Buck or a bit more per quart, times five plus a $5 filter was ten or eleven bucks. I could get it changed for fifteen. $20, as late as
2006. Then I have to do something with the used oil. Yep, too much bother for *no* gain.Oil changes have been a loss-leader for ages.
Sure, they cater to different clientele. Does every restaurant sell the same food? Does ever car dealer sell the same cars?
Never heard that, though it doesn't surprise me.
Haven't seen that, either, but cost is a good reason for price to be different (though it's not always true).
That's still not anywhere close to the point.
Every restaurant? No, but all restaurants in the same chain will, at least within the same general geographic area.
When I said "anchor stores" I was talking about the same store, e.g. JCPenny at one mall and JCPenny at another. Macy's at one mall and Macy's at another. Malls that are less then 15 miles apart. They will carry different items based on the location and the people living in those locations definitely have different income levels. I'm pretty sure that the Applebee's at each mall will have the same menus with the same prices. I'm pretty sure that the Chevy dealers down the block from each mall will sell the same cars.
I wasn't trying to make a point. I was just trying to make conversation.
But of course. Macy's is selling service. Walmart, too, in its own way. In reality, that's all any store has to "sell".
You jumped into the middle.
herb white scrit:
Everyone has to start somewhere!
It could be the same guy who owns all of them but puts different names on them. Here in Phx the same company owns "Cost Plus", the poor peoples store, "Bashas", the normal peoples store, and "A.J.s" the yuppie and high roller store. I went to the high dollar store a couple times to see if the produce and meat there was any better. The prices were higher, way higher for the meat, but neither the meat nor produce was any better quality.
All are valid reasons. I'm still of the opinion that at least part of the higher prices is intended to make the stores unattractive to "poor folk" because the rich folk the store is attempting to cater to don't want "wallmart people" clogging the aisles.
Does it cost 5 times as much to cook garlic mashed potatoes in the ritzy place as it does at Joe's Diner. Probably not. And it well known from insider stories that the profit margin on "luxury cars" is WAY higher then on a Plymouth.
That makes no sense. Stores that sell "product" obviously need to have some level of service but they are not selling a "service", they are selling a product. Surely you wouldn't go shopping for a TV at a place that has GREAT SERVICE but no stock of TVs, only demo's on the Floor to look at.
Hi, Isn't that the beauty of free market? Or any body would like controlled economy? Shortage of things you need, etc. We have to pick and choose the system and live with it. We can pay sky is the limit high price or dirt cheap price whatever you buy according to our ways and means. I have pretty well equipped garage only w/o dug out pit(against code to have one). Used to do most of work on vehicles (all 4, ours and kid's) I get tired of crawling under the car now. Still I manage to change tires back and forth when season changes using air tools and floor jack.
Hi, Service implies knowledge. If the store doesn't have expertise on what they sell, what kinda service is there? After we retired from our regular career job we started small retail store which thrived and grew to 4 locations covering whole city. Our price was higher than most stores in same business. But number of customers grew and grew to a point of affecting level of services. We could not properly train staff. Now we are down to one store near our home. Customers who used to come to our closed stores flock to this last one staying open. Many times we asked why they're coming down from the other end of town and mentioned our higher price. Their answer? "Because your service, knowledge, honesty and trust plus product quality" It is a proven fact price is not priority one in retail business. I never saw a store doing well with cut throat low price. Also price oriented customer is never a good customer, based on 20 odd years running our store.
So you are selling BOTH service and product. My point was when people want product you must have product. The claim that all that's being sold is the service (that's all any store has to "sell".) just makes no sense.
Yes it is the beauty of the free market.
Don't be so literal. ANY store can sell product, but what makes the best stores stand out is the service. Yes, he is selling service.
In my experience the prices are higher in the less affluent neighborhoods (if stores exist at all), as shrinkage and vandalism are higher...
nate
true to some extent but especially with higher priced goods, service and ambience matter.
Go to a BMW dealership and then a Chevy dealership for an example... the BMW dealership's waiting area is nicer than the living room of anyone I regularly associate with, complete with a complimentary (yeah right, you're paying for it somehow) coffee and pastry bar lifted straight out of Starbuck's or Caribou or something like that. The restrooms look like the ones in that snooty nightclub that you never go to. The Chevy dealership has a Bunn-O-Matic in the corner and a stack of styrofoam cups.
We could debate all day whether a M3 is a better car than a Z28 and change each other's minds several times and eventually come to no clear conclusion, but the differences in the amount of coddlements you receive is undeniable. That is one of the reasons that among the general public BMW is perceived as a higher-end brand.
Personally I like kraut-burners and would love to drive a BMW and get service for Chevy prices, and I could care less about anything other than a chair, some coffee, and maybe some wi-fi. But I'm not your typical Bimmer customer...
nate
The success of Wal-Mart contradicts your assertion, but I like your attitude anyway.
nate
Hi, Of course. Say when you are shopping for a new TV and ask the sales guy or gal what is audio return channel(commonly called ARC} when hooking up HT system. If (s)he can't explain what is ARC, would you feel good? What if they don't know the difference between HDMI 1.3 and 1.4 cable?
If your vehicle requires a special oil - RTFM.
page 599-600.
API certified, 5W20 or 5W30, meets Chrysler Material Standard MS-6395.
The last is the kicker; most quick change places won't bother to find out whether their bulk oil will meet that spec or not; they don't make
*any* money on a $20 oil change to begin with, as you know as well as I do that you can't do an oil change on anything yourself for much less than that, and any savings that the shop has by buying materials in bulk is promptly eaten up and then some by simply paying a guy to do the work. Now using a non-spec-compliant oil is probably irrelevant in the grand scheme of things if they're using a quality, name-brand oil, but if you have a warranty issue with engine internals and Mother MoPar can prove that you didn't use a MS-6395 certified oil, well... you know.Now one place that I know of uses Valvoline, and it looks like all the oils they carry meet MS-6395 (but if you use conventional, the 5W20 does NOT meet the Chrysler spec - only the 5W30 does. So to remain in compliance you'd need to know that.)
It gets worse if you have a newer GM vehicle requiring Dexos 1 or Dexos
2... and pretty much all the Euro mfgrs. require full synthetic now. If you find anyone that will do one of those oil changes for $20, send me their contact info before they go out of business (which they will soon.)That's true; see above. The whole point of a $20 oil change is for them to get your vehicle up on a lift and try to upsell you on something. That can be good or bad; good if they really do a thorough vehicle inspection and find something you legitimately need and of which you weren't aware; bad and annoying if they just automatically start pushing fuel system cleaners and the like.
The good news is that you might want to bring your own filter (although probably not necessary *unless* your quick lube place uses Fram, in which case I definitely *would*) but it looks like all the various grades of Havoline *do* meet MS-6395.
Finally, you may want to see what your local dealer's prices for an oil change are. I was pleasantly surprised when I asked about a BMW oil change; they have some surprisingly competitive prices on things like oil changes and brake jobs, their waiting room is nicer than the quick-lube places and the coffee is better too, and then you have an iron clad service history if you have a warranty issue or need to sell the vehicle. Even if they're a little higher than the quick lube place, they may be less expensive than buying your own materials and paying the quick lube guy to change the oil for you.
nate
The flip side of that is that if I do know that stuff why would I pay more at the store with sales people who also know it? There's a market for BOTH kinds of "sales model" but in BOTH cases, what is being sold is the product. If that were not the case you'd have to pay for the service whether you bought anything or not. Clearly there are a lot more people buying big screen TVs at CostCo than at the "we know HDMI inside and out" stores.
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