Valvoline for oil change... opinions?
 

I always say that some day I will change my own oil, but between school and work... you get the picture. Besides; I live in an apartment complex with public parking lots, so I think changing the oil in the parking lot might be a little weird and inconvenient to say the least. I have always gone to Valvoline to get oil changes in the past on other cars; however, I am more concerned with my new car, of course. Do any of you also get your oil changed there as well? Those of you that don't (and instead get it done elsewhere); any bad things to say about them? I'd be looking at telling them to fill it up with non-synthetic 5w20. So far I've put 1 quart of Castrol GTX in the car, however since it's already at about 1500 miles, I will probably have the oil changed out shortly.

When I can't change it myself I use Valvoline. The couple that I've gone to have been pretty good and didn't make me nervous like most other oilchange places. The other nice thing about them, especially if you have an RX-8, is they'll top your car off with oil if you go back to them any time within 3k miles after your last visit. While you're there they also check all your other fluids and tire pressure.

I know this prolly sounds awefully textbook-ish, but with a car as nice as the 8, if I can't do it myself (which i somehow always find time!), I'd be probably takin it to the stealership. Our quicklube places around here are known to be shotty, and i've never liked the reps or stories i've heard from actaul people.

If you can afford to bend over and take it, I definetely would drop by your local mazdaship. Likely you're safest bet if you absolutely HAVE to leave your baby with someone.

And just to clarify...I hate dealerships to no end.

Surely....
 

In your position, the Quick-Lube places are your best option. Be aware that the first filter change is a pure bitch, really tight from the factory.

I would watch them, though - they tend to do a better job if you hang around to look. You'll also get a good feel for whether you can/want to do it yourself - where the plug is, how long it takes to drain etc.

S

get either the Fram SureDrain or Fumoto drain valve and install it on your oil pan, and you WILL be able to change oil easily on ANY flat surface.

I've been doing oil changes myself this way since mile 1, and I have saved hundreds of dollars in oil change cost already.

It's not the name of the shop that I trust. It's going once, then seeing how they work. If they do a good job, I come back, if not, I look for someplace else.

I take the wife's car down the street for oil changes because they know more about the car than the dealership (last time the dealership did her oil change, they overfilled over a quart). Do the rx8 changes myself. Least my car sees a dealership, the better, but sometime will have to go in and get this last recall done, but not sure why since the car has been close to perfect.

Dealerships are the worst for oilchanges IMO. I've had a dealership leave my oil cap off twice and have had them overfill or underfill a car twice. I've also had friends with similar problem and even had one friend that drove his car away from the dealer with no oil and no drainplug in his car.

On the otherhand I've never had a problem like that with the quicklube places. I'm sure it happens, but their main thing is changing oil. They don't have other things to distract them, just change the oil and go through their routine checks. At Valvoline at least, they go through a check with one guy going through a list and the guy under the car making sure everything is taken care of correctly.

Welp, just got back from Valvoline. They did a fine job, I believe. I watched over them, and I felt sorry for the poor sap that was trying to take off the (factory) oil filter. I think that is what took most of the time right there! They checked other fluids as usual and whatnot. Color me satisfied; especially since it wasn't me laboring away at that filter!

I took mine to Valvoline for it's first oil change about a month ago, and they knew exactly what to do. They knew not to use synthetic without even looking it up, and even better they knew why. It was kind of amusing letting them tell me everything I already knew about my car, but it did give me a little more confidence in them. I would suggest standing there with them though just in case, and it doesn't hurt to talk to them either. Most of those guys are car guys and love to talk about cars, and if they like you they will do a much better job. I also like the fact that they will check and fill your fluids for the next 3000 miles for no charge. I stopped in this weekend and they topped off my oil, washerfluid and checked tires in about 5 minutes for free.