're not going to pay the same as Jiffy Lube, but at least you're likely to leave with the right volume of oil in your engine, Jiffy Lube prices are for up 5 qts - you need 6, unless you tell them they'll just put 5qts in there and you'll drive off with low oil level. Plus Jiffy Lube will put dino oil as standard, you'll have to ask for higher quality oil, your dealer will use a Synth Blend as standard. By the time you tell Jiffy to put 6 quats of a synth blend the price will be near dealer price anyway. Of course the thing about the dealer special is that they are getting you in to their service center so they can check everything else out and call you back to say your brakes are bad or you need new control arms or spark plugs -which may all very well be true - but you'll pay top dollar to get them to fix it. Best to find that indy mechanic who doesn't offer specials but will give you a lower price on all the work you need.

Thanks for the valuable info.

I did go to an independent local mechanic last time for brake pads & rotors. I think I even posted about it here.

But this time, as I said, there was a Jiffy Lube coupon in the mail, and I wondered if a franchise like that would be cost-effective, with all the centralized quality control (if there is one), volume purchase, training, etc. I guess not.

[goldxc70]

Bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad, bad .... and did I say BAD.

It's the whole attitude thing as well as the franchise model. A friend of mine had a Toyota Tundra that, for convenience, he brought to Jiffy Lube for oil and filter changes. A few years later, a new Toyota dealer opened near him and he decided to try them out. When he went to collect it, the service guy told him they had a hell of a job getting the filter off and it looked like it had never been changed. He figured the Jiff Lube guys had just drained and refilled for all those visits because it was a Toyota brand filter :) When he told this story at work, pretty much everybody had a Liffy Jube horror story. Mine is how they just try to upsell you on everything from oil quality to wiper blades ......