I hate getting oil changes because I don’t know anything about cars.

Oil change places like Jiffy Lube or EZ Lube tell me to get my oil changed every 3000 miles. My car’s own manual tells me to change the oil every 7500 miles, so already that’s enough of a difference to cause me some concern.

When the greasemonkeys at the shop tell me that I need to buy this or that I have no idea if they’re actually telling the truth, and suddenly what started as a $24 oil change ends up as a $200 unplanned expense.

I get my oil changes at my local EZ Lube because they’re fast and close to my house. I hate doing it. I hate the guilt trip they try to give me when I turn down their sales pitches. I hate driving away wondering if my car will, in fact, break down in the middle of nowhere because I didn’t pay them to replace my transmission fluid.

In 2003 our local NBC affiliate ran one of those hidden camera investigations to show that yes, many EZ Lube employees will recommend unneeded services just to meet their sales quotas. Then in 2007 they secretly tested EZ Lube again only to find that nothing had changed!

The end result is that EZ Lube is paying California a $5 million fine. They’re also eliminating sales quotas – something a service garage should never have to begin with!

On Monday I got an oil change at EZ Lube. That lawsuit must have put the fear of God in them, because they didn’t try to sell me a single thing. They didn’t call me out to look under the hood to show me what was “wrong”, and they didn’t even try to sell me a membership in their cost-saving VIP club.

Before I knew it I was back on the road and my $24 oil change cost me…$24! I was astounded. It was everything an oil change should be! I hope EZ Lube doesn’t go back to their old ways, because my visit this week was absolutely pleasant and would probably encourage me to get my oil changed more often.

Hooray for…lawsuits?