On May 11, 2020, I brought my 2009 Mini Cooper (87k miles) in for an oil change (synthetic oil). I was drawn to Grease Monkey Clinton, Utah because of their customer service reviews, as the reviews seemed great. I paid $83.11 and had the synthetic oil service. The staff was friendly, and the service was everything as what I read in previous reviews.
A couple of days later, I noticed an oil leak on the under front center right of the car. My car did not have an oil leak when I took it into them, and at first I thought that maybe it was residue or spillage, and that the issue would go away. Well, it didn't do away, and so I thought that if I went back to Grease Monkey Clinton, Utah, the service personnel would promptly take care of the problem. Before I did, I drove my car onto some ramps and looked underneath to try and find the problem myself to give them an idea of what I could find, and I found where the leak was, at the filter.
On the morning of June 4, 2020, I went back to Grease Monkey Clinton, and was first in line that morning to try and deal with the issue. At opening, a service tech came out to my car, and asked how they could help me, I politely described the issue I was dealing with, The service tech left me and walked over to his manager, and after a minute or so, advised I should pull my vehicle in and that they would look at it.
They had me remain in my car, (previous visit, I sat in their lobby), while they took a look at it. In less than three minutes, the manager came back and said "your filter looks dry." I explained to him that It's impossible, as I was able to see previously that the underside of the filter where it was screwed in showed a leak, as if it wasn't secured completely. He said that I had a leak in the master seal area behind the back of the engine.
I asked him how that was possible, as a car that had no previous leak, now coincidentally has an issue after I took it to your shop? He says "I don't know, but it sure seems to be coincidental"
My opinion is that they were so interested in taking my money the first time, doing a "rush job", so that they can keep moving cars through, and that they couldn't wait to get rid of me. All I wanted was the issue fixed, and I was willing to pay for it, but the tech manager wanted me gone. So he topped me off with regular oil, (even after I told him I paid for synthetic), and sent me on my way.
I immediately went to another shop nearby, and I asked for an oil change, and asked the service technician to examine my rear seal, and to confirm my earlier findings. I shared my story with th other shop, and he confirmed he had heard of similar instances. He confirmed the master seal and transmission were fine, and that the leak was at the filter connection point on the engine. I have driven my car 300 miles since this date, (today is Sunday 6/7/2020, and surprise no leak.
The Grease Monkey reviews may be partially true, but not worthy of more than 3 stars. I will not be going to Grease Monkey Clinton again, and I would suggest to those reading this post to read into their previous reviews and decide for yourself. read more