National Tyres oil and filter change bargain?

[philepo]

Hi

At the same time as getting some punctures fixed I let them do a oil an filter change (yes I know they are stereotyped as fat tattooed idiots) but at £26.10 :bannana:for Castrol magnatec 10w40 and a unipart filter this seemed like a no-brainer as they say. I did peer out of the viewing window so they knew I was checking they did it correctly.

Apart from putting in slightly too much oil (1 cm over max line can't hurt?) and spilling some and wiping it up leaving smears over the engine they seem to have done it successfully! They were all fat and tattooed tho, must be compulsary? (apologies to fat and tattooed readers, I am not prejudiced, just an observer)

 

[BlackC55]

Be careful. 1 CM over can do damage to the CATS so get it corrected asap.

What car do you have? The magnatec 10W40 only meets the low end of the merc specs 229.1.

 

[philepo]

You are the harbinger of gloom blackc55! Why can't you let me live in blissfull ignorance! (joking). Thanks, I will double check this but the thought of the hassle trying to get that corrected is not a happy one. When I checked it was literally 1 cm over max, which must be just within a margin of error built into the oil level checking design??? I checked service record and MB themselves used magnatec 10w40 for the first 60000 miles of its MB pampered life.

 

[BlackC55]

1cm is still too much. Get it corrected.

There is no margin of error!

Excuse my fussyness but I like to do things right

 

[Shamaz Majid]

Hi

At the same time as getting some punctures fixed I let them do a oil an filter change (yes I know they are stereotyped as fat tattooed idiots) but at £26.10 :bannana:for Castrol magnatec 10w40 and a unipart filter this seemed like a no-brainer as they say. I did peer out of the viewing window so they knew I was checking they did it correctly.

Apart from putting in slightly too much oil (1 cm over max line can't hurt?) and spilling some and wiping it up leaving smears over the engine they seem to have done it successfully! They were all fat and tattooed tho, must be compulsary? (apologies to fat and tattooed readers, I am not prejudiced, just an observer)

Hi,

I seriously considered this, but 3 things put me off:

1. There is a strong believe that many garages (inc. some Mercedes) are now no longer draining the oil and just sucking it out. At such a low price point, I assume that these guys are doing the same.
2. The offer is limited to 7 litres of oil. My W210 E280 takes 9 litres, and they wanted an additional £10 per litre.
3. They also want £5-10 to remove the trays underneath, to get to the sump plug. This could be seen as good news as it would mean they are at least going to pretend to drain the oil.

As for the oil itself, I have used 10/40 for the last few years, as I believe it is better for older high mileage cars. Mine now has 175k on the meter...

 

[BlackC55]

There is nothing wrong with sucking the oil out.

 

[Shamaz Majid]

There is nothing wrong with sucking the oil out.

The problem is that any debris is left at the bottom of the sump and does not come out with the 'sucked' oil.

 

[philepo]

Hi,

I seriously considered this, but 3 things put me off:

1. There is a strong believe that many garages (inc. some Mercedes) are now no longer draining the oil and just sucking it out. At such a low price point, I assume that these guys are doing the same.
2. The offer is limited to 7 litres of oil. My W210 E280 takes 9 litres, and they wanted an additional £10 per litre.
3. They also want £5-10 to remove the trays underneath, to get to the sump plug. This could be seen as good news as it would mean they are at least going to pretend to drain the oil.

As for the oil itself, I have used 10/40 for the last few years, as I believe it is better for older high mileage cars. Mine now has 175k on the meter...

They did drain the oil
They didn't charge to remove the tray, they said that charge was just for awkward cases

If the oil is def too high I will try and drain a bit myself, I hate confrontation, esp with large tattooed people.

 

[BlackC55]

The problem is that any debris is left at the bottom of the sump and does not come out with the 'sucked' oil.

Can you prove that?

There should be no debris at the bottom of the sump esp using the modern oils we have today.

 

[flango]

The problem is that any debris is left at the bottom of the sump and does not come out with the 'sucked' oil.

Is that not what the oil filter is for? With modern alloys and High tech oils you don't get the debris like you used to in your old Mk3 Cortina.

Some cars are now specifically designed with no sump plug so you have no option but to suck it out.

 

[renault12ts]

Hi,

I seriously considered this, but 3 things put me off:

1. There is a strong believe that many garages (inc. some Mercedes) are now no longer draining the oil and just sucking it out. At such a low price point, I assume that these guys are doing the same.
2. The offer is limited to 7 litres of oil. My W210 E280 takes 9 litres, and they wanted an additional £10 per litre.
3. They also want £5-10 to remove the trays underneath, to get to the sump plug. This could be seen as good news as it would mean they are at least going to pretend to drain the oil.

As for the oil itself, I have used 10/40 for the last few years, as I believe it is better for older high mileage cars. Mine now has 175k on the meter...

Go to Kwik Fit, I did.

They remove the tray, drain the oil from the sump, replace plug, replace tray, change filter and refill will Mobil 1 for £49.95. No extra for the oil above 7 litres nor for removing the steel sump guard.

 

[johnsco]

I'm a drainer and not a sucker.
BUT
Most garages these days appear to suck.
(With or without tattoos)

Two recent cars I bought had obviously never had the sump plug removed.
Both had been garage-serviced ... One main dealer and one by an indie.
On both of them, I had to destroy the sump plug to remove it.

I wouldn't worry about it ... It's very common these days.

 

[Rovinghawk]

The problem is that any debris is left at the bottom of the sump and does not come out with the 'sucked' oil.

If you have debris in your sump, I'd respectfully suggest that the method of oil changes is the least of your problems.
In addition, MB are designed to be sucked out; my belief is that the MB design team know more than you about what's best.

RH

 

[renault12ts]

Draining the sump rather than pumping will not remove the debris (if there is any). Observe debris left in a sink after you pull the plug, which you then have to flush out with cold water from the tap.

 

[Shamaz Majid]

Go to Kwik Fit, I did.

They remove the tray, drain the oil from the sump, replace plug, replace tray, change filter and refill will Mobil 1 for £49.95. No extra for the oil above 7 litres nor for removing the steel sump guard.

That's exactly what I did and so far so good.

 

[renault12ts]

What, you went to Kwik Fit...?

 

[Shamaz Majid]

If you have debris in your sump, I'd respectfully suggest that the method of oil changes is the least of your problems.
In addition, MB are designed to be sucked out; my belief is that the MB design team know more than you about what's best.

RH

No need to be rude my friend. I was only voicing a concern that is circulating around on a number of other forums, where there is a general agreement amongst members that this is not a welcome trend, supported by a few members who happen to work in certain unnamed garages. It is not suggested that this will destroy anyone's engine or that I have debris in mine. I'm certainly no expert and I'm sure time will tell whether over time there is a net impact or not.

I also have little doubt that the MB design team are more knowledgeable than myself. Mind you, if the rust and general reliability is anything to go by, perhaps they should go back to basics...

 

[martin_a]

I was told even my W202 was meant to be an oil sucker despite the slightly mashed sump plug indicating that it hasn't been done that way. I guess i'd have a reservation or two but only because sump plugs are what i'm used to. With a w202 it certianly isn't like sucking is a new technique just brought in but it will be a lot cleaner and efficient.

To the OP - are you saure the car was clock cold and on completely level ground when you checked it? If the engine was warm at all the reading will have been higher.

m.

 

[philepo]

The car was hot and is 1 cm over max. I am going to leave it as I am too lazy to do it myself and can't face talking to the nob that did the work.

Oh well, live and learn.

 

[Hi-Ho Silver]

Because my car (clk230k) has a sump plug, I therefore believe it should be put to good use or else it would not have been put there.

I'm a 'Drainer' and i'm proud of it!!