Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Flip

1 2 3 4

Original poster

AIBU or am I just thick ?

86 replies

daffodillament · 03/07/2018 13:29

Car journey.. 4 hr round trip on motorway the other day. My oil light starts flashing. Didn't think much of it at first but thought I'd better get it checked out at some services I happened to pass. There was a Co-Op shop with all the usual oils and car maintenance stuff outside. Me, scratching head, didn't have a clue. Popped in and asked person behind the counter which oil would be recommended for my type of car..explained make, age and model etc.. she listened then said.."sorry, I am not allowed to tell you, it's not part of policy, would be liable if anything went wrong..bla bla " FFS, comes to something if they can't help you out at a services ! Stropped out and tried to look on google..was none the wiser. Drove off, on way home found a little garage (mot/car service type place )off the beaten track, popped in and what do you know... sorted thanks to lovely helpful people ! The end. But am I a bit thick for not having a clue about oil ? (and it took me ages to find the leaver thing that opens the bonnet)

OP posts:

IsDaveThere · 03/07/2018 13:32

I'm never too sure about which oil I should use (oil is oil, surely ) but I do know that you should check the levels regularly! Driving with the oil light on could potentially damage your engine.

MissConductUS · 03/07/2018 13:33

I think that everyone who drives a car should know how to pop the hood and add fluids. It should be in your owners manual, with diagrams. On my car the grade of oil required along with the tire pressures is on a metal plate inside of the drivers door.

So I'm not saying that your thick, but that a bit more knowledge would be prudent.

itallhappensforareason · 03/07/2018 13:34

If you're thick then I'm thick too. I wouldn't have a clue. I remember we needed to top up my DH's oil once and we stood in Halford's for a good 10 minutes flicking through the booklets they have in there to determine which oil you need for which engine.

I know how to pump my tyres up and that's about it.

borlottibeans · 03/07/2018 13:36

No. Last time mine went I tried to look it up in the manual but there were about a billion different options and dire warnings about getting it wrong. I ended up going to a VW dealership service desk and getting them to look it up for me. I must have paid a bit over the odds but probably less than if I'd put any old extra virgin olive oil in there and damaged the engine in some way.

WeShouldBeFriends · 03/07/2018 13:38

Erm, it says on the bottle, no?

Blostma · 03/07/2018 13:42

Halfords have a book for you to check in. Othwise if you can’t find it in your handbook, google is your friend.

MilkTwoSugarsThanks · 03/07/2018 13:42

I'm not sure why you think someone who works for the Co-Op should know more about your car than you do...

5foot5 · 03/07/2018 13:44

I wouldn't have a clue. When I take it to the garage for its MOT and service I assume they do all that.

I can just about manage to open the bonnet and I know how to top up the windscreen washer thing (Yay me!)

Never attempted anything as complicated as air in tyres.

Original poster

daffodillament · 03/07/2018 13:44

Ha ha .. missconduct The manual would have been an idea !
The bottles were confusing and yes, especially because of the warnings. I tend to get panicky then and doubt my understanding of the most obvious !

OP posts:

steppemum · 03/07/2018 13:45

my oil light came on a few weeks ago. It does happen to our car.
I was away form home, no oil in the boot, so I popped into Asda and tried to buy some

AAARGH

well, finally reading the small print, the oil did actually give a recommendation for which car it was for.
Apparently I did buy the right one!

HollowTalk · 03/07/2018 13:46

Does anyone else struggle to see whether there is oil at the end of the dipstick? It looks the same to me whether there's oil or not.

Original poster

daffodillament · 03/07/2018 13:47

milk two sugars maybe not but surely if its part car stuff they sell and it's a services then I would expect them to know their stuff, yes !

OP posts:

Costacoffeeplease · 03/07/2018 13:47

If you have a car you should know basic car maintenance - and this is very basic

I’m also that you thought the person in the co-op should know about your car

Returnofthesmileybar · 03/07/2018 13:49

The place you pulled into first was a co-op type shop with a sales assistant, which to be fair given the claim culture we are in I can totally see why they can't give advice, they are sales assistants not trained mechanics, the second place is an mot/service place, they are all trained, it's totally different

LyndseyKola · 03/07/2018 13:51

YANBU to not know about oil.

But YABU to think someone who probably works for minimum wage at Co Op would know info about what’s best for different types of cars, they may not even drive! Do you think everyone who works at Asda have knowledge about every item they sell, from bra sizing to the special features on their TVs, how good the games they sell are, how to cook with garam masala, what thread count their bed sheets are?

She’s paid to be polite and friendly, help customers with finding things, probably put stock out and serve at the till. Surely you can see how unreasonable you’re being to think that just because the Co Op was located within a services a shop assistant should be able and willing to give you advice on your car?

user546425732 · 03/07/2018 13:51

I have no idea what oil to use in mine, I know how to check it and when it needs filling I just pop to my local independent garage and they do it for £5. I'd rather do that than have the oil hanging around the house.

Original poster

daffodillament · 03/07/2018 13:51

5foot5 ha ha ! hollowtalk this was me too, until the person at the nice garage showed me there are 4 little lines at the bottom of the dip stick and oil should always be above that. note to self, iamadipstick is a good username

OP posts:

Wellthisunexpected · 03/07/2018 13:51

It says which oil in your manual. If you don't know which oil you're supposed to use I don't see how you can expect a cashier at the services to know, they aren't mechanics.

LyndseyKola · 03/07/2018 13:52

“Know their stuff!” re working in co op means knowing vaguely where products are located, being able to process a refund and sell items. That’s it. You have very high and bizarre expectations.

ExConstance · 03/07/2018 13:52

There is now a vast array of oils available and if you get the wrong one you can cause your engine serious damage. Many years ago when I worked in my father's service station there were only 2 oils - Duckhams 20/50 and Castrol GTX, even the little petrol station down the road from us has a huge rack full of different choices. Surely when you get your car you look in the handbook and check which oil to buy? DH and I always have a supply of oil for our cars and other stuff in the garage and check oil and fluid levels + tyre pressures before we set out on a long journey and once a month anyway. This is basic stuff to save huge expense and inconvenience.

LyndseyKola · 03/07/2018 13:53

It’s also funny that you think a shop assistant (not knocking it, it’s a difficult job I’ve done myself) should know more about your specific car than you do 😂

BarbaraofSevillle · 03/07/2018 13:54

There's either some serious piss taking on this thread, or far too much pride being taken in being so clueless.

It tells you what sort of oil you need in the car manual, which should live in the glovebox. it may also tell you on a sticker under the bonnet or inside the petrol cap.

You then look for that type of oil in the garage/Halfords etc. It's not hard. A lot of online retailers, including halfords, Euro Car Parts etc have a handy 'enter your reg number here and we'll tell you what sort of oil, and everything else you need' button on their websites.

A flashing oil indicator is likely to have either been on solid for weeks, or some sort of sudden damage has happened where the car has dumped it's oil all over the road.

Original poster

daffodillament · 03/07/2018 13:56

Lyndsay Fair point, but if i did work at ASDA and someone asked me about TV's I would explain that although I couldn't help I would try and find someone who could.

OP posts:

Zaphodsotherhead · 03/07/2018 13:58

I work in the Co Op. If you'd popped in to me I wouldn't have had a clue what type of oil you needed, even though I do the oil in my own car. I'd also have been worried about telling you the wrong details. However, I'd have made an effort, got someone else to look at the oils with you, read the label, etc. But we're a shop, not a garage, and, if you'd put the wrong oil in that you'd bought from me, and your engine had seized...

...where would you instantly have looked to put the blame, when the garage was telling you that you'd put the wrong oil in?

Uncreative · 03/07/2018 13:59

There are different types of oil?

(Slinks off hoping they are talking about veggie oil versus extra virgin olive oil)

Flip

1 2 3 4