Cheapest Oil & Filter Change

roddydogs

northern_munky wrote: »

Be very careful using National especially if your car takes more than 5 litres of oil. I booked an oil and filter change online for Magnatec 5W30 for £24.30. The day before I rang to ask what time I should go in and they said they wanted an extra £10 because my car took 6.5 litres. I said no as I had already paid, they said I should go in and they would see what they could do. Anyway they did the job, told me they had used 5W30 but the recepit said they'd used 10W40.

I was so concerened I complained to head office two days later, I heard nothing, so ended up changing it again myself that week. I wrote lots emails and phoned them, just made a nuisance of myself and finally this week after five weeks of complaining, they admitted they had used the wrong oil and said they would fully refund me. Never again!

Their T&Cs state "MAX 6 Ltrs Oil", not 5., but if your only uses, say 5ltrs, they wont give you 1 ltr to top up with!

theloft

roddydogs wrote: »

National Tyres cost me £22 last year-has it really gone up that much.? As fo DIY-have you never had a filter you cant budge and it collapses under the strain?

Yes, I am afraid oil has gone up so much that this is what they charge now. But it isn't just that - National used to use Duckhams (who are apparently no longer in business) so they have had to move to a more expensive supplier - Castrol.


Well, this thread has certainly provided really good information, for the DIY people and ones like me, who no longer want the hassle!!

JDMYOFAN

roddy..

Chain socket remover is what you need

roddydogs

Wonder why the semi-synthetic is the same price £27 as the full synthetic?, i think they add £2 for oil disposal

Road_Hog

TiTheRev wrote: »

Halfords are such a default for most people, we have guys coming in to our dealership saying 'We can't find the right wiper/filter/paint etc at Halfords',


and when we tell them we've got it in stock and the cost,

That is not my experience of car dealerships and I should know, as up until earlier this year, I was an area manager for a car manufacturer.

Car dealerships don't want to keep parts in stock and rely on the next day delivery service from the manufacturer. This even includes consumables such as wipers.

I now drive a Ford (not who I worked for) because it's cheap to run and get parts but I have the same old problem, if I phone up the Ford dealership, "no we don't have it in stock but we can get it here tomorrow for you".

Yes, well, I want it today which is why I'm prepared to pay the premium of franchised dealer prices but if I've got to wait until tomorrow then I may as well buy it online and have it delivered to my house next day delivery and all for less than you're charging me. Or I go around the corner to the motor factors who seem to be able to carry everything in stock for many makes of vehicle.

Pete268

theloft wrote: »

Yes, National used to use Duckhams (who are apparently no longer in business) so they have had to move to a more expensive supplier - Castrol.

Although I cannot remember who bought out who originally, Both Castrol (formerly Burmah Castrol) and Duckhams are now all part of BP.

Probably in their 'corporate marketing' they have dropped the Duckhams brand in deference to Castrol which they now seem to actively promote under the Magnatec and Edge brands for their semi and full synthetic oils.

Pete

Shoshannah

I service my car and do my own oil changes every 6 months. The filter costs £4 from Halfords (unless I manage to pick up one from a car show or something) and the oil is £15. I use the cheapest 10w/40 stuff because my car runs on anything, she's getting on a bit and isn't too fussy. Couple of axle stands and wear some old clothes, done in no time. I take the used oil to the tip and they get rid of it for me.

I understand some people can't do their own servicing due to time constraints or perhaps they find it difficult to get under the car. But even if you don't consider yourself 'mechanically minded' it's worth learning! I'm a 23 year old girl so if I can do it, nearly anyone can!

anewman

Shoshannah wrote: »

Couple of axle stands

Easier to use ramps - drive up, no jacking involved. Probably a bit safer as well.

TiTheRev

Road_Hog wrote: »

That is not my experience of car dealerships and I should know, as up until earlier this year, I was an area manager for a car manufacturer.

Car dealerships don't want to keep parts in stock and rely on the next day delivery service from the manufacturer. This even includes consumables such as wipers.

I now drive a Ford (not who I worked for) because it's cheap to run and get parts but I have the same old problem, if I phone up the Ford dealership, "no we don't have it in stock but we can get it here tomorrow for you".

Yes, well, I want it today which is why I'm prepared to pay the premium of franchised dealer prices but if I've got to wait until tomorrow then I may as well buy it online and have it delivered to my house next day delivery and all for less than you're charging me. Or I go around the corner to the motor factors who seem to be able to carry everything in stock for many makes of vehicle.

Not sure where you worked, or who for, but that's pretty bad business if they keep next to no stock?! Admittedly we dont stock everything for every car, but we certainly keep the more frequently purchased parts (filters/wipers/cambelt kits/known faulty or breakable items etc), mainly because our workshop demand it and we like to get customers back on the road ASAP! We currently have just over 40k worth of stock in the little parts department I work at, and the vast majority is high turnover parts. Our stock turn is about 11/12!

Im sure there's more guys out there like us, than the poor stockists you've experienced.

Shoshannah

anewman wrote: »

Easier to use ramps - drive up, no jacking involved. Probably a bit safer as well.

I agree, unfortunately my ramps live in my dad's garage 100 miles away as I have nowhere to store them. So it's axle stands for now! :rotfl: