Common Oil Change Scams

Drivers need to be on the lookout for a whole host of ways that oil change shops can cheat you. Here are a few common scams.

• The upsell - Shops add car washes, fluid topoffs, air filter changes, sludge draining and much else to the bill, sometimes in tricky ways.
• Frequent returns - Shops tell you that you need to come in every 3000 miles on the dot for an oil change--drivers who read up can find that it's not necessarily the case.
• The "no change oil change" - Shops simply bring in the vehicle and send it back out without any oil change. Drivers should check the dipstick directly after the oil change to make sure the blacker liquid has changed to a nice gold color.
• The "no filter oil change" - Shops say they will change the filter but then only change the oil, leaving the old filter on the vehicle. Drivers going in for an oil change should mark their oil filter with a big red X using a marker, then look directly after to make sure the filter has been changed.
• The voided coupon - Shops will offer absurdly cheap oil change deals and then use sleight of hand or salesmanship to jack up the price a lot.
• The lost cap - This is not a scam per se, but it costs drivers A LOT at local oil change shops. Workers will forget to replace the oil cap on the tank. Drivers will have to drive around, with the potential of material falling into the tank and oil spilling out, while they search for another one. Don't let this happen to you: check under the hood after an oil change, before you leave the shop.

Take note of the above for avoiding some of the common sins of an oil change location.