I recently was desperate for an oil change, didn't want to wait in the Canadian Tire waiting room for hours, and couldn't perform my own since my car cannot go on standard ramp?! Anyways, I decided to try a local Mr. Lube.
- I rolled in without an appointment and was taken right away.
- The technicians were very curtious and seemed methodical. They performed several operations that even my dealership does not normally (lubing the door for instance without even asking).
- All was going exactly as advertized, until the technician checking my air filter, pulled out my air filter in a manner that it could not be reinserted (it was deformed and no way to put it back from where it came); I'm not saying that it was not due for a change. The technician told me, not that I had any choice at that point, that had to be replaced. Obviously! So he went and pull one from inventory, installed it in literally 1 minute.
- And I was done.
Then I got my bill.
$46.99 for the Oil change, checkup (fuilds, battery, …)
$89.99 for the air filter!
Not knowing any better, I paid. I figured maybe it was a specialty item from the manufacturer.
As soon as I got home I decided to check up the part, here are a few links I pulled:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/LUBER-FINER-CAF1848P-Cabin-Air-Filter-/260858277533
http://gxezen.tricomsys.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1_21&products_id=7091
http://airfilterscar.com/air-filter-luber.html
http://www.autopartlookup.com/partdescription.asp?m=LBF&p=CAF1848P
http://www.partsgeek.com/mmparts/cabin_filter/nissan/altima.html
http://www.amazon.com/TYC-800107P-Nissan-Altima-Replacement/dp/B002E5BW74/ref=pd_sxp_grid_i_0_0
http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/mmp/nissan~altima~acc_cabin_filter~parts.html
http://www.nextag.com/nissan-altima-cabin-air-filter/shop-html
http://www.buy.com/prod/2007-2008-nissan-altima-cabin-air-filter/217600565.html
As you can see, the air filter can be purchased for anywhere between $5 and $30 (on the very high end of things), with an average price of about $12-15. A hell of a long way from the $90 charged by Mr. Lube. That makes a markup of anywhere from 200% to 1700%, on the average it would be a markup of about 650%.
All of this to say, you can be sure that Mr. Lube lost a new customer today.
You make your own judgement call on whether or not you wish to do business with Mr. Lube. For me the decision is clear!
Update 2012-Feb-29
Well, I was contacted by a representative from Mr Lubes head office in BC about my complaint. Basically, I was informed that the price also included an installation fee! Come on really! So according to Mr Lube, a 7.95$ filter costs 82$ to install. Now since the installation took no more than 5 minutes to install, that translates into a rate of 984 $/hr. I'd also ask, why aren't parts and labour separate on the invoice, like any ordinary mechanic's shop? With cheap explanations, should I say excuses, like that it quickly becomes evident the type of business Mr Lube truly is. Hey, I have nothing against making a profit, but 82$ to install an air filter is simply ripping-off your client! Nothing more, nothing less! They appear, in my experience, to be more interested in excuses, than customer satisfaction. Their intervention did nothing but to reinforce my initial impression of their business!
Update 2012-Mar-10
CBC's Marketplace had a segment on their April 6th, 2012 show regarding Mr. Lube which brought to light their dubious cabine air filter prices, etc… See:
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/2012/busted/statements.html
http://www.cbc.ca/marketplace/includes/2012/episodes/busted/08_mrlube_statement.pdf
You may also want to check out my review when I decided to go back again to Mr Lube to see if my first experience was atypical or not.
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