what kind of oil does walmart use for oil changes?

yeah, no trust for me!

Heard of more than one vehicle driving about 5 miles away from the Walmart back home and the engine siezing up. Most of the time... they forgot to put oil back in it

Also my brother saw they would change your tires (if you provide new tires) for like $10 each mounted and balanced.

So he takes his old Avenger there, and they bust one of the rims. They tell him they can't do it and they need to buy him a new rim. So he goes in there and shows the employee how to use their tire machine the correct way and does a tire. Then he does it how they did it and broke another rim. Anyway, he got some decent rims out of that deal (looked like stock).

I guess I forgot to add they broke the dipstick on the Zetec. It cost me $14.00 to replace but mom's got a free oil change and was just as happy as could be.

Originally posted by Bk4293:
I went to a Walmart in TN. and they charged me 25.00 for a full mobil-1 oil change. They'll take anything off the shelf if you request it.

Uhmmm...if they charge $25 for the full oil change, how are they making a profit? The oil itself is $25 if they only do 5 qts as the guy who worked for them stated (Mobil-1 is approx. $5/qt). That's a hell of a deal.

I got my oil changed at wal-mart once, because I was on a road trip. My engine blew before I got home. Not saying it was their fault... But I haven't gone back.

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:
Uhmmm...if they charge $25 for the full oil change, how are they making a profit? The oil itself is $25 if they only do 5 qts as the guy who worked for them stated (Mobil-1 is approx. $5/qt). That's a hell of a deal.

Retail price is $5/qt that is not the price that walmart pays for it. Also how much do they sell the 5qt jugs of it for ?

Yes it is 5 qts included in the oil change and then they charge you ~$5 for the extra quart

Originally posted by moxnix:

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:
Uhmmm...if they charge $25 for the full oil change, how are they making a profit? The oil itself is $25 if they only do 5 qts as the guy who worked for them stated (Mobil-1 is approx. $5/qt). That's a hell of a deal.

Retail price is $5/qt that is not the price that walmart pays for it. Also how much do they sell the 5qt jugs of it for ?

Yes it is 5 qts included in the oil change and then they charge you ~$5 for the extra quart

IIRC, it is $20/5qt jug. So Walmart probably pays $18. Throw in the filter it's 2/3 bucks. Comes to $21 cost and $4 profit for synthetic oil. That's still cheap. I've seen local oil shops around my area charge $50 for synthetic oil changes (includes 6qts, however is twice the price). I'm just stating that this is very affordable for synthetic oil.

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:

Originally posted by moxnix:

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:
Uhmmm...if they charge $25 for the full oil change, how are they making a profit? The oil itself is $25 if they only do 5 qts as the guy who worked for them stated (Mobil-1 is approx. $5/qt). That's a hell of a deal.

Retail price is $5/qt that is not the price that walmart pays for it. Also how much do they sell the 5qt jugs of it for ?

Yes it is 5 qts included in the oil change and then they charge you ~$5 for the extra quart

IIRC, it is $20/5qt jug. So Walmart probably pays $18. Throw in the filter it's 2/3 bucks. Comes to $21 cost and $4 profit for synthetic oil. That's still cheap. I've seen local oil shops around my area charge $50 for synthetic oil changes (includes 6qts, however is twice the price). I'm just stating that this is very affordable for synthetic oil.

I'm still not convinced! That $4 profit is more than sucked upin labor and disposal costs. I worked as a lube tech or a car deler back in HS and hey were maiking $12 off of the parts alone, and still managed to be priced competitively.

Being that its walmart they probably add one qt mobile one + 4qts cheap crap.

The oil change is just an add-on to its normal business. Wal-Mart doesn't care if it doesn't make a profit in that division, because it makes plenty of profit elsewhere. This is why people like the stores. Drop your car off, shop, then come back out with a fresh oil change, and quite a bit of time and money saved in the process. It's a genius idea, and obviously lots of people wanted it.

Why should I not trust Wal-Mart anymore than the local quick lube place? It's not like there is some sort of labor force that Wal-Mart brings into each store that doesn't know what they are doing. They hire low-income workers in the labor force in each town just like ANY other business with quick lube. Some stores are worse than others, but that's the town's fault, not Wal-Mart. You goto a Wal-Mart in a college town, and some 20-something year old guy is going to come out and care as much about your car as he does his life. Almost every person in their 20s I have met is rude. Wal-Mart is going to hire whoever will work cheap.

I have my oil change done at my private mechanic. I don't let anybody touch my car except for him because he has direct control over anything that goes on. He's in his 50s and knows what he's doing. But it doesn't mean I go and call Wal-Mart the worse place to get oil changes simply because of its name. How silly is that? I just like going to places where people know what they are doing. You will usually only find that at a small indepdent shop owned by some older guy who has done this stuff for years.

I never let anyone touch my car anymore, for stuff like that. I'll do my own change on the road rather than have a shop do it. I go to Wal-Mart, get the 6 (or 7) qts of Mobil 1, a $1.96 funnel and a $0.96 oil pan and either have a K&N with me or buy a Motorcraft there. I got ramps for $16 or something rediculous, but they are a bit bulky to bring with you. I have done work on my car by rolling it onto a curb, jacking it up with my spare tire jack and putting concrete blocks under the wheels, digging a groove in a gravel parking lot so that I can get under it, etc. I am pretty anxious to have my own garage, but until then, I'll keep working on my car in apartment parking lots and in front of Radio Shack. All you need is a little creativity.

What kind of oil filter does Wal-Mart use? What wouldn't surprise is if they used Fram...if they do, avoid them like the plague.

Originally posted by Majisto:
What kind of oil filter does Wal-Mart use? What wouldn't surprise is if they used Fram...if they do, avoid them like the plague.

I would bet they would use an even lower quality filter than a fram, probably a fram knockoff!

Well, we used to have our Escape's oil changed there as it was cheap and convenient for the wife to take it there while she had to do some shopping. Always requested the 5w20 motorcraft. The last couple of times we've gone to take it there, the wait has been 2+ frickin hours and now they told her they stopped carrying motorcraft. I finally told her to tell them to f' off and we took it to another quicky lube place. Guess it's back to changing it myself now.

FYI, they could change it cheaper than I could and she puts enough miles on that it needs changed on a regular basis.

Rick

I feel stupid, but I get my oil changed at Walmart. $30 total w/ tax and everything for a Mobil 1 change. You can't beat wandering Walmart for 30 min instead of cutting your knuckles trying to get the damn oil filter out of the Zetec, for the sake of the extra $3 it costs to have them do it. I always check the oil and filter once it is done to make sure everything is in right before I drive it home. One time a tech actually got oil on my interior and Walmart gave a free Rug Doctor rental, so I got to steam clean my whole interior for free.

I've been getting my oil changed at wal-mart for several years now, both my Contour Se and my CSVT. No problems whatsoever, I do look out once in a while to check to see if they are doing what told to do, but I would do the same at any other place I would take it to.

Sorry guys but a lot of you have it all wrong wal-mart does good oil changes cheap and no they don't 1 qt good stuff and 4 qts bad they use all 5 qts of the oil you pick out wal-mart pays 12 $ for the 5 qt mobil becaus they order 1000's of quarts of it everyday they get a monster discount because all of the stores they have order the same oil and I used to be a lube tech and the employees that worked there did great jobs and the entire time I worked there which was a year they have only had 1 claim filed against them.

Originally posted by XKontour98:

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:

Originally posted by ancientsanskrit:
Uhmmm...if they charge $25 for the full oil change, how are they making a profit? The oil itself is $25 if they only do 5 qts as the guy who worked for them stated (Mobil-1 is approx. $5/qt). That's a hell of a deal.

Retail price is $5/qt that is not the price that walmart pays for it. Also how much do they sell the 5qt jugs of it for ?

Yes it is 5 qts included in the oil change and then they charge you ~$5 for the extra quart

IIRC, it is $20/5qt jug. So Walmart probably pays $18. Throw in the filter it's 2/3 bucks. Comes to $21 cost and $4 profit for synthetic oil. That's still cheap. I've seen local oil shops around my area charge $50 for synthetic oil changes (includes 6qts, however is twice the price). I'm just stating that this is very affordable for synthetic oil.

You guys are crazy if you think Wally World is only making $2 on each 5qt jug of Mobil 1!

The volume which they buy this stuff, along with their superior inventory management indicates otherwise. Also I'm sure they are making a nice little profit on the filters.

Originally posted by Majisto:
The oil change is just an add-on to its normal business. Wal-Mart doesn't care if it doesn't make a profit in that division, because it makes plenty of profit elsewhere.

This is also quite true. They don't care what their profit margin is on oil changes. They just care that you are stuck there and have to walk around the store.... HOPING you will then buy something, which most people do. Whether it gets people in the store, or it just keeps their regular customers happy, Wally World oil changes are just a side business. Although I'm sure it still addds to their bottom line, and is most certainly not losing them money.

Originally posted by Majisto:
You go to a Wal-Mart in a college town, and some 20-something year old guy is going to come out and care as much about your car as he does his life. Almost every person in their 20s I have met is rude.

Wow, that's quite the blanket statement to make! Now I'm not going to wig on you, because it would only prove your point

, but c'mon.... Saying most 20 year olds in the world are rude and don't care about their lives is more than a bit closed minded.....

Originally posted by Bridge:

Wow, that's quite the blanket statement to make! Now I'm not going to wig on you, because it would only prove your point , but c'mon.... Saying most 20 year olds in the world don't care about their lives and are rude is more than a bit closed minded....

Agreed. I'm 20, I have never been regared as rude, or reckless or anything. I have seen as many older people reckless, and especially rude, just like any other age group. Jerks are all ages.

Never had my oil changed anywhere but my own yard. But if i was to take it somewhere Walmart wouldnt be at the top of my list

Originally posted by Matt R:

Originally posted by Bridge:

Wow, that's quite the blanket statement to make! Now I'm not going to wig on you, because it would only prove your point , but c'mon.... Saying most 20 year olds in the world don't care about their lives and are rude is more than a bit closed minded....

Agreed. I'm 20, I have never been regared as rude, or reckless or anything. I have seen as many older people reckless, and especially rude, just like any other age group. Jerks are all ages.

Yeah thats not a statement I would say about any age group. Rude and careless people come in all ages!

Me and dad take both our Contours to Walmart for oil changes, we both get Mobil 1 and we haven't had any problems. We both got tires there too and neither one of us has complaints except my tires don't go very well in the snow.

Originally posted by Bridge:

Wow, that's quite the blanket statement to make! Now I'm not going to wig on you, because it would only prove your point , but c'mon.... Saying most 20 year olds in the world are rude and don't care about their lives is more than a bit closed minded.....

Sorry, it must just be UT getting to me. Everybody in this town is rude from my experience. It's amazing how many wrecks and close calls happen around the college campus versus in my neighborhood. My family got rear-ended once by some girl in an Xterra who started crying.

If she got off her cell phone...

The rude college students are a small subset of the whole, but they are the most visible ones. College students who are trying to make something of themselves don't usually have time to go ripping around in their cars, and are better drivers when they do. True, a lot of college kids are real idiots, but so are a lot of older people. There are a ton of 40-50 something guys that are total a-holes. They tend to be less publicly visible, because they are more set in a certain routine, but they are the same ones who made people hate 20 year olds 30 years ago. They just don't have the time or energy to piss off as many people anymore.

I have found the college students to be more considerate, smarter, better drivers, etc. than the locals in this here town. Must be something in the water.

Emory was not a fun place to drive around...

Originally posted by 95Sleeper:
The rude college students are a small subset of the whole, but they are the most visible ones. College students who are trying to make something of themselves don't usually have time to go ripping around in their cars, and are better drivers when they do. True, a lot of college kids are real idiots, but so are a lot of older people. There are a ton of 40-50 something guys that are total a-holes. They tend to be less publicly visible, because they are more set in a certain routine, but they are the same ones who made people hate 20 year olds 30 years ago. They just don't have the time or energy to piss off as many people anymore.

Well said and good points!

Originally posted by Majisto:
What kind of oil filter does Wal-Mart use? What wouldn't surprise is if they used Fram...if they do, avoid them like the plague.

Im confused...all our Fords have run Fram TG's, I have never had any problems and our cars run well past the 100K mark (cavalier = 136,000 CSVT = 125,584)
Now if you chose supertech or something...but dont rag on Fram, their filters are fine.

Fram TG are suppossed to be okay, but the regular ones suck. There has been a ton of debate ont he subject, and the result has been this: stay away from Fram, Motorcraft is a good filter at a great price. For those that really want to go the extra mile, K&N is tops.

I Know that i am a little late but i am going to say this any way. I work for Wal-Mart in the Auto Center(no oilchange place there though) and i know why they dont carry motorcraft anymore. ford stopped putting us on their list as a buyer i dont know why probably because we were selling it for 1.52 a quart where everywhere else is selling it for 2-3 bucks. this might be the reason. oh yeah supertech oil or "walmart brand" is made by mobil. whatever leftover oil is in their barrels is what supertech oil is. this is all i know.

Man, I've had oil change problems at places that do STRICTLY oil changes. I don't think I'd ever go to Wal-Mart....

I heard that Supertech is Quaker State.

Quaker state makes some of the supertech products like their powersteering fliud is made by them but the oil is made by mobil we had some go on also the filters too. it says on our sheets and next time your in their look at the bottles thay are stikingly similiar.

NEVER GO TO A WALMART FOR AN OIL CHANGE! My local Walmart destories cars...

The mechanics that work there are the mechanics left over from the good ones because they actually work in garages.

Example:

Mechanic(if you want to label them that) only added 2 quarts of oil into a car. Walked away to go get more. Another Mechanic thought it was done and gave it to the person with only 2 quarts of oil and destoryed the motor!