Shell in India (fuel, lubes, outlets)

[bottle]

Originally Posted by Gansan

The Shell station at my neighborhood is opening an oil change facility from tomorrow. .

Which branch is this ?

[Gansan]

^^The Shell station at GST Road, Chromepet. They do not have the oil filter for all the cars (though they claim they do) so it is better to go with an oil filter and buy the oil there.

[Gansan]

The quality of the shell fuel is borne out by the spark plugs of my car, when they are removed once a year for cleaning. I always make it a point to see them before cleaning, and they need very little of it.


I always use their Super Unleaded fuel for the car.

[KarthikK]

Just tanked up both my cars this weekend, at Shell as usual. Here are the updated prices as per my bills :

Unleaded regular Petrol : 75.xx Rs. per litre
Shell Diesel : 63.xx Rs. per litre

Just 2 weeks back, the difference between Shell and PSU bunk diesel was 4-5 Rs, so I had decided to switch to Shell diesel permanently. Now the gap is 8-9 bucks per litre, my darned luck! The car can't be fed local food after eating 5-star food , so I have to grin and bear the cost difference of using Shell *curses*.

[Gansan]

This is about the oil change facility at Shell, Chromepet. They have a nice set-up, but the oil filter may or may not be available when you go. The oil must be purchased there for using this facility.

They also check the battery with a meter and top up distilled water, clean the air filter, check brake fluid when we change the oil. But neither the mechanic nor the ones manning the counter are very knowledgeable about the oils and filters. I have seen them recommending a car oil for bikes, if the bike oils were out of stock.

If we go there, we should go with the oil filter and know exactly what oil we want. We should also not allow the mechanic to act independently and use him merely as our hands.

[MCR]

I tanked up my bike today morning at Shell Bunk on Hosur Road, Wilson Garden for INR 75.40 Per Liter. I think this is around 2 Rupees lesser than IOC/HP.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by MCR

I tanked up my bike today morning at Shell Bunk on Hosur Road, Wilson Garden for INR 75.40 Per Liter. I think this is around 2 Rupees lesser than IOC/HP.

Looks like Shell will increase prices in a day or two.

Cheers!

[volkman10]

Shell prices are updated, INR 77.20/l for unleaded Euro IV petrol and INR 76.40 for Euro III!

Cheers,

[Gansan]

Here are a few day time pics of the oil change facility at Shell, Chromepet. It is free, but the oil must be purchased there. They also do free under-bonnet checks, clean the air filter and top-up battery water while they do the oil change.

But as I said earlier, go with your own oil filter. And know your oil.

[RSR]

Originally Posted by Gansan

Here are a few day time pics of the oil change facility at Shell, Chromepet. It is free, but the oil must be purchased there. They also do free under-bonnet checks, clean the air filter and top-up battery water while they do the oil change.

But as I said earlier, go with your own oil filter. And know your oil.

Thank you so much for those pictures, Gansan! I'm sick of the dealerships and their engine flush, additive crap etc. used to inflate the bill more than anything else. I always wondered why someone doesn't start an oil change shop for routine oil and filter changes, and maybe a wash. Now Shell has done it! I fill up only at Shell these days, after noting the huge difference in quality and quantity, not to mention service.

I like to do much of the routine service stuff myself, like cleaning/changing air filters, spark plugs, replacing bulbs, fuses, wipers and basic greasing, while wheel alignment and balancing is always done at tyre stores in front of me. If only I had access to a vehicle ramp or lift, I would have done the oil change myself as well.

Now I have the option of changing oil at Shell. Fantastic! I don't have to go to the dealerships/authorised service centres for routine oil change service anymore, as the warranty expired long ago. It would surely help in reducing maintenance expenses and inconvenience.

I hope all Shell pumps emulate the latest service offered by the one at Chromepet!

[Gansan]

^^ I think it has been set up by Shell, though the dealership will operate it. I met some marketing officials from Shell there on the day of inauguration of the facility, and they said this is a first in India. Based on the response, similar facility will be added in more and more bunks, across all states.

He also said a water wash facility and a nitrogen filling facility will also be added in due course.

As for oil filters, though they have a stock of them,not all oil filters may be available at any given time. The car in picture had it's oil changed but not the filter! Since they did not have the filter, the mechanic coolly told the owner it is enough to change the oil filter every second or third oil change, and he accepted it!

So it will be wise to take the oil filter with you, if you go there!

[avikamail]

This is splendid news! Waiting for this to be opened across the country.

[RSR]

Originally Posted by Gansan

^^ I think it has been set up by Shell, though the dealership will operate it. I met some marketing officials from Shell there on the day of inauguration of the facility, and they said this is a first in India. Based on the response, similar facility will be added in more and more bunks, across all states.

He also said a water wash facility and a nitrogen filling facility will also be added in due course.

As for oil filters, though they have a stock of them,not all oil filters may be available at any given time. The car in picture had it's oil changed but not the filter! Since they did not have the filter, the mechanic coolly told the owner it is enough to change the oil filter every second or third oil change, and he accepted it!

So it will be wise to take the oil filter with you, if you go there!

I hope the oil change facility turns out to be a huge success - I'm eagerly waiting for the service to be started at the Shell Ambattur bunk! Car wash would also be a nice inclusion.

The gentleman who got his Zen Estilo's oil changed must be a non-petrol head He may have got mislead by the technician's "advice" on not having the oil filter changed, but it's still better than having his wallet lighter by hundreds, if not thousands, of rupees by following the typical dealership SA's "advice" of going in for engine flush, additives and other worthless stuff!

Thank you for letting us know about their inadequate stock of oil filters. I'll make sure to procure an oil filter, either OEM or from Bosch, before I head there.

[sumannandy]

Its obviously not better. There are a number of posts available on consequences of not changing the filter, it could clog the channel and eventually may cost engine damage. A mechanic should not advise this, and if they do, at least I wouldn't change oil there.

In ASS, it is not mandatory to get oil flush. I never had any problem in any of the dealership of any brand of car. They do try to push but if you don't want, you don't have to.

And for the record, parts available in the dealership are usually inspected for quality, but sometimes the parts from outside may just be from the rejected lot.

I used shell oil in my safari but did not find any difference. In fact it is cheaper to change oil at dealership and the engine sounds better.

[RSR]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

Its obviously not better. There are a number of posts available on consequences of not changing the filter, it could clog the channel and eventually may cost engine damage. A mechanic should not advise this, and if they do, at least I wouldn't change oil there.

In ASS, it is not mandatory to get oil flush. I never had any problem in any of the dealership of any brand of car. They do try to push but if you don't want, you don't have to.

And for the record, parts available in the dealership are usually inspected for quality, but sometimes the parts from outside may just be from the rejected lot.

I used shell oil in my safari but did not find any difference. In fact it is cheaper to change oil at dealership and the engine sounds better.

Sure, it's a bad practice to not change the oil filter along with the engine oil and the mechanic certainly was wrong and the customer was mislead, but it is of great help to see someone actually change the oil that you purchased yourself, right in front of your own eyes. With the kind of malpractices that some dealerships in India (across brands/cities) are notorious for, I would not be surprised if someone found out that they paid for an oil change, but only an oil check and topup was done, or an inferior grade of oil used but the customer billed higher etc.

Yes, it's not mandatory to get additional stuff. On paper at least. But many times innocent customers are taken for a ride by these dealership fellas who tell them it's a part of the service. That's a lie and at least as misleading as the Shell technician telling the Estilo owner the oil filter change is not mandatory at every service. What's worse, is finding out after billing, like I once did, that engine oil additives were added. I was annoyed and demanded an explanation from the SA, who apologized and told me it would not be done again. I let it be (and paid for the crap) because they had otherwise done a decent job with the repairs. But I was sure of one thing. As soon as the car was dried and wiped after the wash and brought for delivery, I immediately opened the bonnet and pulled out the oil dipstick.

Just as I had suspected, the level was way beyond the "F" mark, probably because of the additive stuff. I asked the SA, "Why should I pay for your crap additive and buy big trouble later, due to overfilling causing a popped oil seal, and possibly worse damage?" Needless to say, I had them put the car on a lift and drain the excess oil, and also mentioned the same on the feedback form. How many customers would do this? Why should one pay and buy trouble, just because the SA gets an incentive and the dealership gets sales profits from the flushes, additives, lacquer, unnecessary decarbonisation and a list of other rubbish they always push for?

I don't know, mate, but you seem to have had good or at least acceptable experiences with dealerships and/or ASCs. My experiences with the ones I have dealt with, barring a noteworthy couple or so, have been far from satisfactory. And the worst of the lot, in my experience? The Tata fellows (thank God we've never had a Škoda)! The less said about them, the better!

My mother feels unhappy whenever the car goes to any dealership or ASC and stays with them for more than a day or so. I always thought she was being unnecessarily paranoid, but after reading the genuine horror stories from customers on sites like this one, and having seen (and also suffered from) some of the malpractices that these fellows indulge in, I had to agree that she was right. For folks like me, this oil change service from Shell is surely a godsend!

I agree that the oil bought as part of the service from dealerships would be cheaper than buying it from Shell, who charge MRP rates. But the peace of mind factor one gets is priceless.

As far as Shell oil goes, I personally find it to be of good quality , on par with the better brands like Mobil, Castrol etc. and way, way ahead of the PSU stuff like SERVO, MAK etc. that some authorized dealerships/ASCs use.