Top 4 Oil Swap Rip Offs and How to Protect Yourself

Feb 24
23:04

2020

Nancy Whitman

Nancy Whitman

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Most of us can’t do maintenance on our vehicles, and we instead choose to take it to a professional mechanic to do the repairs for us. Especially with something as important as an oil change.

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But the one thing that so many people don’t realize is that there are some oil swap rip offs out there. Shams that are conning you into paying for something that you might not need right now. This is really important to know more about these scams so that you can know how to avoid them. You want to make sure that you are going to get the services that you are paying for.

1) “Get an oil change every 5000 kilometres”

This is the biggest and most common scam about oil swaps out there. They are telling you to come back at 5000 km to get your oil change done again. If this is really the case,Top 4 Oil Swap Rip Offs and How to Protect Yourself Articles then they have given you a really low-quality oil.

As any reputable auto mechanic will tell you, under normal driving conditions, you only need to go for an oil change every 10,000 to 16,000 km. Meaning that with going every 5000 km, you are going to pay three times more than what you actually should. If they are saying that you should return after 5000 kilometres, you need to know that they are lying.

2) Trying to convince you to agree a full maintenance

Another hugely popular rip off tactic. Trying to convince you to commit to a full maintenance package while you are there for a simple oil change. They might be telling you that during the oil change they found that there are parts of your vehicle that needs to be repaired or replaced. And, that you might want to consider doing full maintenance, now that you are there.

If you know that your vehicle is in good condition, you don’t need to listen to them about full maintenance. Many are saying yes, just because they are too ashamed to say “No, thank you.” You have the right to say no that your car doesn’t need full maintenance right now.

3) Patronizing tone of voice when speaking to you

Do you take your car for an oil change, but they are making you feel that you are stupid and don’t know anything about vehicles? Yes, this also does happen a lot. The moment that this happens, you need to take your car and go to a trusted car mechanic that treats you with the dignity and respect you deserve.

This is a big warning sign that there is something seriously wrong. And, that you should rather go somewhere else for your oil change to make sure that it is going to be done right. Whether it’s for a private vehicle or a business car, customers should always be treated fairly, and if you are treated the opposite, you should not make use of their services.

4) Not actually completing the oil swap

This doesn’t happen often, but it does happen on occasion. The mechanic doesn’t actually complete the oil change but still manages to swindle you for the full amount, regardless. Or, they are tapping all the oil, but don’t replace the oil, so that you should return with a much bigger problem. A completely new engine.

You should always make sure that the oil is clean and new before you drive out of the garage. You can even ask them to show you the amount of oil that your car has right now.

Four ways that professionals are scamming people when they are going for their regular oil changes. However, if you know where they are scamming you, it will be a lot easier to avoid it from happening. And, you will get the service that you are paying for. You have the right to ask to show you the clean oil in your vehicle and to say no to any other services that they are trying to do for you, for a fee.