Why:
Removing engine undertray; disposing of old oil; having to do it in the street.
At £20, with Kwikfit only 250 yards from my front door, even I would choose them.
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Tron,
Drive to shop, make sure got small change, park, money in meter, buy oil and filter. Cost £19.99. Drive home with engine nice and warm now. Damn - someone's got the parking space outside my house, go indoors and get a coffee and keep looking out of window to see if the intruder has gone. He's gone. Move car, keep engine running to warm it up. Collect tools, draining tray, spanner, loads of newspaper and old cloths. Get blocks of wood to level-up car as half on pavement and half on road. Turn off engine, lift bonnet and remove filler cap and dipstick. Put on overalls, crawl under car, release drain plug only when tray in right position. Adjust position as flow rate varies. Stagger out and stretch. Get oil filter ready, carefully fill with oil. Try to remove old filter, will not budge. Attend to grazed knuckles. Use removal strap, still no good. Bang screwdriver through old filter, hit with hammer and remove. Wipe up all old spilled oil from engine bay and road. Fit new filter, try and tighten, but hands too oily to get a grip. Wipe hands and try again. Refit drain plug. Notice dirt on overall - is it dog poo? No. phew! Open oil can and pour it in in stages until correct level reached as shown on now re-inserted dipstick. Can't find cloths (all under car) so use sleeve to clean dip-stick. Try to pour old oil into just used can but find new oil remaining. Find old can in house/ shed and use that. Remove all items from under car. Wrap in newspaper and put in bag in rubbish bin. Remove overalls, wash hands again and again. Still oily but there you go. Get ID from drawer (passport, gas bill) drive to council tip, dump oil and drive home.
Time taken - 10 minutes.
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Get ID from drawer (passport gas bill) drive to council tip dump oil and drive home.
Please tell me you don't need ID to go to the tip. This is a wind-up. Is it?
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Please tell me you don't need ID to go to the tip. This is a wind-up. Is it?
Afraid not and this requirement is spreading.
For 25+ years I have used the tip at Kingston, in the adjacent borough to Elmbridge, as I am regularly shopping in the town and just half a mile from the tip.
Kingston, with little notice demanded ID, to the annoyance of Elmbridge.
I now have to go miles south towards the M25 to my "local" tip.
So much for recycling and saving the earth :-(((
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>> I now have to go miles south towards the M25 to my "local" tip. So much for recycling and saving the earth :-(((
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Don't forget the tip at Charlon, just over the M3 bridge.
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Got my Toyota HiAce Diesel done at Kwik Fit late on last year. I think it cost £24.Now I know that an oil filter for that is quite big and not cheap, so getting that and the oil changed is a bargain.
I don't think I could do it for that price and then I would have to grovel under the van, remove the filter, drain the oil into something and then dispose of the oil.
I would then have to clean my drive where some of the oil would probably have spilt, clean my hands etc etc.
For that price, its a no brainer
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Nothing like putting your own oil and filter in there for peace of mind regarding the quality of materials and workmanship.
I wouldn't let them change my oil and filter if they gave me £20 to let them do it ;)
I buy a can of Mobil 1, a manufacturers oil filter element , clean gloves handing that element and a clean funnel.
Once when working for a few days ( as a kid mid 60`s) in a garage of what is now a leading prestige marque, I saw `the funnel` kicking around (literally)in the grit of the corner (by the apprentices) and being pressed into use for different fluids and if lucky getting an odd rinse or wipe out.
Its a long time ago, but the disrespect for peoples cars was astounding.
Cars and workshop procedures may well change, but personality traits will likely be the same or worse.
I`m referring to the `disaffected apprentice` not skilled technicians.
I don`t take the risk, hence DIY.
Regards
Edited by oilrag on 11/02/2008 at 17:16
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I can do them in about 10 minutes in my normal clothes and just a pair of disposable nitrile gloves, like a pitstop.
I use an oil extractor pump, £7 genuine filter and £10 of top quality synthetic oil bought at trade prices.
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Too late to edit more in,
But then there`s the sump plug, you have to wonder if any effort is taken to avoid getting road grit into the sump when its re-inserted. Grit surrounds the rim of the plug hole and I have seen them re inserted by `feel` with the plug end getting a wipe of grit in the process.
Sure, there`s the filter, but it has to grind through the oil pump first.
I suspect that`s the reason for some gearbox failures when the plugs are getting road grit on the ends, hence into the box bearings.
Sorry for being the Cynic ;)
Sure Hamsafar, I agree with the extractor and gloves, its a pleasure to do it so conveniently.
Edited by oilrag on 11/02/2008 at 17:46
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10 min job so why pay someone else to do it?
It usually takes me more than 10 mins just to clear up! I do my own oil changes, but I would never tell somebody that it's a quick and easy job.
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It does take 10 minutes though, maybe 20 the first time, but thereafter you know which tools and sundries you need. I think most delays are bad preparation and having to keep running into the house for stuff. Just have some old carrier bags, kitchen roll. Put the old filter in the box the new one came in and straight into a carrier bag, it can be put in the dustbin if your waste is incinerated as fuel by your council. It's certainly quicker and easier than washing the car!
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I`ve got the tools out and poised like a praying mantis (i`m tall and thin with long legs and arms) over the engine bay, latex gloves on, it takes about 10 minutes.
There`s a 2 hour follow up while I get tiny spots of WD 40 onto screw heads in the engine bay that look as though they may rust. and so on, more over thorough faffing about...Then clean everything and go to the tip with the oil...
That`s about 3 hours in total, pity I only get to do two cars every six months these days as its enjoyable. I think if you enjoy the tools, oil and dirt it helps. I get those in one dose getting the 1.9 diesels oil filter off from underneath.
While the 1.3 engine could be done standing in front of the car wearing a suit, if careful.
Regards
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Give me a flat, level, weather protected surface like an empty double garage might provide. Give me all the tools laid out like for a surgeon in an operating theatre. Warm up the engine for me and (this bit is important) pass the ibuprofen for the bad back. Now start the stop watch. Oil is ready to drain in 60 seconds. Takes 2 minutes to drain 98%, 3 minutes to drain 98.5%, 6 minutes to drain 99% - OK that'll do. Old filter removed while waiting. Sump plug back in and top up 90% say, 2 minutes? 5 more to get the level just right.
And so on...
In my time, and trust me.. there's been a lot of that, I've renewed clutches, differentials, front struts and wheel bearings. Decoked an engine or two too. More rads, hoses and thermostats than I've had lobster dinners. Changed more brakes than Jeremy Clarkson's had Mercs. I still reckon it's a good half hour with all the bits to hand.
£20 is a bargain - and back to my point. Those offering it should actually do it and not hide behind excuses.
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>>I still reckon it's a good half hour with all the bits to hand.
Although some time ago now, I've been known to do 2 in under a quarter of an hour - including fetching them from the car park, and parking them up again. Working under a bonus scheme makes sure no time and no effort is wasted!
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Don't know if this is who you are aspiring to but when I had my saxo I always got the oil and filter changed at National. Now IIRC, they are a "franchise" type operation so I would guess if these o&f changes are ot profitable for them, they will be happy to do them if they have a bit of slow trade. However if they are booked heavily with more profitable business I can understand their reluctance to do it.
However I also got new tyres and exhaust from National due to the good service I had with the o&f change, so the franchisee should look on the o&f change as a "lead" to get your custom and loyalty.
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BobbyG, you have it in one!
Loyalty? My custom? No chance whatsover from now on.
If Asdasainsbursco advertised beans at 9p a big tin as a loss leader but never, ever, ever had them in stock (even if you ordered them) there would be questions asked in parliament.
A nationwide tyre, exhaust and oil change chain gets away with it.
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Trouble with suction pumps is they leave all the crap in the sump(unless you do 3k oil changes) and don't say they don't because I had the pleasure of removing my sons sump and all he had used for a long time is suction pump and the crud in the bottom was amazing to see.
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I have my Mondeo's oil and filter changed at Kwik-fit every 6 months or 6K, think it costs something like £24.95? give or take a few quid. they always get the correct spec Ford oil in for me and it take them 10-15 minutes to do. Never had a problem with it. For that price it really is a no brainer, I used to change the oil with my old man on my very old Ford Escort about 10 years ago. For the price I'll let someone else get there hands dirty and dispose of the oil etc.
Lee
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It may just be a London thing.
Maybe the companies can't offer different price bands dependent on region. So, where property values and wage rates are lower they might just break even at slack times. In London, £20 -£25 probably doesn't work at all.
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