Do Not Buy Mopar Pre-Paid Oil Changes

[abouttobeglue]

I've been using the prepaid oil change packages on my truck at the closest dodge ram dealer since I got it. I think it's 4 for 125ish. No complaints, even had a synthetic package for my chevy cruze for a while. It was synthetic, came out to 50 an oil change. That dealership was sold a few months back, the new dealer still honors my oil change package.. I look at it this way, I'm saving 30 bucks an oil change, it should show on carfax as dealer maintained. So farvthe only service item they've brought up is the cabin filter.

 

[Anonymous007]

No, makes perfect sense based on the post I quoted. It said dealer is independent and charges what they want. So that means they charge whatever they want and doesn't matter what Mopar advertises.

Like i said they can charge whatever they want, just cause they do doesnt mean you have to pay it. Like others have said read the fine print.

In your case i wouldnt have paid up front and then try to take it up with fca and their shenanigans. I wouldve made sure i didnt have to oay outta pocket since you already had the prepaid service.


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[Salty Ram]

I've never paid for the oil change package, but have negotiated for it after the deal to ensure it isn't charged back in somehow and have never had an issue with it not being honored. I've never had to pay for shop supplies either. Oil change, see the finance folks, sign the service document and I'm on my way. I'm sorry you're having to deal with that. To me, its Mopar and they should honor it as it wasn't a "dealer independent" option.

 

[Davidloveshishemi]

What got me about the prepaid oil changes was that they had to be done within a certain time frame or they expired. ???????????????? Who can say they will drive X amount of miles withing Y time frame? Made no sense. Then after the first oil change at the dealership I swore never again. I do my own oil changes now, cheaper, faster, and I know it was done correctly. Some dealerships I trust, some I do not. I would never let anyone other than myself change the oil in my Hemi again. I hear people all the time say, its to hard, I cant get under the truck. I change the oil in my driveway with running boards and no lift. There is plenty of room, safe yourself alot of money and alot of headache, handle this job yourself.

 

[mtnrider]

Their quote that they printed out for me.

Hitting 45,000 miles Cummins HO

Brakes $600
Crankcase Breather $355
EGR System Cleaning $399.95
4X4 Service $479.96

Brakes, mine are still good at 70K but that would vary so may need replacement?

Crankcase filter is due at 67,500 miles

EGR cleaning - SCAM. Not require on 2013+ trucks

4x4 servive? What the hell is that? Ask them to show you in the maintenance schedule exactly what that is because that is new to me. Do the mean differential fluids?


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[chrisbh17]

Brakes, mine are still good at 70K but that would vary so may need replacement?

Crankcase filter is due at 67,500 miles

EGR cleaning - SCAM. Not require on 2013+ trucks

4x4 servive? What the hell is that? Ask them to show you in the maintenance schedule exactly what that is because that is new to me. Do the mean differential fluids?


.

Its typical dealer bs. All these "services"....its pretty simple, if it isnt listed in the owners manual service schedule, it aint required.

On my 2017 the only thing that needs to be done up to 20K miles is oil changes and tire rotations. I think there is a "check air filter", but not replace (i did it anyway at 10K because why not).

That's why dealers love to have "lifetime powertrain" warranties through the dealer....if you want to keep it, you get to buy every service they come up with. Hell, my dealer had a "3 month checkup" that I wouldn't do on a cold day in hell....so my "lifetime powertrain warranty" with them was void after having my truck 3 months.

 

[Timsdually]

Brakes, mine are still good at 70K but that would vary so may need replacement?

Crankcase filter is due at 67,500 miles

EGR cleaning - SCAM. Not require on 2013+ trucks

4x4 servive? What the hell is that? Ask them to show you in the maintenance schedule exactly what that is because that is new to me. Do the mean differential fluids?


.

I don't plan on having the dealer do brakes.
The 4x4 service is nothing more than draining and refilling the diffs and the transfer case.

I don't know if "EGRcleaning" to them is a forced regen. I had a forced regen done by them when I was getting diesel fumes in the cab. NO charge, under warranty. That was actually what brought me to this new dealer. The mechanic at the original dealer claimed that there was "no such thing as a forced regen". OK, let me out of here as fast as I can. You don't know diesels.

 

[mtnrider]

I don't plan on having the dealer do brakes.
The 4x4 service is nothing more than draining and refilling the diffs and the transfer case.

I don't know if "EGRcleaning" to them is a forced regen. I had a forced regen done by them when I was getting diesel fumes in the cab. NO charge, under warranty. That was actually what brought me to this new dealer. The mechanic at the original dealer claimed that there was "no such thing as a forced regen". OK, let me out of here as fast as I can. You don't know diesels.

EGR cleaning was a "thing" for the 2013? and older trucks. They actually pulled the EGR and cleaned it out. Not required for the DEF trucks though.

My truck is actually doing a forced regen right this second. Also called a stationary desoot. I used AlfaOBD to initiate it. My DPF is giving me problems and I think it is about done. Was hoping this wouldn't happen but looks like I'm not going to be that lucky :-(


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[PoMansRam]

If you're the type of person who is going to use the dealer for oil changes anyway and you can get a decent deal going the pre-pay package route, I suppose why not? Like I say, the main reason for this is to get you to tack the package on with your loan and borrow more money, thus the dealer gets more $ for the financing thru the lending institution. You're probably talking a few dollars, but it's still there..

Even if they wind up being $50 and oil change for a Ram 1500 hemi or pentastar. It's still a razor thin profit margin for them. They're hoping they can tack on other servicecs.

For me, an oil change alone is too much of a risk to have done at a dealership. They have to do them as quick and dirty as possible. I know if I do things quick and dirty, mistakes or shortcuts will happen. As much as I don't always enjoy doing them, I have to do all my own oil changes for this reason.

 

[Gr8bawana]

I wouldn’t put cheap, most likely already used, dealer oil in my worst enemy’s lawnmower.

They unscrew and put the same filter on in a different orientation too. Good thing you don’t have spark plugs.

I'm calling BULLCRAP!

 

[Seth Richards]

I got first year free maintenance when I bought my truck. They had a “special” going when I bought it last april but the caveat was it was only good where I bought the truck (it’s about a 40 min drive from where I live). That was last Sept. I used it for two oil changes. Just got the 2nd one (just over 10k miles on my truck). I have a local small shop guy I will use from here on out who has been good to me with past vehicles though.

 

[tron67j]

What is important to remember is that every dealer is its own company. When we go to buy a truck we all check different dealers because we don't expect the same result from one to the next. And one dealer may offer free oil changes for a year to sweeten the deal. It is a Mopar oil change, Mopar parts, Mopar trained technician, but another dealer is not going to honor that unless they see a benefit over long term, and that's alright. With these pre-purchased oil changes the contract clearly says it is at participating dealers only and that you go to your preferred dealer (again if participating). The money has already gone to the dealership at time of purchase from financial arm of FCA, so for another dealer to do it they take it as a loss, maybe they take the hit and do the service as they are seeing a person moved a distance so think service now gets a sale later.

If you are staying with your dealer for the long haul, and this is your thing, go for it. But as we hope when we buy the truck, some dealers are cheaper than others and keep their overhead low (limiting no income activity) so that we pay less for the truck. We can't have it both ways.

 

[Timsdually]

What is important to remember is that every dealer is its own company. When we go to buy a truck we all check different dealers because we don't expect the same result from one to the next. And one dealer may offer free oil changes for a year to sweeten the deal. It is a Mopar oil change, Mopar parts, Mopar trained technician, but another dealer is not going to honor that unless they see a benefit over long term, and that's alright. With these pre-purchased oil changes the contract clearly says it is at participating dealers only and that you go to your preferred dealer (again if participating). The money has already gone to the dealership at time of purchase from financial arm of FCA, so for another dealer to do it they take it as a loss, maybe they take the hit and do the service as they are seeing a person moved a distance so think service now gets a sale later.

If you are staying with your dealer for the long haul, and this is your thing, go for it. But as we hope when we buy the truck, some dealers are cheaper than others and keep their overhead low (limiting no income activity) so that we pay less for the truck. We can't have it both ways.

Mine is not a "dealer" promotion. It is a Mopar promotion. Anybody logging on to Mopar.com could have purchased the oil changes. I paid Mopar for the deal, not a dealer.

I do agree that individual dealers will always throw a bone to make a sale and oil changes are kind of the enticement to get you to come back and use their service dept.

 

[tron67j]

Mine is not a "dealer" promotion. It is a Mopar promotion. Anybody logging on to Mopar.com could have purchased the oil changes. I paid Mopar for the deal, not a dealer.

I do agree that individual dealers will always throw a bone to make a sale and oil changes are kind of the enticement to get you to come back and use their service dept.

The Mopar prepaid oil change site says for participating dealers, and that it is valid at "your preferred dealer". I asked about this through the Mopar promotion website contact. Again. I cannot speak to if dealers other than the "preferred" may accept it, but it is not valid at all dealerships as written in the fine print and is not sold as redeemable at every Ram dealer.

This is nothing new, dealers often have specialty options or services that are sold under brand name, are covered under warranty but are not sold or serviced everywhere. Original Yenko Camaros were like this and it is cool to see the 1,000 HP 2020 Yenko covered the same way. But you're not going to get that serviced at any old Chevrolet dealer.

 

[FXCLM5]

haha this is common issue for diesel trucks

my dealer knew this, basically doubled my oil changes

even taking it to other dealers they get confused, they can look up previous history though and understand my oil changes are being double billed to cover the oil amount for my truck

the same dealer who did it, was scared to do it again, the service writer was like they double billed your last oil change, and im like yea cuz i have free oil changes and 1 billing wont cover it. They even go as far as im going to take cc and bill you now, and once my finance manager see this and agrees we can double bill fca for the oil change we will credit you back or take hold off etc...

 

[Octane]

haha this is common issue for diesel trucks

my dealer knew this, basically doubled my oil changes

even taking it to other dealers they get confused, they can look up previous history though and understand my oil changes are being double billed to cover the oil amount for my truck

the same dealer who did it, was scared to do it again, the service writer was like they double billed your last oil change, and im like yea cuz i have free oil changes and 1 billing wont cover it. They even go as far as im going to take cc and bill you now, and once my finance manager see this and agrees we can double bill fca for the oil change we will credit you back or take hold off etc...

It doesn't take much to confuse the dealership people anyway.At least that is my experience.

 

[RLJ10X]

^That is an unbelievably complicated process. With all those layers, there is a high probability that something not right is going on there.

I will always use simple old cash. Cash is clarity and simplicity. You may not get something for nothing using cash, but you damn sure know you're not getting ripped off.

 

[KSH]

I paid for a 4 pack of oil changes in Los Angeles, did the first one there, second in Utah, third in Florida. No problems.

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[TwinSuns]

Sounds about right, I’ve had a couple problems where Mopar / FCA wasn’t willing to intervene with an issue that pertained to them and they tried to push it off on the dealer

 

[Neil E]

I totally understand why a dealership would sell a pre-paid oil change.

But for the life of me, I can't understand why anyone would buy them.

Pay cash as you go. In the long run it's so much simpler and cheaper.

In my case it's not cheaper, as the cheapest full synthetic oil change for my truck near me is over $50. I prepay for 3 and pay $100.