Hey so recently I went to the mechanic and I did have a sputtering problem with my car, and I filled out a sheet explaining the problem I did sign a sheet saying they could do work on it but i never agreed to do an oil change, can they charge me for that?
u/Shady_cx - how much is billed for the oil change? and what were you normally expecting is the cost of an oil change? How many miles and time has it been since your last oil change?
I ask this because you might be chasing a technicality on billing but in reality the shop was probably do you some really good work out of a great abundance of care.
If an oil change would normally cost you $50 to have a shop do it with parts at your usual shop… and this guy charged you $50 or + $20 more than your usual shop… I’d say this is with in reasonable limits (numbers are just for illustration).
If your car requires oil changes every 1 year or 10,000 miles and it’s been 1+ years and 5000 miles… I would say they did the right thing for you, don’t beat them up unless they are raping you on the price of the oil change. Because over time you get fuel and water building up in the used oil and you want to remove that stuff because of time.
If your car maker recommends an oil change at 10,000 miles and it’s been 5000+ miles, I would say anything beyond the 50% mark of manufacturer recommended is actually a reasonable time to change the oil. Case in point my 2008 e90 BMW 335xi has a 15,000 mile OCI but I have never let it go beyond 7500 mile and most people recommend as low as 5000 mile oil changes on 7 qts of fully synthetic motor oil. oil and filters are CHEAP! changing fluids early is HIGHLY recommended to minimize changing parts and having problems with the car. This also goes for all the other fluids too:
If the mechanic actually fixed your problem or had a reasonable answer on why they proactively changed your motor oil and they used the correct oil type and correct oil filter for a fair price… I would not beat them up about it.
With all that said, technically, if you were not given a verbal or written estimate for work to be performed… then technically you could chase after them for this. But an oil change is small money, you would rather benefit from building a good relationship from a service provider who can fix your issues. I personally ask for a verbal estimate for small stuff and let’s say they say $60 for an oil change… I’ll pay the mom/pop shop in cash (so they don’t need to pay credit card fees). Then ask if they can skip the sales tax… then I will give the person who actually did the oil change work on my car $5 or $10 cash as a tip after everything is all done. Next time the guy will remember me and try to help me. I always pay service providers a little more than what they ask of me (in cash). When I come back again for more work… they always do right by me with great service and very honest answers. You get what you pay for 🤷🏽♂️