This story is both funny and kind of sad.
A customer came in today just for an oil change. As I was writing up the order, they were very clear and said, “Don’t try to upsell me anything I don’t need. No air filter, no cabin filter, no transmission flush…” That’s not really unusual—some people just want to get their oil changed and leave, no extras.
But when we got their car up on the lift, I saw that one of their tires was in really bad shape—like, seriously unsafe to drive on. The wheel was also damaged. I tried to explain how dangerous it was and even asked them to just come take a look at it. They wouldn’t.
In the end, I had to have them sign a paper saying they knew the car was unsafe and were choosing to leave anyway. It’s something we do to cover ourselves if something happens.
Because I was honestly worried for their safety, I offered them a new steel wheel and tire at the price it costs us—no markup. I even said we’d do all the work for free. Still, they said no. “I only want my oil changed.”
The truth is, not every mechanic is out here trying to sell people stuff they don’t need. Some of us really do care about our customers and want to keep them safe. I hope that customer made it to where they were going okay.
