Everything Glendale

Filed Under: Automotive Services, EZ Lube, Glendale Lube Center, Jiffy Lube, Oil Change

I've been to oil change stations that are part of a chain (Jiffy Lube, EZ Lube, etc.), and I've always ended up driving away with the feeling that I've been overcharged or lied to or both.

You've had this experience before, right? You go in for a quick oil change, but the technician tells you about how there are a half dozen things wrong with your car that needs fixing and that he just happens to be able to fix them? And then he issues an estimate in the hundreds of dollars, and suddenly that $20 coupon you're holding in your hand doesn't quite seem like the bargain you were expecting?

The thing is, I'm one of those people who knows next to nothing about cars, and mechanics can easily scare me into submission. After all, who wants their automobile to blow up?

Fortunately, I stumbled across Glendale Lube Center a few years ago, and I've been a loyal customer ever since. Since they are authorized to do more than oil changes, they will on occasion make recommendations (a new air filter here, fuel injection service there), but it never feels like some high-pressured sales pitch. I trust what they're telling me, and their recommendations never come across as urgent prophecies of impending doom. They usually give me an estimate of how long I can go without, say, an automatic transmission drain and fill.

When I swing by weekday mornings or afternoons, I'm usually in and out in under 10 minutes. If you're there during peak hours or if they're unusually busy, it might take 20.

The cost of a basic oil change fluctuates, but it'll always match or be less than what the Jiffy Lube across the street is charging. (Today, for example, Jiffy Lube was advertising a $21.99 oil change; Glendale Lube Center was offering $21.95.)

Admittedly, Glendale Lube Center isn't as pretty as Jiffy Lube or EZ Lube (Glendale Lube Center needs a new sign and their waiting area and soda machine look a bit run down), but, for me, good service from people I trust trumps aesthetic beauty any day (at least when it comes to oil changes).

Glendale Lube Center
605 E. Harvard Street
Glendale, CA 91205
818.243.5282‎
http://maps.google.com/maps?source=ig&hl=en&rlz=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&q=glendale+lube+center&fb=1&view=text&latlng=15715834591134643926

Average Oil Change:
$21.95-$26.95

Hours:
Monday-Saturday: 7:00 a.m.-7:00 p.m.
Sunday: 8:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.

By the way, they used to honor competitor coupons. I don't know if they still do this. Ask.