The Big Question - Part 1

Years ago when I actually managed one of our stores, I was constantly being asked by customers “How often should I change my oil?” Should I poll our current managers I suspect they would get the same question on a daily basis. Indeed, there is much confusion over what we in the industry call “oil change intervals.”

In general, I would answer the question today about like I did years ago.  It was an answer to the big question with another question. “How long would you like to keep your car?”  So that is

really the first thing for the customer to decide. For example, I know someone that had 30k miles on his company vehicle and had never changed the oil. True story. The reason was he was going to turn it back in at 40k miles and figured he’d let the next guy worry about it. While it is true that he didn’t have any major issues with it, I guarantee the next owner, poor guy, would.  

I always used the analogy of the dentist when asked the question.  I believe the dental industry recommends that you have a checkup twice a year. Can you get by with less?  Sure.  Can you get by without going to the dentist for years at a time? Sure, but when you get older, chances are you are going to want to have your own teeth and not a mouthful of dentures.   And getting a checkup twice a year may not keep you from having any problems with your teeth, it is the best way to prevent problems. And needing even more expensive work done later on.  Prevent is the operative word here because what Jiffy Lube does is preventive maintenance on your car or truck. 

In Part II of The Big Question, I will get more specific on oil change intervals and what it means for your car.