FAQ: Will Walmart seriously work on my car?

"Robert Jones" (thealtarbo)
05/13/2015 at 18:15 • Filed to: None

Yep. When you hear somebody put down a garage saying, “may as well take it to WalMart,” you might at first assume they’re using hyperbole. Why would Walmart, volume supermarket of toilet paper and discount chicken, practically a great big Dollar General, work on something as complex as an automobile? But I shit you not: they do.

Does WalMart have real mechanics?

Of course not. If you could work in actual mechanic shop would you take a job at a supermarket doing more work, later in the day, for $12/hour?

Well how are the TLE mechanics trained?

The company looks for people who already know something about automobiles, or are at least are mechanically inclined. One of our TLE mechanics is a legit rail car mechanic and electrician. The store is his weekend job. Debt.

Anything else is taught by the other folks working in the TLE. After about a month the employee should be good to go.

Is there any kind of formal training?

CBL’s, I guess.

What are those?

Computer Based Learning. They’re super boring videos followed by online tests. You have to pass them before you’re allowed to do any work for the company.

What happens if you fail a CBL test?

You take the CBL again.

Until you pass?

Yeah.

Oh. What do they cover? Is it mechanical stuff about engines?

Nah. CBL’s cover the following:

Don’t join a union.

Kids cannot buy cigarettes.

The union will send you unsolicited emails.

Don’t pour flammable or poisonous shit in the trash compactor; what’s wrong with you?

Don’t sign anything the union asks you to sign.

Don’t operate the forklift if it’s broken. Also don’t fix it.

Seriously if you join the god damned union we will fire you. The union is made up of ex Walmart employees for a reason.

Do they actually install they stuff the sell?

Walmart associates install following three things:

Tires

Air Filters (for free)

Batteries (for free)

And they don’t touch anything else like fuel filters, radios, or spark plugs. Would you want them to?

Do they do any other work for free?

TPMS light reset.

What’s the best day to drop by the TLE?

Well, there’s probably not a good day. If you go on the weekend it may literally be so busy they refuse you. Go early. Yeah. Go as early as you can.

Does it really take hours to get an oil change?

Yep. Never expect whatever you go for to last less than an hour. You gotta plan for this. Bring a book or go chill in the book section. There’s usually a small waiting area at the TLE with one bench, cold coffee, and vending machines; but forget that noise.

Grab lunch from the deli (4.50 is a plate lunch with six wings or three strips; two sides; and a roll) and go eat it on the patio furniture in the garden center.

If anyone gives you shit, just explain your getting your tires changed. The employee will probably understand. They probably took the job at WalMart to pass the time while they got their tires changed. Their car is probably still on the lift.

Can I Shop While I Wait?

Yeah, but you’ll still have to check out at a normal register if you purchase any of these items:

Weighable fruits or vegetables.

Live seafood.

Expensive electronics.

Liquor.

Weapons.

Cigarettes.

What oil do they use?

You know how some places have a big Mobil 1 logo proudly displaying that they pour in high quality Mobile 1 oil to any fine automobile that rolls through? WalMart doesn ’t have that.

They put in recycled oil for cheap or for extra they’ll put in the WalMart brand oil.

Who makes the WalMart brand oil? I know a grocery store doesn’t have refineries.

Whoever sells it to WalMart cheapest. It’s different too, depending on where you live. I think we have Warren Oil right now. Some stores have Quaker State.

I waited and waited to get X done, but the employees pretended they couldn’t run a register.

Numbers. It’s all about numbers. This usually comes up with core charges.

Not all employees even have the option to log into a register. Even the employees that can run a register, don’t have most options. Everything that can be done on a register , can be done by the Customer Service Managers that walk around the front of the store with palm pilots and clipboards. They have all the numbers. Get one paged to the TLE and if no one shows up after five minutes or so, just walk up front and ask a cashier to point you to a CSM

Some employee wants me to sign an agreement saying the store isn’t liable for damages, just to do an oil change! What if they mess up my car? I love my car. If they mess up my car, am I unable to sue?

Doctors give out the same form. They’re never sued, right?

Well they totally did mess up my car, and then they got defensive, dismissive, and just down right didn’t give a damn!

Call a lawyer. There are cameras in the TLE. If you call a lawyer, they’ll call WalMart, and WalMart will put one of their lawyers on the case. If the cameras show the employees damaging your car, Walmart’s legal team is probably going to offer you a settlement by the end of the week.

Well, OK, but the manager acted like he didn’t even believe me!

He probably didn’t. Our TLE is slow, but they’ve never damaged a vehicle while I was working. However, some people who bring vehicles to WalMart in awful shape will insist that something wrong with it was the store’s fault.

There was a lady who sincerely believed that WalMart had caused the radiator in her Cutlass to leak, “I just leff’ here. I just leff’ here and on the way home my car overheat. You think that a coincidence?” They’d changed her battery, so it probably was coincidence.

DISCUSSION (14)

CCC (formerly CyclistCarCoexist) > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:21

I'm betting that your mobil 1 synthetic equivalent will be cut with something Low quality. Probably diesel oil.

Brian, The Life of > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:27

Soooo ... the tl;dr is “RUN AWAY!”

Also, this cracked me up:

EL_ULY > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:30

I’ve heard some horror stories from Wal-Mart Lube Centers on both ends. From over tightening oil plugs (always) to very dumb customers complaining, “uhhh... I got my oil changed earlier today and now my ( insert car part that has nothing to do with oil change) doesn’t work .”

I really feel for the managers that run those Lube Centers.

FKA-RacecaR > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:31

Good god I hated working at Walmart. I worked there three separate times.

100 years ago when I first worked there, the CBLs were on things like kind of looked like 8 track cassettes. It was horrible.

jkm7680 > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:32

You really don’t need all that much training to change oil and do tires.

Tim (Fractal Footwork) > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:33

That was more comprehensive than I expected.

desertdog5051 > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:35

Some days I would love to be a WalMart “mechanic”. I could strip drain plugs and put filters on loose and tire weights on the opposite side they were supposed to be on, put batteries in with the wrong polarity. Oh the joy!! But alas, I am not that type of person. My frustrations will continue on my bad days as they always have.

cbell04 > Robert Jones
05/13/2015 at 18:44

Perfect description. I don’t work there but used to service all the equipment and what treat that was..

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > jkm7680
06/07/2015 at 01:11

Thats the truth.

almost got a job at Vavoline Quick Lube. 17. And I only needed to take like a day of computer courses then I could get to work

JQJ213- Now With An Extra Cylinder! > Robert Jones
06/07/2015 at 01:17

I got my tires for my last car done at Walmart. The fun started when the tires I wanted were $20 less online than in store. Fun fact: Walmart stores will not match their online prices!!! So, even though my tires were in stock, I had to order them online and have them “Shipped to store”. Then, the store I ordered them from, the newest in my area, told me that they couldn’t actually install them since their lift couldn’t work on Volvos (?). But I called all the other stores and they were all like “We have never messed up a Volvo....yet” (Yeah, exact quote)

So I had to take my mom’s car to this Walmart half an hour away to get tires. I was first told to go to the tire center since they’d be there. Nope. Had to go in the back online section. After waiting 9 minutes, some lady gave me a dirty look since I made her do her job. she then went in the back and couldn’t find the tires. How you lose 4 tires I don’t know but thats not my problem. I then learned that the tires WERE in the tire center but I had to check out back there....

Then I had take the tires home, put them in the car that needs the tires, drive it to Walmart.

They were busy but I told them I’m not in a big rush. Dropped off at 10AM. Wasn’t ready til 4:30PM. They did a pretty good job though all said and done, but that process took way longer than it should have

Future next gen S2000 owner > EL_ULY
06/30/2015 at 17:31

I once almost got my oil changed at Wally World. They said my oil drain plug was cross threaded. I took it home, and did my own oil change. Apparently the child working under the lift didn’t have the required strength to break it free.

EL_ULY > Future next gen S2000 owner
06/30/2015 at 17:36

Lolololol. The convenience factor i understand, but you can avoid these sorts of things lol. Poor lube tech lol

LongbowMkII > Future next gen S2000 owner
06/30/2015 at 19:25

It shouldnt be that hard. they just didnt want to risk their ass.

Carl > Robert Jones
05/25/2017 at 13:39

I had them do all my oil changes for years. I finally had an issue where the oil filter gasket didn’t seal. I drove the car from the service center to work and called them from work and told them what was going on. I had a quart of oil that was in the car and added it to the engine before I called which brought the level to a quart low. When on the phone I asked if I drove the car to the closest service would they replace the filter and level off the oil. They told me not to move the vehicle and they would come to me and fix it. While I was at work they replaced the filter, filled up to the full level on the oil stick and even left me an extra quart of the walmart oil to replace the one I had used. I figured all was great. Since then (2006) I have not been able to get them to do any work on any of my vehicles. Not even my brand new Nissan. I asked if i’d been red flagged or something because they always have an excuse for refusing to work on my cars. The guy behind the counter named every car I’ve taken it there since 2002. He said no but acted weird. I asked why he refused to rotate and balance my tires on my Nissan that is only 9 months old. He said the tread wear was to bad to mess with but didn’t offer to sell new tires or anything, just they couldn’t work on it. I don’t get it. Do they red flag customers that they have had issues with? I can see no other reason for refusing to rotate tires and balance on practically a new car unless they just don’t want to mess with it.