Commercial Oil changes?
 

Has anyone had experience with getting their oil changed at a franchise like Jiffy-Lube or other type places? I just called one in my area and they said they would NOT change the oil on an RX-8.
I am in the Washington D.C area and have had my oil first oil changes done by the dealer but want to explore other options now.

Thanks in advance

I have heard so many horror stories that I'd never use one of those places -- cross-threaded drain plugs, oil left out, filler cap left off, etc. I really think most of the time you'd be OK, but I wouldn't risk it due to the significant chance of some bozo wrecking your car. Oil changes are relatively inexpensive (fortunately), even at a dealer. I always used to change my own oil. I even did the first change in my 8. It's such a pain to get all messy and haul the oil to a gas station for recycling. I have finally given up and let the dealer service department do it.

I used Jiffy Lube in Bonita Springs FL. Had the right oil, changed the filter, did a good job! Just as many threads with problems with dealers changing oil, only way to guarantee its done right is do it yourself, if you have the time and desire.

The last time I used a Jiffy Lube was 10 years ago - the asshole used an impact wrench to install the drainplug and destroyed my oil pan.

The 8's one of the easiest cars to perform do an oil change on yourself.
Give it a go or get a Mazda dealership to do it since I've also heard some interesting stories about some of these "other" places.

NO NOT JIFFY LUBE!!!! Take it to your dealer or do it yourself!! Jiffy lube hire kids and I have heard many, many horror stories!!

- Irish :cool:

These days most of the dealers use oil changes as loss leaders. They tend to be cheaper than Jiffy Lubes, and Mr. Lubes.....with the intent to "sell" you services that you don't need.

In that regard I am going to the Saturn dealership where my wife went yesterday to get an oil change....and came out with a $160 bill for a bunch of s**t that she didn't need.....end of Rant....................

The standard Jiffy Lube signature service oil change around where I live (LA) costs $34.95 in comparison to a dealer oil change with similar topoffs & checks for $24.95. Either place will try to sell you stuff like a $70 air filter or new wiper blades etc.etc.etc.

i never never recommend it
i pay 27 bucks for the rx8 at the mazda dealer.
but i get a peice of mind.
the rx will never see a jiffy lube
not even my beater goes to jiffy. :)

Or the your timing belt is cracking so it needs to be replaced for $50 parts and $250 labor on your RX-8 (or RX-7). My favorite.

I'd recommend the dealer if you can't do it yourself. If there is more than one dealer, even better. Just ask for any specials or coupons. Usually after a service, coupons should be flowing in the mail to your house- that and mazda surveys.

i've found the coupons useless so far, they tend to come in just after i get an oil change. and it's only $5 off from what i've seen.

My dilemma is no Mazda dealer close to me so I will change it myself but when winter rolls around I expect to go to Jiffy Lube. Never had a problem before and you can watch them work.

Well bmcc49er I would call them before I went in. They will need the special oil filter tool that goes on top of the filter to remove it. I would make darn sure its clean oil by checking the dip stick and that its filled properly. I would hope you only do this once in the winter with the Jiff dudes. I would not trust them. Yes they will try to sell you a filter if they can figure how to get one out of the RX and of course wiper blades. You might have to show them where the filter is. They will look at it from the bottom and never find it from there. Man I feel for you taking it to the Jiff dudes but if that's all you got there than you can try it but man watch them closely and check the work afterwards. Of course checking the oil level goes the same for dealerships too.

I had it done at the dealer and was charged for 5 quarts, I thought I was overcharged then about 500 miles later when I checked the oil it was way past the full mark, so I realized they did sell me 5 quarts. The car is only supposed to take 3.7 quarts when changed. The dealership put 1.3 quarts too much in. There does not seem to be any consequence from it but my point is there is nothing better than self service for simple service items. No one will care for your car like you will!

I have had various experiences with these oil change companies. I think they now provide good but expensive service. The convenience of the 1/2 hr wait on any day of the week and my reluctance to haul my ageing, fat carcass around the garage floor now makes it worth my while to go to these places. Actually I only use the Valvoline Instant Oil Change company and fill with Durablend . I used to be a Mobil1 do-it-yourself person. I have yet to take my new RX8 to these guys but will do so shortly. I have had them do atx transmission flushes and mtx fluid changes on my other cars. I think they will honor their policy of free oil top offs for the RX8 even though it does burn oil. It costs me $34 for the Durablend oil.

I always have been a bit of the oil freak, and thanks to this group have discovered Bob Is the Oil Guy forum. There are thosands of "oil freak" compatriots in that group!

I do it myself or (hot tip here) right when I bring it in for any warranty work, I check out mymazda.com, and typically there's a coupon waiting for me for a $15 oil change at my dealer. Sweet deal. I get the oil changed and anything broken fixed, all for $15, with a voucher for a car rental to boot!

I once made the the mistake of taking my Miata there and when I got home I quickly realized they didn't tighten the oil filter and got oil all over my garage floor. THEY SUCK. I change my own oil. It takes like 30 minutes

Every one has heard a story about Jiffy Lube. If you realized how many oil changes Juffylube does in a year roughly 50,400,000. Think about it thats ALOT of oil changes. What are the odds that they will never screw one up. Its not possible EVERY buisness has a small amount of errors that happen no matter what it is. Do you know how many people take their car to Jiffy Lube to have services done just so they can go home and sabotage the work that was done just so they can get a new Motor, Trans, or whatever. Befor i worked for Jiffy Lube i worked for several car dealerships. Do you realize that RARLEY does a mechanic change your oil at a dealership. They dont have time for that stuff and there is no money in it for them. At 9 out of 10 dealerships some young kid with NO training does oil changes for minimum wage. I have seen more striped oil pans from dealers then any fastlube chain. There is good fast lubes and bad ones it all depends on the people that work at them. I have a reputation for quality work where i am located. I service some really expensive cars Ferarris, Vipers, Maseratis and your everyday hondas and such.
We do good work we Tripple check EVERYTHING. We use the proper tools to do the job and use a Torq wrench on EVERY drain plug to factory specs. NOT all are that way there is one a mile from me and they suck, constantly break stuff and screw stuff up. If you go to a Jiffy Lube talk to them explain that the car is your baby and you have heard some bad storys about Jiffy Lube. If you tell them that you would appreciate extra care with your car and are not a JERK about it. You should be able to get a feel from them if you can have you car serviced there reliably.

I get my oil changes done at a little shop on the corner, but I know the guys so I don't worry about stuff not being done right.

Do a search for Jiffy Lube. I seem to recall a recent horror story where the RX-8 ended up sustaining significant damage and Jiffy Lube had to pay for repairs. I guarantee if you read this story you will avoid them.

For those who change their own 8 oil
 

I changed my own oil in my previous car, and I was planning on doing it for my 8, But I was reading in the manual about a special tool for the filter that only the dealer has. Is it possible to change the 8's oil & Filter with standard tool's?

Thanks

You can purchase an oil filter tool from Rosenthal of Trussville for a minimal price. You might want to purchase a few filters at the same time. Their prices are good. Or you can go to your local auto parts store and purchase a generic "F" oil filter tool. You will also need a socket wrench and a couple of extensions with a universal joint in between. A note of caution: The filter installed at the factory is usually on pretty tight and some have had a problem removing it for the first time. You might want to take it to a dealer for the first oil and filter change. And tell them to not over tighten the new filter.

Read the excellent DIY in the Tech section of this forum on changing your oil and you should have no problems at all doing this yourself.

EDIT: Here's the link to the DIY on changing your oil;
https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.p...ght=oil+change

Thanks!

i took my wifes car to jiffy-lube about 10years ago and she got half way home and the oil light came on . so she call me after pulling into to a resturant and i told her not to move the car. after i got there i checked the oil and it was not even touching the dip stick . after putting in 3qts of oil she drove it home .after we got home i called them rasing hell and the manager told me that if i had not added any oil and they came out and check it they would be resonsible for any damages . well i sold the car 2 weeks later after it started making some rattling noise. a friend of mine wanted to buy the car and ask why i sold it and i explained my story to him .so i advised him if he wanted it to buy an extended warranty and he did .less than 30 days later the dealership had to put a new motor in it.SO JIFFY LUBE HELL NO.