Oil change....why can’t I trust the dealer.

I have 33% oil life left with only 600 miles on the car. I’m sure it’s due to the time....not the mileage. My question is, why can’t it trust the dealers by me to not fuck up my car!? I want to do it myself, but I don’t have a jack....not am I confident to do it myself. So.....I should go to the dealer, but this is my “Ferrari”, so I want it treated as such.

I know it’s not a big deal, but.......

the only reason why i let the dealer do it is because im still in my warranty and its all documented. if anything goes on its all them. after that though, ill be doing my own.

Same. I had a dealer do it just so that it's documented as having done by the dealer while under warranty, and that way if something happens to the engine no one can say it had anything to do with my working on the car myself. Luckily my local dealer was awed by the car having never seen an R before, and they let me back into the shop to stand there and watch as they changed the oil, then charged me just for the cost of the oil and filter, saying it was their pleasure being able to work on a car like this.

Demonic said:

Same. I had a dealer do it just so that it's documented as having done by the dealer while under warranty, and that way if something happens to the engine no one can say it had anything to do with my working on the car myself. Luckily my local dealer was awed by the car having never seen an R before, and they let me back into the shop to stand there and watch as they changed the oil, then charged me just for the cost of the oil and filter, saying it was their pleasure being able to work on a car like this.

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THAT is the kind of experience I want!

s550_GT said:

the only reason why i let the dealer do it is because im still in my warranty and its all documented. if anything goes on its all them. after that though, ill be doing my own.

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I like this. I'm due in about a month or two and I'm thinking this is the smart way to go for now.

The question is:

Do I take it to the dealer I bought it from, a few more miles away, or to the dealer two blocks away who couldn't/wouldn't beat their prices....?

Keep your receipts and dates you change your oil, no problems. BUT I do buy motorcraft oil filters.. just in case lol.

WildHorse said:

Keep your receipts and dates you change your oil, no problems. BUT I do buy motorcraft oil filters.. just in case lol.

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^This.

Do it yourself and know it's done right.

I do it myself, but I have a lift and one of those funnel-on-a-stick oil catch barrels.

From a warranty perspective, I make sure to buy the oil in appropriate quantity and the filter direct from the local Ford dealer and note the date and mileage of the change in the service section of the books as part of the process (along with saving the receipts).

If I were to have a dealer change the oil, I'd do a little due diligence and find which Ford dealer in the area does high-performance stuff as a regular part of their work. In my case, I'm going to use Victor Ford in Wauconda as my go-to for warranty issues. Not close to me, but seems to be the best choice from what I've heard from a current customer of theirs.

I have several dealers in my area. I just choose the one who sell most gt350/r s. They need to be a big and fast selling dealer in order to get more gt350 or RS or raptor. So their service department should have more experience to deal with these vehicles.

Muligan said:

I do it myself, but I have a lift and one of those funnel-on-a-stick oil catch barrels.

From a warranty perspective, I make sure to buy the oil in appropriate quantity and the filter direct from the local Ford dealer and note the date and mileage of the change in the service section of the books as part of the process (along with saving the receipts).

If I were to have a dealer change the oil, I'd do a little due diligence and find which Ford dealer in the area does high-performance stuff as a regular part of their work. In my case, I'm going to use Victor Ford in Wauconda as my go-to for warranty issues. Not close to me, but seems to be the best choice from what I've heard from a current customer of theirs.

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Not to poo poo Victor Ford. I've known Jeff Victor for quite a few years and they used to be performance oriented with good mechanics. They are not so much anymore. No need to go that far. For you and Nicky, call Hector Caballero at Haggerty Ford in West Chicago. He has a couple of Mustang guys as techs and also Haggerty is a sponsor for the Chicagoland Mustang Club. If you ever need parts or supplies, contact Hector, you'll get a discount. Hector is the director of Parts and Service at Haggerty. When I bought my GT350 from them he let me hang out in service while they put the splitter on and I got a chance to spend some time looking it over underneath while it was on the rack in the air.

Plus Hector gave me one of those lusted after GT350 coffee cups.

I would not change the oil the first time on jacks. I did mine on a lift, and the way the oil comes out with the 1/4 turn plug would make draining it on jack stands, very exciting.

JT1 said:

I would not change the oil the first time on jacks. I did mine on a lift, and the way the oil comes out with the 1/4 turn plug would make draining it on jack stands, very exciting.

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Never had a problem with changing the oil with the car on jack stands. :shrug: The only trick is to use an open-top oil drain pan, NOT the kind with a concave top and a removable plug in the center.

To answer the OP's question, I will never let the dealer touch my car unless either (1) it's a service I can't do myself with relative ease, or (2) the service involves a recall and I need to document that the recall was completed. I've seen too many pics of forum members' cars with giant oil puddles under them due to clueless dealer service departments failing to torque the oil filter properly. :tsk:

I have a good relationship with my local dealer (not selling dealer). I've let them change the oil since I've owned the car with no problems. Funny thing is I will not let them touch the car as far as washing, detailing, etc lol.

Im with most of you guys. For my first oil change I took it to a local Ford dealer to have the oil changed for many of the same reasons everyone has mentioned.

Im normally a DIY person and hardly every take our cars to have the oil changed however, being its a new GT350 I caved. Again for majority of the reasons already mentioned.

It just so happened I was prepping for a track day and had to take the under belly pan (I know thats probably not the tech term for it) off to install the tow hook.



I know theres a small door for the oil filter and oil is gonna run everywhere. However I think they could have taken a wrag and wiped up the majority of it. They didn't though and when sitting the piece pictured upright overnight there was a huge puddle of oil in the garage.

Not to mention all the oil that ran over the exhaust and transmission. I'm not too picky about this stuff but felt like they could have tried a little harder. I cleaned it up when re-installing and wiped all the oil i could underneath.

I know it will all burn off but still. Probably doing oil changed myself going forward.

THX 138 said:

Never had a problem with changing the oil with the car on jack stands. :shrug: The only trick is to use an open-top oil drain pan, NOT the kind with a concave top and a removable plug in the center.

To answer the OP's question, I will never let the dealer touch my car unless either (1) it's a service I can't do myself with relative ease, or (2) the service involves a recall and I need to document that the recall was completed. I've seen too many pics of forum members' cars with giant oil puddles under them due to clueless dealer service departments failing to torque the oil filter properly. :tsk:

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That is the trick... lesson learned yesterday..

The oil flow quickly outpaced the drain pans ability to accept the oil... thus about 4 quarts ended on the garage floor.