I just hate when companies get marketing guys to do a bang up job promoting a product but the guys who are actually supposed to deliver that product aren't up to it- the Ultimate PM.
Basic oil change...more $ Premium oil change...more $$ the Ultimate.
I always get the Ultimate because I want a mechanic fingerprinting my truck looking for problems that could leave me on the side of the road if left unattended. I always wondered if the TA mechanics actually do half the stuff on that long checklist they give you, particularly the brake adjustment. Usually, they want you nowhere near when they work on your truck.
This time, I found a TA that let me watch the PM and I asked ahead of time if they'd give me the measurements on the slack adjuster travel which the service writer said they'd do. When he got to it, the mechanic had no clue about how to check slack adjusters. All he knew was to tighten them all the way down and back them off a quarter turn. I had to get another mechanic involved.
Come to find out the first guy was a 'lube tech'. He knew how to do oil and filter changes and how to check fluid levels, grease the fittings, but not much more. This is the guy who, according to their checklist is supposed to be checking and adjusting my brakes, checking belts and hoses, a total of 61 items.
The second guy was a 'certified tech' and I got him to level with me about everything. The quality of your PM, whatever its name, whatever you pay, has everything to do with the actual mechanic. You can request a certified mechanic, not a lube tech. I once went to a Petro and watched this mechanic torque the snot out of my slack adjusters and couldn't get the nut to turn. Finally, he got another mechanic involved who knew you have to pull a pin to get the nut to turn...I'm starting to get a little concerned about who I let touch my truck.
Where do you go for your PM's? 48 staters don't always have the luxury of going to the same trusted guy everytime. Petro, TA, Speedy Lube or whatever it's called... any preferences? Do you sit in the waiting room while any ol' guy is working on your truck?