Lightning Lube

I love the guys at Lightning Lube. They know me and greet me each time. They were excited when I brought in a new car. HAH — I guess I am too predictable.
They always vacuum the car, top off all fluids, fix air pressure, and only direct me to a new air filter when I actually need one. They are the cheapest I have found — BY FAR, and if you hit the timing right, they can get you out in 15 minutes. The conversations with the office staff are always charming too.
These guys are great!

After a few good experiences, they made an amateur mistake that could have destroyed my engine, or worse.
One day after getting an oil change in November, and about ten miles of driving later, I was going down the street and heard a loud clunk as though something had fallen off my car. I look in the rear-​view mirror, and sure enough I see a trail of fluid behind me. I pull over immediately and shut off my engine, and confirm that it is indeed several quarts of brand-​new motor oil on the street.
I call a tow truck and get the car taken to a dealer to get checked out. I don’t want it going back to Lightning Lube and having them top the oil off, claim it’s fine, and then blame me if two weeks later the engine dies. Fortunately, the dealer tech says he can’t find anything wrong with the engine, so I am only out about $ 200 for the tow and service. The cause of the problem was the service tech at Lightning Lube failing to remove the old oil filter properly, which caused the new one to not seat fully. This is Oil Change 101 according to multiple techs I’ve talked to, and not really an excusable mistake.
Had this occurred on 93 instead of the street in front of my house, or at night, or really any differently, this could have led to the engine being destroyed as it pumped all of its oil out, an accident involving me or a car behind me. You’d think Lightning Lube would be happy to cover the $ 200 and apologize. Instead, they yelled at me for not bringing the car back to them, and told me they couldn’t do anything. I sent a certified letter with receipts from the tow truck and dealer service department, and did not receive any response. I pondered taking them to small claims court, but for $ 200 it wasn’t worth the time, though the principle of it tempted me.
Bottom line, the mistake was bad enough, but the refusal to take any kind of responsibility puts this place on my must-​avoid list.

Quickest oil change ever. 26 bucks isn’t bad. They were friendly and told me something about how screwy my car is that I’ve never heard in 3 years of oil changes. Came here based on the reviews. Thanks Unilocalers!

The price of Oil change and other services are GREAt and the Staff is very Friendly. Thank you for a GREAT job.

The name of this company is certainly not a misnomer. There were 2 cars ahead of me on a busy Saturday afternoon, but I got in and out in ten minutes flat. I was charged $ 26.50 – not bad. The front desk person was very pleasant.
Since I’m mechanically uninclined, I have no idea if they did a «good» job or not, but I really don’t care because hey, I don’t need to worry about this for another 4000 miles.

I needed to get an oil change a couple of months ago and went to this place because it was conveniently located (off Rt 16) and had 3 good reviews here. I’m not sure what to expect at places like this (very little to compare) but they were friendly and efficient and the price was reasonable.
I gave them 4 stars, but would probably give them a 5. On my way to get my second oil change today. btw this is my first review on Unilocal — time to give back

This place was the cheapest oil change I have seen in a long time… it was originally 19.95 but now it’s $ 24.95 which is still cheap.
I was a little skeptical at first but after going there a couple of times I realized it was legit. Anyways, I’ve been there several times for oil changes and also got my car inspected there. If it’s late in the month and you need your car inspected there may be a long line especially on the weekends.
The best time to go is early in the morning when they open up at 8am. This place is so fast I can get to work at 9am if I’m there by 8am and I work in Cambridge.

I have been bringing cars to Lightning Lube for about 6 years now, and the service is always consistently good. They did recently raise their prices, but isn’t every place? Still a good value, especially for the service and the convenience. There has never been more than a couple of cars in front of me, and the most time I have spent there is 20 minutes. Seeing all the religious messages and shelter cats on the walls is a little odd for an oil change place, but hey it’s a bargain, I can deal.

Seriously, SCREW Valvoline! I’ve been taking my cars to Lightning Lube for about 4 years for oil changes and the service is consistently great. The men who work on the cars are friendly and nice, and the woman who works the counter inside where you pay has a way of making you feel welcome and homey (in a strange I’m-in-an-oil-change-place kind of way). Today I was in and out in 10 minutes tops, and the cost for an oil change was $ 19.95. That’s almost $ 15 cheaper than Valvoline and much quicker!