An Oil Change at Walmart -- or not

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Bill N

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 4, 2014
Posts
2,551
Location
Ozark, Missouri
I found out that my local Walmart is the only one of the 8 located in this area that has a wide and high door combined with a pit that accomodate a motorhome for oil changes.  So I decided to use it yesterday as all I have is a simple 8.1 Chevy gas engine in the Winnie.  How can you go wrong?  I drove up to their bay door (as I had been told to do when asking on a previous trip) and I could see the guy who signs up the oil change jobs had very big eyes.  He asked what I wanted and I told him an oil change so he immediately asked the guy inside - "Do we do these?"  "Yep."  Then he looks up at his door and I tell him it is high enough.  Next he asks for the VIN - and copies it right off the decal on the door - Nope - does not compute with Walmarts system. Skips that and goes to what brand is this vehicle - Winnebago - Nope does not compute in Walmarts system.  Then he noticies the Workhorse decal on the side of the coach and I tell him to look that up - Yep he has Workhorse - what size engine?  8.1 liter Chevy - Nope, not in Walmart's system.  Skip that.  What size filter - I tell him a PF454 from the manual - blank stare - does not compute but the guy inside says he will look it up.  In the meantime the very young lady who is in charge of the shop decides she must drive the coach inside.  I had volunteered but when she insisted I figured Walmart had better insurance than I did.
So she pulls it in gently as the whole shop stops to watch and see what she crashes it into.  Makes it all the way in and then a guy opens the exit door and she drives it right out.  WOW I think, that is one fast oil change!  Then the oil changer walks over and tells me they they found the right filter number but they are out of them at the moment.  I can go find a filter and come back and they will install it with the oil change.  Uh, no thanks.  I was just getting it changed because I had it out on it's monthly run and had to have a state safety inspection in order to renew the plates (done at a different shop).  Soooooooo I ALMOST had a Walmart oil change.  And believe it or not I am going to go back one day and give it another try (but this time I will be sure they have a filter).

Bill
s
 
Wow.  I had Walmart change my oil several times in my 1994 Damon motorhome (Ford F53 gas chassis, 35') and now in my 1993 Hall Chaparral motorhome (Chevy P30) and never had those kinds of issues.  It's always been drive up, take down the info (after the first time they were in the employee was able to retrieve it from their database), I drove in over the pit and they did the work.

However, I was out of luck when I tried to get them to change the oil in my 1986 Bronco II.  Their history only goes back to somewhere in the 1990s and they won't work on vehicles older than that.  The filters, etc. were available inside the store but the oil change shop wouldn't install them or change the oil unless they could look up the specifications themselves.
 
Time has caught up with some of us.  When asked "what engine?" I replied chevy 350.  Blank looks from all.  I had to say chevy 5.7 liter. The young guys got that.  Maybe come up with a newer ford engine so they can get you a motorcraft F1 or fram PH8 or equivalent.
 
indiana journey said:
I'd still trust them before Camping World.
Safe Journeys,
Indiana Journey

That's not saying much.  I wouldn't trust Camping World to install a roll of toilet paper.
 
I've seen that sort of problem at Walmarts before. On any given day and store you may get a skilled guy or a novice, both in the shop and at the service counter.  They tend to have a high employee turnover and lesser skills, probably because the skilled people often move on to a better paying shop or at least one with M-F 8-5 hours. Sometimes you get a retired pro just making some extra retirement bucks, and sometimes you get the kid with minimal training and experience and learning on the job. They also stock tires, batteries and filters only for common vehicles, based on Walmart HQ's computer analysis of sales in the auto parts department.

 
I asked about an oil change for my class A at a Walmart once.  When the "manager" told me that they changed the oil in a "Meanie Weanie" a few months back, I went to the Ford dealer instead.
 
I just made the post as a sort of humorous moment.  I do intend to go back when the weather warms up but the brains of the operation was the guy in the pit actually doing the change.  The young female shop manager was very tentative about the deal but she learned fast as did the guy who signed it in.  Next trip should be smoother - but I will check on the filter first.

Do it yourself  = Well yes, if you can but with a bit of age, COPD, arthritis in the back and on oxygen, all things are not as easy as they used to be.

Camping World did a super good job of installing a hitch on our Sonic toad - took off the front of the car, installed it and replaced the front and install all wiring and it looked like a factory job.  All CWs are not bad.

Bill
 
Not an oil change but..... 

I needed an alignment on my Trend after hitting what the state posted as "bump" on the highway.  The sign should have said "ditch"!  I asked at my local RV dealer who couldn't so they sent me to a semi truck trailer repair shop.  I made the appointment, and as I pulled up to the the bay doors, the guys started laughing.  I guess they thought I had an RV, aka a Brad Paisley 50 foot tour bus type of RV not an itty bitty one.  Said they don't work on things that "little."  They did find a garage who could both get it into the bay and do an alignment.  I can still see those guys laughing.
 
I took my 2007 Diesel truck into the Wal Mart  in College Station, TX once about 10 years ago was told they didn't do heavy vehicles like mine.  I found out I could take the oil and filter into our Chevy dealer and they would do it for $25.  As I get older, it gets much easier to let someone else do the work.

Larry
 
I have a company car so I use a national name shop to change the oil and add fluids.  The windshield wiper fluid wouldn't work when it dropped below freezing.  Once it warmed up I tired and it worked normally.  No smell to it.  Added my own stuff and pumped a bunch through.  Could smell the new stuff plain as day inside the car.

Could they be so greedy as to water it down?  People's safety could be at risk!
 
KandT said:
I have a company car so I use a national name shop to change the oil and add fluids.  The windshield wiper fluid wouldn't work when it dropped below freezing.  Once it warmed up I tired and it worked normally.  No smell to it.  Added my own stuff and pumped a bunch through.  Could smell the new stuff plain as day inside the car.

Could they be so greedy as to water it down?  People's safety could be at risk!

Years ago when I was a penny pincher, I would water mine down from spring thru fall. 50/50. Once winter came around, I would use it straight.
Now I've heard that if you buy a gallon of washer fluid in the south like FL, it won't be as strong as the antifreeze up north. Not sure on that one though.
 
Not all winwindshield washer fluid is antifreeze. Some of it is just soapy water.
 
Here in TX, the windshield washer fluid that's sold in stores in the summer has no antifreeze and is only safe from down to 32 degrees F.  We make enough trip up north in the winter that I don't want to use any that'll freeze above -20, so I buy all mine when we're in the north country.
 
I know it can start some pretty big arguments, but buy your own filter. Fram is the worst possible choice. If you have ever cut them open and compared brands, you would know how cheaply made they are inside. I gave up on them years ago after changing about three or four in a row, trying to get one that the anti-drain back valve (Ford) worked in. Oil would drain out at shutdown and next start was 15 seconds without oil pressure.

Charles
 
CharlesinGA said:
Fram is the worst possible choice.
Charles

I agree 10000%.  I'd run without a filter before I'd run a Fram.  They come apart, plug up stuff, and you never know until your engine craps out.  Then who disects it for cardboard trash plugging holes.

Personally, I'm a Wix guy
 
CharlesinGA said:
I know it can start some pretty big arguments, but buy your own filter. Fram is the worst possible choice. If you have ever cut them open and compared brands, you would know how cheaply made they are inside. I gave up on them years ago after changing about three or four in a row, trying to get one that the anti-drain back valve (Ford) worked in. Oil would drain out at shutdown and next start was 15 seconds without oil pressure.

Charles

They must sell literally millions of filters.  While they may not be formula one quality, I doubt they do any actual damage.  Where are all these engines dying anyways?  I see cars and trucks and Rv's falling apart with engines just fine.  Maybe a PCV valve or something but almost never the oil covered parts.
 
Bill - Considering Walmart is about the cheapest place to get an oil change in a car, I have to ask the question: what were they going to charge you for your 8.1 Workhorse? I'm changing my own oil at the moment because I'm tired of paying $130 to have an RV mechanic do it.
 
John Stephens said:
Bill - Considering Walmart is about the cheapest place to get an oil change in a car, I have to ask the question: what were they going to charge you for your 8.1 Workhorse? I'm changing my own oil at the moment because I'm tired of paying $130 to have an RV mechanic do it.
I didn't check the last time John but a few months earlier I had priced it and I believe it was $33 plus tax.  May have been $36 but most local car joints are charging $39.  They said it would be the same as a car plus any extra oil it needed.

Bill
 
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