Cheaper alternative for fully synthetic oil change

No thanks! The great Canadian oil change for me is in my own garage. Not letting anyone else near my drain plug besides my teenage son.

I'm using a fumoto drain valve and Fram Ultra, so I change the filter in the warmer months and leave it on for the winter. Need to change out the VWB soon, so it will only be a drain and fill in the caravan this time of the year.

To the OP, buy your Pennzoil Platinum or ultra when on sale and do it yourself if you can. Get yourself the filter of your own choosing and sleep easy. Learn how to check your own fluids and crawl underneath for leaks. Too many of these places do the old upsell routine and a cheap oil change and it becomes a $150 service (you need a new cabin filter and new air filter etc).
Lol... ya member donald mentioned similar experiences... not sure where you guys go, or if there just particularly honest at the place I go but not how it works there. You stay in your car and tv screens show you exactly what the guys are doing under the car and hood. But totally get ya if you prefer DIY...
 
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Changing it yourself would be even cheaper yet.
That was my first thought as well.

OP, buy the oil, a filter, a drain pan (or re-purpose some Rubbermaid container like I did. Usually works better than the auto drain pan too) and some ramps, and some tools, like either a wrench or a socket and socket driver, and maybe some paper towels, and change the oil.
 
Another alternative is to purchase cheaper synthetic oil. Pennzoil is not the only brand out there. Chevron offers a great deal on their Havoline Pro DS in a six quart box. Excellent oil and a excellent price, less than $20 US for the box.
Supertech Full Synthetic is even more inexpensive because cheap implies not good quality.
 
Supertech Full Synthetic is even more inexpensive because cheap implies not good quality.
Only thing with supertech in Canada is that it's hard to get an assortment of different weights. They might have 5w-30 or 5w-20 only. It's not very popular up here.

Actually Canadian Tire has a good assortment of Pennzoil Platinum and Ultra these days and numerous sales throughout the year.
 

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I am with you on that. I bought 4 tires at Tirerack, shipped to me. I put them into my trunk and drove to a "chain store" for installation only. I told them I wanted all 4 mounted and balanced, thats all. They went through the suggestive sale routien. I clearly told them, no, do the tires only. Besides that I was on a bit of a tight schedual that day.

My wife was with me so we walked across the street to have lunch while we waited, further saving time. We ate and walked back, and I noticed my hood was popped up, and three of the employees were crammed up under it. What the...! I went inside and ask what on earth was going on. Seem like they had removed the engine cover and hooked up a diagnostic machine, and was having great difficulty reinstalling the cover.

I firmly told the desk guy that this was all wrong, no one listened to me, and besides that, my car was just two years old and under full warranty!!! Trouble for nothing.
I have a guy near me who mounts and balances any online tire for $20 flat rate per tire, found on Tirerack as a recommended installer back in the day. He has a single man shop who originally did only brakes, oil changes, and online tire mounting, but now does a bit more. In your area some of the mobile tire installers could have a similar arrangement.

As an aside he charges something like $25 for Cam2 semi-synth, or I think $15 if you bring your own oil.

Anyway, he's a complete lifesaver.
 
Correct me if I'm wrong... the message I'm hearing is:
Save money through buying oil on sale and then pay the garage only for labor.
Is this about right?
 
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I have a guy near me who mounts and balances any online tire for $20 flat rate per tire, found on Tirerack as a recommended installer back in the day. He has a single man shop who originally did only brakes, oil changes, and online tire mounting, but now does a bit more. In your area some of the mobile tire installers could have a similar arrangement.

As an aside he charges something like $25 for Cam2 semi-synth, or I think $15 if you bring your own oil.

Anyway, he's a complete lifesaver.
That sounds like a very reasonable deal... ive never heard of CAM2 but $15 for bringing your own is a great deal
 
Correct me if I'm wrong... the message I'm hearing is:
Save money through buying oil on sale and then pay the garage only for labor.
Is this about right?
Lol...well when you say it like that..... ya I guess... ive just seen lots of people paying shops $50-$60 for regular oils changes and $100+ for full synthetic change. Thought might be helpful for those who weren't aware that some shops do allow you to bring your own oil. I used penzoil platinum as an example because it goes on sale regularly and has a very good reputation (not saying others don't as well).
 
Lol...well when you say it like that..... ya I guess... ive just seen lots of people paying shops $50-$60 for regular oils changes and $100+ for full synthetic change. Thought might be helpful for those who weren't aware that some shops do allow you to bring your own oil. I used penzoil platinum as an example because it goes on sale regularly and has a very good reputation (not saying others don't as well).
Got it. I agree... but only if someone won't change their own oil.
I can do a full syn oil change for about $20, buying M1 on sale USD$14 for 5 quarts and using WIX filters USD$5 each.
 
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I am not sure if I understand the question. Are you looking for an alternative oil? And I don’t spend $240 a year in oil changes for all three of my vehicles combined.

Yeah. I have 4 vehicles in the driveway, 3 are mine. The Nissan and Forester get two changes per year, so a total of about $70 oil total for the year, another $30 in filters for the year. The F-350 gets one oil change a year and that comes out to about $23 with the filter and a few extra top-up quarts. Jeep gets a single oil change on whatever the cheapest oil there is and a $3 Supertech filter. Total of , maybe $17 a year?

That's $140. The Nissan doesn't get enough miles to change the oil every other year, but according to the warranty I have to do it every 6 months.
 
Yeah. I have 4 vehicles in the driveway, 3 are mine. The Nissan and Forester get two changes per year, so a total of about $70 oil total for the year, another $30 in filters for the year. The F-350 gets one oil change a year and that comes out to about $23 with the filter and a few extra top-up quarts. Jeep gets a single oil change on whatever the cheapest oil there is and a $3 Supertech filter. Total of , maybe $17 a year?

That's $140. The Nissan doesn't get enough miles to change the oil every other year, but according to the warranty I have to do it every 6 months.
Yeah, I agree with that figure. I am ballpark of $100-$120 for all my OC's in a year. I try to shop clearance oils for my Honda, the Hyundai lives on QSUD. So, the only one with an expensive appetite is my Infiniti because I run 0w40, but with buying OC specials and using Speedperks and rebates, I consistantly get below $20 OC's.
 
I am with you on that. I bought 4 tires at Tirerack, shipped to me. I put them into my trunk and drove to a "chain store" for installation only. I told them I wanted all 4 mounted and balanced, thats all. They went through the suggestive sale routien. I clearly told them, no, do the tires only. Besides that I was on a bit of a tight schedual that day.

My wife was with me so we walked across the street to have lunch while we waited, further saving time. We ate and walked back, and I noticed my hood was popped up, and three of the employees were crammed up under it. What the...! I went inside and ask what on earth was going on. Seem like they had removed the engine cover and hooked up a diagnostic machine, and was having great difficulty reinstalling the cover.

I firmly told the desk guy that this was all wrong, no one listened to me, and besides that, my car was just two years old and under full warranty!!! Trouble for nothing.
I just had new tires installed at Discount Tire and stood in the bay opening watching the entire process. Even snuck into the garage to check my brake pad level while no one was looking. (They probably saw just didn't care). I don't trust strangers working on my truck. Though all the guys were early twenties and did a great job.
 
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