Car maintenance isn't cheap. Alongside monthly car payments, even simple upkeep, such as oil changes, can add up quickly.
Depending on the make and model, Americans spend anywhere from $700 to over $5,000 on vehicle maintenance over a five-year period, with oil changes usually ranging between $30 and $125 per visit.
While that might seem minor in the moment, one Florida TikToker says customers are unknowingly giving away money quart by quart.
'They Always Round Up'
TikTok creator @cheeva316 shared a video alleging that oil change shops have found a subtle way to squeeze extra cash out of customers. His clip has been viewed more than 14,000 times.
“Alright, I'm gonna tell you guys a secret a lot of people don't know,” he begins.
He says when a customer asks for a premium synthetic oil like Mobil 1, most shops don’t use a barrel system to measure it. Instead, they grab individual quart bottles from the shelf.
It’s important to note that Mobil does sell barrel sizes of synthetic oil for businesses.
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However, @cheeva316 encourages everyone to look at their receipt. “It’s always gonna tell you how many quarts your vehicle took,” he says. “Then it’s gonna tell you how many quarts you were charged.” He says the two numbers don’t always match.
Gallery: Castrol Oil
Where Does the Extra Oil Go?
“Read the small print,” he says. “It’s always based off of five quarts. Anything extra, you gotta pay for.”
Let’s say your car takes 5.5 quarts. The shop will charge you for six. But according to him, “They actually charge you for a whole extra quart... You know what they do with that other half of that quart? It goes into the next. They pretty much resell it.”
That leftover half, which customers already paid for, gets put back into inventory and used for the next customer. “That’s oil that previous customers already paid for,” he says.
He estimates that if a busy shop does 25 Mobil 1 synthetic oil changes a week, each leaving a half quart behind, they end up with 12.5 quarts to resell. “We’re talking about $215 of oil that was already paid for,” he says. “Now being resold.”
"Ask For What You Paid For"
So what should people do? He recommends checking the receipt and doing the math before leaving.
“My vehicle says right here took 5.5 quarts but you charged me for 6,” he says. “Where's that other half a quart?”
If they tell you it was disposed, he says, “That’s 150% [expletive].”
In this instance, he says you should demand a refund or a half a quart. He prefers asking for the leftover oil to keep in his car as a backup. “Maybe you do have a slow leak,” he says. “Maybe you wanna use it for your lawnmower. Whatever. You paid for it.”
He says shops will often try to brush it off as standard practice. “They’ll probably come off rattling, ‘Oh, that’s just industry standard.’” But he doesn’t buy it.
“If a customer brings me five of something and I only use four, I’m not going to keep that one to sell to the next customer and make a profit,” he says. “That’s theft by deception.”
Are Oil Change Shops Really Doing This?
Is this true? It depends.
Every shop does things a little differently. Based on car owners’ testimonies online, some might round down, while others might round up like the TikTok creator describes.
Other drivers have complained about either being overcharged or noticing inconsistencies in how much oil actually went into their car.
The best way to protect yourself is to know how much oil your car is supposed to take. Then compare that number to what’s on your receipt. If there’s a gap, ask questions.
If you’re charged for a full extra quart but your car didn’t get all of it, you can request the leftover oil or ask to have the charge removed.
Either way, it’s good to know what you’re paying for and what you’re actually getting.
Some Think He’s Right, Others Say He’s Overthinking It
The comments section was filled with mixed reactions.
Some agreed with him. “Nope, I’ll do my own oil change ‘cause I know how [to] Google stuff,” one commenter wrote.
Another chimed in, “Just tell them to put 5 quarts in, and you’ll put the rest in. It’s easy to read a dipstick.”
Others pushed back. One user wrote, “If your car holds 5.5 quarts of oil, you are going to be charged six quarts. We are not going to break it down that way. And no, we do not save the oil. If we did, it would be for a lawn mower. LOL.”
One commenter shared their savings tip: “I just did my own oil change with Mobil 1 full synthetic high mileage and an AC Delco filter for $30.”
Motor1 has reached out to @cheeva316 via TikTok messages and Mobil 1 via email for more information. Updates will follow if we receive a response.
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