Texaco Xpress Lube & Brakes

The tech spent 10 minutes arguing with me about what kind of oil to put in my car (he wanted me to upgrade and use something more expensive). After I said I would go somewhere else he finally agreed to do what I asked. When I left the shop, my car was making a loud noise as soon I got up to 30 MPH. Either intentionally or accidentally, they failed to secure the leading edge of an engine cover and it was now flapping in the breeze as I was driving. This cost me more time. Never again — do NOT take your car here.

So I thought… since I am highly irritated and annoyed at this place. Why don’t I just Unilocal about it? All the while I spare my husband the phone call of what would be a heartfelt, yet elaborate RANT.
I’ll keep this simple. Because I’d hate to waste even more of my personal time on this place.
Don’t come here.
1. They up-​sale SUPER hard. Yes I realize that because I am a woman 5’4 and perhaps you can see my preggo bump you assume I don’t know a lot about cars. I wouldn’t debate that. BUT I do know what I want. Regular oil change. Not synthetic, or whatever else cost 50 bucks more. Just regular. I know that it’s your job but I shouldn’t have to say no 15 times for you to get the point. That’s all. Please do it promptly and I’ll be happy. That’s all.
2. They took an entire hour and a half for an oil change. WHY? They were not even that busy. I assumed, «ok my car is in the garage, and everyone else that was here before me has left soooo… we should be done». NOPE!
3. It smells like weed.
The only reason I’m here is because Express Oil change on Howell mill is closed today. They are fast. Efficient. Highly recommended.
That’s all.

Never again. Today was my third and last visit to this place. First time: great. Competent and fast. Second time, High pressure upsell attempts and they didn’t replace the cover on my air filter properly. I can deal with that. Today, they said they topped off fluids, checked the tires, and check the filters. Well, they didn’t do any of those things. I know because I stand outside the bay and watch. (By the way, they HATE that). Super convenient to my house, but I’ll not give this place another penny.

Price is soo high. They were 30 $ more than I paid at kaufman tire. They are a little quicker but I can say not much. Then they could not reset the service light… Not sure the service and still having to go to Volvo helps…

They get the job done and are inexpensive. Ironically, the same mechanic ALWAYS seems to assist me. He is nice but of course always tries to up-​sale. I never fall for it. I come here because it’s close, inexpensive and they always get me in and out. I’m never here for longer than 15 minutes. Ladies, be sure to go during the week (Tuesday or Wednesday, can’t remember exactly which) when it’s ladies day so you’ll receive a discounted oil change. And for ladies and gents, they sometimes have coupons on their website for oil changes, be sure to check it before you go.
My only complaint is that I wish they would show you the work they’ve done. When I was in school, the oil change place I frequented always bought me out to my car and showed me everything they did. This was always very helpful and entrusting.
OAN: One day when I was driving by, THE SAME worker that always seems to help me told me my brake light was out. For some reason I didn’t believe him and just brushed him off (because they’re always trying to up-​sale). Later on I asked someone and found out it was out! I am now very thankful he told me and for that reason I give them 4*.

Be careful. This place is only good if you know exactly what you need/​want and ask them to do precisely that and nothing else (oil change, emissions test, etc). They are friendly, but deceptive.
Every time I am there waiting in the waiting room while my car is getting services, I see them push extras on customers, often exaggerating either the need for, the benefits of, or both of whatever supplementary services they recommend. This is how they make their money.
Take-​home message: They will take advantage of people who are not knowledgeable about their cars.

Overall these people are dishonest and misleading. Please take your business somewhere else.
I hate to give a negative review but my experience with this place is the atypical story of the crooked mechanic. They are notorious for the hell fire and brimstone up-​sale tactics. This is the second time that they have quoted me a price then surprise, surprise, when its time to check out my bill is considerably more than the quote.
The only saving grace is that in my experience they do a good job on the services provided. Its just the dishonesty and misleading nature of everyone that works there that really, really, turns me off. I manage a pretty well known and very well respected local business and I know that if I treated my customers the way these people do we would be out of business in no time. Customer service is just as important as quality of goods when it comes to receiving return business.
Not only will I never return, but i will make sure to stear people away from them as well. Please don’t support a business that is notorious for dishonesty and lies.

I don’t know why I keep going here, other than convenience, but I won’t be returning. Every time I go in for an oil change they manage to find over $ 100 in other things that need to be done. THIS time the technician told me that I could get an oil change package for $ 79.99 while the oil change by itself would be $ 79 anyway.
They came out to talk to me with an additional $ 150 or so worth of maintenance, which I turned down. Then at the register, the lady told me it would $ 94!!! They said there was some other charge that the initial technician didn’t know about. They took off $ 5 when I complained and said that the rest was taxes. STILL I was over charged and won’t be going back.

This place will rip you off! I will never return there for any service. Always high pressure «the sky is falling» aka your car NEEDS all kinds of service sales strategy. Huge red sign inside letting you know that you can observe emissions testing… my guess is they’ve had issues before regarding fraud in this area. I didn’t observe and ended up «needing» a new gas cap to pass the test. LIE! I had to buy a new gas cap from them, but insisted on retaining my used «defective» cap. When I was able to go to my home town a couple weeks later I had a mechanic friend test the emissions with my old cap… it passed perfectly. they are dishonest and I would never recommend this place!

I just returned from the quickest oil change I have ever gotten. I rolled up and was directed to a auto stall that another auto had just been valeted into. I thought to myself why the hell would they pull me behind another car that just went in? By the time I fought my way past the initial hard pressed sales of upgrading my engine oil, new wipers, transmission flush, fuel additives, and god knows what else I entered the sales office and my phone immediately rang. The call was finished in just over 9 minutes and so was my car! They had it pulled in front of the stall running and ready. Of course I had to fight my way once again through the painful sales tactics of yet another mechanic wanting me to sign away on various odds and ends my Accord probably doesn’t need.
I would recommend this place. If you are going there for a simple oil change tell them as soon as you exit the car then put your hands over your ears and start screaming «LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA» so you can avoid the sales pitches and upgrades. Insanity always works.

It’s a little pricey, but it’s close to home and I can get my nails done while they change my oil… yep… I said that. Or I can go to The Olive Bistro while they change my oil. So I have the options. Which is much nicer than just waiting for them to get done… and they have a military discount! Hell’s yes they do.
They are competent and quick.

Here is the e-​mail I wrote to the company this past weekend. I’m still waiting for a response from either the supervisor or the company. It explains this location’s rating.
To whom it may concern:
Hello, my name is Kevin K. On August 21, 2011 at 3:07 pm, I had a full service oil change and a brake light replaced on my vehicle at the 566 Ponce De Leon, Atlanta, GA Texaco Xpress Lube location (Store #1029). Although the staff was wonderfully friendly and the facility was professional, my experience was less than pleasant.
After having driven off, I noticed 5 minutes later that my glove compartment was not put back properly and that there were permanent marker marks on the leather near my ignition. I promptly brought my vehicle back to the store to mention these details. The service person, Kevin, fixed my glove compartment and said that they had put it back improperly after having checked my air filter. Another service person said that he was terribly sorry for having marked my car with a sharpie and spent the next 15 minutes vigorously rubbing it off with two types of cleaner (one being Clorox). He was able to remove the stain, but because of the porous nature of the leather and the way he treated it, he removed part of the leather’s surface in the process. The damage is not highly visible, but I can feel the difference.
I was extremely unhappy that I had merely came in for an oil change and another minor service, but came out with damages to the interior of my car. I voiced this discontent with the service person and asked for a refund. He said that it was against store policy, but that he could give me a $ 10 discount off of my next oil change. The argument is that I would not want to return to a business that had been this careless with my car in the first place!
He said that he’d have to ask his manager, Doug. His manager refused, and I then spoke to him on the phone, continuing to voice my discontent. Doug told me to leave my contact information and that he’d ask his supervisor. I left my phone number and have since then not received a response.
Another service person offered for me to take my car into a shop that could repair my damages and that they would reimburse me. I told him that I did not have time, to which he responded, «Do you not have time today, or do you not have time?» I told him that I did not have time. I am a full time public school teacher who works an excess of 60 hours a week.
Please, all I would like is a refund of charged $ 38.80 to my debit card. Although I may not return to this location, I do want to continue business with Texaco Xpress Lube.
Thank you for your time. If you need any more information, please let me know.

You can trust these guys not to screw your car up and to be fast, but be ready to endure a raft of upsell pitches. They’re admittedly not terribly pushy if you say no, but they’ve suggested several hundred dollars of services each time I’ve been there.
Most recently, I went in to have my transmission fluid changed because it was a weekend, and I knew they’d be quick. They told me I needed to have my power steering fluid changed, and I responded that I’d had it done at another place two weeks prior. The guy just mumbled something about the computer recommending it.
The other time I went, back in ’09, they told me I needed $ 300 or $ 400 worth of services. i turned most of them down. On subsequent oil changes at a Jiffy Lube and at Cactus Car Wash, the technicians didn’t find the same «problems.»

this place is A+ on customer service… they always do a courtesy check when you come in and have a list prepared of things that could be worked on… however, they present it simply and dont push it on you… if you want to get it fixed, then okay, if not, okay… it is up to you…
they have some nice package prices listed by the register as well in case you are looking for some scheduled maintenance kind of things.
again, quick work and great service make this place my go to place…

Great customer service. Very fast. Not too pushy with upsales.

I was in and out almost faster than I could tweet that I’d be late for work.
Everyone working that morning was very nice, conversational and made me feel like I want to come back.
They did suggest a service that I didn’t need just yet (Yes, I’m absolutely sure how many miles were on the car when I bought it and what services the dealership took care of.), but they weren’t super pushy about it so I can let it go.

My birthday was around the corner, and I was worried about being overdue for an oil change AND I needed my emissions done (I have failed before, not fun), so I heeded James H’s advice about the two combined working out well, and took them up on their oil change and emissions offer.
I accidentally went on Lady Day and got a discount, yay! It took maybe 15 minutes and the dude that brings you your filters wasn’t a pushy good olé boy trying to coerce you into buying extras. I’ve been there a few times, and I dig it.

I needed an emissions test done, it was near where I was heading, so I swung in to get it knocked out. They did exactly what I needed, REALLY quickly, especially considering it was on a Saturday morning and they were busy.
But the thing is that I didn’t feel hurried or anything at all like I was expecting. The lady working the counter was very friendly, the guy who said the car was ready asked if we had any other questions/​concerns, and the younger guy that pulled the car up for us was also especially nice. My wife and I were shocked at the quality of their customer service.
In fact, this is my first review and one of the reasons I created a Unilocal profile– these guys just did a great job.

Beware of added «needed» maitenance suggested by these guys. I just i wanted and needed an oil change, but they came to me and let me know I needed $ 500 worth of service needed. Two weeks before I had the work they recommend completed at my trusted mechanic. So, careful for their pressure to add work other than oil change.

I like getting my oil changed at this Texaco Xpress because it’s fast – and I usually have a coupon on-​hand, making the service charge really cheap, too. My last oil change only cost me $ 19.99 because of the coupon I had held onto.
That’s all I have to say.