The Lube Center

I cannot comment on the broader services, prices, etc of this business; however, based on my experience here yesterday I felt the need to give 5 stars.
I drove up to the gas station next door to put air in my low tire on my way to my mechanic to have it checked out. The air machine was out of service, so I walked up to The Lube Center and was greeted by Curtis, who was very polite and told me to pull up my car into the bay. After several minutes, he showed me that the tire had a tear in it and that I would not be able to make it out to my mechanic on the tire, as no air was staying in.
Curtis, the tech, and Joseph, the assistant manager, both worked on removing the wheel and replacing it with the donut in the back. The best part of this experience was that they were both extremely friendly, and they did not charge me a dime. I wish I had cash to tip.
Thanks again for helping me out.

Quoted $ 40 for a regular oil change. After they were done they told me that it’s an extra $ 3 since I have a 4 wheel drive. An extra $ 4 for an extra quart of oil that jiffy lube has never seemed to need for me and $ 5 extra for a special oil filter that I also have never needed before. Save your money and go somewhere else. Quoting one price and charging more than $ 10 more without notifying the customer is borderline stealing. WOULD NOT RECOMMEND TO ANYONE!

Oil change was fast. The attempt to up sell was embarrassing. Tech with a straight face told me that I need to flush and refile the power steering fluid. Then he said I should change the oil in the differentia gear box. My car only has 28 000 miles on it. Be careful this is the second time I have been there and both times they tried the upsell. I recommend you go some wear ells.

I have been coming to this center for years now and have never had a complaint. However, they keep changing techs and the ones that usde to be there were much better. The current ones (just went last week) have something to be desired. They didn’t seem knowledgeable nor did they check my tire pressure, window shield wipers or headlights. If they are not going to give me the full service that I am paying for, then I’m looking for an alternative. Disappointed.

Taking care of maintenence on my car is a nightmare for me. My schedule is hectic upon hectic and I don’t have the time to sit in some waiting room hoping the wifi is strong enough so I can actually accomplish something while I wait.
The Lube Center made this so easy. I drove up into an empty bay — no wait! (Granted it was a Monday and midday.) Here is the kicker… I never got out of my car. With 2 kids in tow this is amazing!!!
I’ve been getting into my car for weeks now looking at my old sticker and feeling so guilty as the recommended milage for my next oil change becomes a number of the past.
The employees were so friendly and walked me through the process without any hassle. They offered the kids juice boxes which I thought was a super sweet touch. They filled up the tires I had low, washed the windshield, and I was on my way.
I’ll be back. They turned a dreaded errand into a simple drive thru motion. Don’t forget your coupon for checking in!

I’ve been here 4 times now for routine car maintenance, they are fast and polite. I have not had any problems. Agree with one reviewer that it’s not actually a 10 minute oil change. Usually has taken about 20 – 25 minutes, but I’ll keep going back.

Ok up sale pressure not to bad. Quick in and out 15 minutes. Polite with good customer service

I can’t expect any quick oil-​change place to be as thorough as when I change my own oil. However I can compare it against other similar places like Jiffy Lube, Mobil 1 and other Maryland suburb competitions; in the end, The Lube Center by Rio is below average.
Touted as 10-​min oil change, it’s not quite true. If they actually did the 14-​point courtesy check, it’s unlikely a 10 min trip. Case in point, I stopped by on Sunday morning and was the first car behind 3 occupied bays. After waiting a good 20 minutes (and 2 other cars rolled in) I was finally led in. I know it’s at least 20 minutes because I passed 2 levels of candy crush on my phone in a span of 25 lives. They do offer ice water and other drinks while you wait, but given it’s suppose to be a 10-​min oil change place, I was disappointed to wait that long being first in line. The mechanics and customer service were friendly, but that’s about the only silver lining to the experience…
Next comes the part that really bothers me — the oil change itself happened really quickly, but for some reason they didn’t go through all of the 14-​point courtesy check on my vehicle. For example, they didn’t check my brake lights or tire pressure, nor did they show me the oil dip stick to let me know it’s filled to the top. The receipt also shows they checked all 14 points and everything were fine — definitely not true. It said they filled up my tires but I didn’t see them check them at all. I filled my tires up past the recommended psi pressure (preference) yesterday so they’d either deflate to meet the recommended range, or they’d inform me about it. I wonder what else they said they checked but didn’t actually do it.
What surprised me was they checked the other two cars (bay A and C) more thoroughly when I was there — for example they asked them to step on the brake and test the headlights. Is Bay B doomed? Do I need to inform Unilocalers to avoid Bay B (middle one) just to get what they paid for? That would be silly. I do know I can toss away my loyalty card and swear off The Lube Center by Rio, just in case.
Bonus observation: when I was there I also noticed a couple that had gotten their service there and complained about their experience. After seeing them going at it with the manager for a while, they walked away angry; I should have left after seeing their frustration.

Very polite, helpful service people! No pressure, no gimmicks. Nice and quick! Thank you!

Update:
Although previous experience was great. The other day, an employee kept trying to sell me on servicing my automatic transmission. I have a manual transmission and did not need the service he was selling. That was not cool, and it wasn’t fun to convince him I didn’t need it. He didn’t say anything after he was caught in a lie.
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I pulled up, told the guy I wanted an oil change and tire rotation. He said «Alright,» and didn’t try to up-​sell on anything. I was meeting a friend for lunch at the Taco Bar across from the station, he said no problem, he will park my car and just to come back whenever.
I was eating lunch and the same guy who I met at The Lube Center came up to my table while I was eating and asked if I really wanted a tire rotation, and that I did not need it all, and would be better off waiting until next time. He also said he didn’t want to charge me for something I didn’t need.
Where in the hell else can you get this kind of amazing service? He saw something I didn’t need, and went over and found me in the restaurant to tell me I didn’t need it and should save the money!
Best quick oil place, period.
The only (tiny) downside was, my Oil Life monitor wasn’t reset. So, I had to take an extra 30 seconds to reset before I left. Will only come here from now on!

I took my car in for a standard oil change yesterday and it was a great experience! Over the past few years, when I’ve stopped in, I’ve kind of had mixed feelings, but based on my experience yesterday (no idea if something changed with management there), I’ll absolutely go back and take our other cars there as well. Brandon was the technician who we dealt with and he was very professional and engaging — kudos to him and the rest of the team!

Sitting here right now getting my oil changed. Everyone is friendly and helpful. They have explained everything they are doing and doing it with a smile!

I always get my oil changed here. Fast and amazing customer service. They offer drinks while you wait in the car. I choose lube center over free oil change from dealer and wait hours any day. Time is money.

These guys are awesome. Amazing customer service, I never feel like they are trying to add services that I wouldn’t know if I needed or not. The employees could not be more friendly and they work really hard at making sure you know exactly what is going on and why. They also have an amazing loyalty program. I have been coming for years and will continue to do so.

I was pleasantly surprised by this car repair service. I somehow got a flat tire and didn’t know what caused it. I tried filling it with air but could hear it leak very quickly. And worst of all, it was a Sunday so I couldn’t bring it to a gas station for a quick repair. I called a nearby NTB and they told me it would take 2 hours. I came here hoping to just put enough air in the tire to drive over to NTB. Luckily, the technician noticed I needed help and waved me over. He found the issue (a nail) and had it fixed up and ready to go in 15 minutes. He was also very friendly and kept me updated while I was in their little waiting room, which was stocked with complimentary K-​cup coffees, bottled water and juice. All around great service and I would definitely recommend them!

Good service for oil change.
I had an issue one time and Justin the site manager helped me out quickly, so I think the customer service is honest. Just be careful of the usual routine of individual techs trying to get more service than you’d planned on, know when you had your last work done and have the manual with you, don’t just rely on their estimation of the color of the fluid, etc. But in general they are friendly and efficient.

Pretty solid lube place, where you are paying a little extra for convenience. Once in the garage they do pretty much hit their 10 minute oil change claim. Sometimes it does take a while to get in the garage when busy, but that’s really normal on weekends anywhere to get your oil changed. Nice people here, and not much pressure to do other things to your car.
Make sure to check in on Unilocal for the always available $ 5 off coupon.

I actually started this review over two years ago, but I guess I’ll finish it.
Quick, no hassle oil change. Bit more expensive than some other places but they’re super quick, so it’s definitely worth it if you just want to get in and out. I also checked in and got five dollars off or something.
When I picked my car up, they briefed me on some issues with my car (back then I was driving a 2000 Accord with 110k miles), then let me decided how to proceed. No pressure at all. Unfortunately this was also back when I knew even less than I do now about cars, so I ended up paying like ten bucks + cost of the filter to have them replace my engine air filter.
If you aren’t aware, this is literally easier than replacing even a windshield wiper. You unclip the metal clasp, swap out the filters, then reclip it. Boom.
Also, try the taco place attached to the gas station while you’re waiting. I love that place.

I am really disappointed to have to write this negative review, but recently I went in to get an oil change and was duped into having my coolant changed when I didn’t need it. The only reason why i am even bringing this up on an updated review is because one of the technicians acted like he was doing me a favor but really he was trying to scam me AND his company. He offered to do the service for half the price and said he’d do it if I paid him cash. I thought he was genuinely trying to help me since I have been coming to the same place for years. But of course, I come home and my husband tells me that I have just been scammed.
We let the manager know and then this turned into a full blown «investigation» by their HR but I haven’t heard from HR yet and I probably won’t. I don’t expect my money back or anything. It is just disappointing to know that The Lube Center isn’t as trustworthy as I thought. My husband will be the only one taking my car out for oil changes now since I always get tricked since I don’t know anything.
WATCH OUT for the technician named ‘Lyle’ if he is even working there still. I don’t know if he was fired or what not. Just watch out and don’t let people there convince you into doing things and charging you hundreds.

For those who live in the MoCo area, you’ll quickly realize that anything service related takes a long long time b/​c of the long long lines.
There were many times when I have been turned down by Jiffy Lube and Midas 3 hours before closing b/​c there were too many customers ahead of me in line for an oil change.
The Lube Center guarantees that your oil change is done in 10 minutes (does not include wait times), which is kind of a gimmick if you ask me b/​c any shop will finish up your oil change in about 10 minutes once they begin work.
However, their wait times are usually shorter compared to other shops. Why? My guess is the $ 39 price tag ($ 5 discount after Unilocal checkin coupon). Even at $ 34 and change this is at least $ 13+ expensive than getting service at Midas. Ouch.
I tend to procrastinate and when I go to get an oil change I need it on that day. At the lube center I’ll wait no longer than 30 minutes for an oil change. Sometimes you have to fork up additional money for convenience.
The service here is great and as many others have noted in Unilocal reviews, the mechanics are not pushy when it comes to selling air filters and such (which is where the real money is made b/​c they mark up air filters by 2−4X). And as a side perk, they provide Flavia/​green mountain instant coffee.
There’s really nothing much more to say about this place. I’ll do a bit of shameless promotion and say that you can enjoy a great and cheap meal at Taco Bar II since it is right next door. Kill two birds with one stone while you’re at it :)