In the 1970's most car consumers went to the local gas station to get basic services like: oil changes, tire rotation, old batteries recharged, and perhaps a radiator flush and fill. These stations have been transformed into coffee shops on the go, and were are lucky to find an air hose that we pay $1.25 to use. We can still fill up on gas, clean our windows and sometimes buy oil and radiator fluids if we are having a problem. Some stations I go to don't even sell these products. Forget about getting any services, for one thing they don't even have bays nor the mechanic to do any repairs. Secondly all they are concerned care about is ringing up the register.
Jiffy Lube came along at the right time for American retail auto consumer. In the 1980's and beyond one had the choice of going to the dealer for the make of vehicle they had, or try to do it yourself at home after trying to buy the right parts at the Trak Auto. Dealers do a great job, but the expense, time waiting for the service, arranging rides or alternate travel arrangement are turnoffs for getting an oil change or tire rotation. Jiffy Lube made it possible to get the same work done at one of their shops, without worrying if they missed something or did something wrong. Policy from the beginning was come back before 3000 miles and they will top you off, or take care of what was missed. I know this to be true as they screwed my transmission fluid change and my driveway had all the proof. Fortunately there was no permanent damage to the car. The price was right for the service and I used them as needed. I don't want to forget to mention the time for the service was usually 20 minutes or less.
Now it is 2010 and I know Jiffy dominates the oil change industry. From appearances it can sometimes seem they are the only company in town besides the Auto Dealers who provide these services. I know of a couple of places but try to find one in DC or Baltimore. Jiffy Lube has put most of them out of business. Even small auto shops want to do the bigger jobs and if you do drop you car for an oil change it might get done in 2 days. That being said, Jiffy Lube Corporate greed has also raised the cost of that oil change from $23.00 to $43.00 in the last ten years. Sorry, but I don't think the cost of oil has not gone up that much for 5 quarts to justify the increased fees. This morning I was first in line at 8AM and it took 40 minutes to get me out the door. Of course they are constantly pushing us to buy that new air filter, wipers, all just for you at a 50% mark up. I have become lazy and have paid for the air filter at the time, because I know my time running to advanced auto parts might not be worth it. Not to mention the fact I have no idea where the filter is in my Mazda 3! Oh I could find it, but is it worth my time? So today I am blogging that I hope to see the next generation of oil changing company bring their service to the market. Does anyone have some venture capital to invest? I will offer my services to market and manage the start up. The time is now for the next best thing!
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