Why not a Quickie Lube?

Taking your car to "quickie lube" can be like eating fast food…. It's okay in a pinch, but as a steady diet quick lubes will affect your vehicles health.

In our fast paced society people expect things to happen now. That's OK when you are talking a straight lube, oil and filter job. When your vehicle requires more involved processes like cooling system, air conditioning, transmission or fuel injection services, Quick and quality are not going to happen, sorry. Why would you have your cooling system serviced by someone who can't change a thermostat or other wear items? Why would you have your fuel injectors cleaned by someone who can't change a fuel filter? Why would you let someone put refrigerant into your Air Conditioning system that is unable to detect leaks or repair them or repair any other system problems? Why would you let someone touch your $3000.00 automatic transmission that knows virtually nothing about how it operates or how to diagnose problems when they occur?
It never ceases to amaze me how much people are willing to give up for that illusion of a $5.00 savings and sense of immediate gratification. Next time you seek medical or legal help be sure to use the same criterion when shopping for other professional services.

Pros:
A perception of saving $5.00 or less if they don't sell you anything else they can do.

Cons:
Inexperienced personnel with limited car knowledge.
No sensitivity to vehicle oil viscosity needs.
Only sell limited services.
Selling unnecessary service.
Service is done improperly or incompletely.
Questionable quality of materials used.
False sense of vehicle maintenance.
Increased chance of oil change related failures and damage.
Missing maintenance or repair problems.
Not one stop shopping as they would like you to believe (still need other service providers to maintain vehicle).
Frustrates the professional who cleans up the mistakes.

What we do:
ASE Certified (Experienced) Technician performs the following procedures.
Check vehicle history and documentation on existing customers vehicles.
Raise vehicle and inspect Chassis.
Tire inspection and set Tire air pressure.
Brake inspection upon request.
Battery, Cable and Terminal inspection.
Oil / Coolant leak inspection.
Underhood inspection; belts, hoses, idlers, water pump, fan clutch, emissions equipment.
Check filters; air, fuel, emissions.
Check PCV valve.
Change engine oil and filter.
Lube chassis where possible.
Check coolant level, condition and pH
Check all fluid levels and top off or replace
Check lights and signals and replace as necessary.
Makes recommendations based on proper inspection and whole car knowledge.
Provide only the best possible materials and warranties.
Full service one stop shopping.

What Quickie lube does:

A lube technician*, often two at once, will try to perform the following procedures.
Limited vehicle inspection. They try to determine which of their 12 services to sell you.
Change engine oil and filter.
Lube chassis when possible.
For additional cost they can provide quality oils and filters
Check most fluid levels and conditions
Make recommendations based on what they can provide as services.
Check lights and signals
Check tire air pressure.

*The exact definition of Lube technician is unclear. Level of experience, certification and/or training are not defined. But it sounds good doesn't it.