A Florida TikToker has caused a stir online after saying that oil change shops are charging customers for oil they never actually get. The claim has car owners asking if they are really getting what they pay for when they take their vehicles in for routine maintenance. TikTok creator @cheeva316 posted a video that has been watched more than 14,000 times.
In it, he talks about what he says is a common thing that happens at oil change shops. He tells customers to look closely at their receipts after every oil change. He says the receipt always shows two key numbers: how many quarts of oil the car actually needed and how many quarts the customer paid for. He says these numbers often do not match up. The TikToker says that when a customer asks for premium synthetic oil like Mobil 1, most shops do not use barrel systems to measure it out.
Instead, they grab individual bottles from the shelf. He notes that shops usually price things based on five quarts, and anything extra costs more money. So if a car needs 5.5 quarts, the shop will charge for six full quarts. “You know what they do with that other half of that quart? It goes into the next. They pretty much resell it,” he says in the TikTok video. That leftover half quart, which the previous customer already paid for, gets put back on the shelf and used for the next customer who comes in.
Here’s the math that might surprise you
The TikToker does the math to show how this could really add up over time. He figures that if a busy shop does 25 Mobil 1 synthetic oil changes each week, and each one leaves behind half a quart, the shop ends up with 12.5 quarts of oil to sell again. By his count, that comes out to about $215 worth of oil that customers already paid for being sold once more to new customers.
His advice to customers is pretty straightforward: check the receipt and do the math before you leave the shop. He says to ask where the extra oil went if the receipt shows a gap between what the car needed and what you paid for. If the shop says the leftover oil was thrown away, he does not buy it. Instead, he tells people to ask for either their money back for the unused part or to ask to keep the leftover oil. He says customers can keep it as a backup in their car, especially if they have a slow leak, or even use it for a lawnmower or other equipment.
The TikToker calls this practice “theft by deception” and does not accept the excuse that it is just how the industry works. He compares it to a basic transaction: if a customer brings five items but only four get used, the business should not keep the extra one to sell to the next customer and make money off it. Just as one driver talked his way out of a speeding ticket by staying sharp and aware, car owners need to pay attention to what they are being charged for at service shops.
The video got different reactions from people online. Some viewers said they agreed and that they would start doing their own oil changes from now on. Others pushed back and said that shops have always charged for full quarts and do not actually save the leftover oil to use again. One person who seems to work in the industry said that if shops do save any extra oil, it would only be for small jobs like filling up a lawnmower.
The best way for car owners to look out for themselves is to know exactly how much oil their car needs and then check that amount against what shows up on the receipt. If something does not add up, customers should ask questions and ask for either the leftover oil or their money back for the unused part. Staying alert about these charges is just as important as being aware of other surprise costs that could hit your wallet while driving around.
