I suspect this particular mechanic might be better off bagging groceries at the local Safeway, and not messing with engines. By doing an extended drain you're removing as much dirty oil as you can, a good thing. When parking your car overnight, most oil drains down through the oil passages into the pan, compliments of gravity. The result is the same, something that never occurred to this mechanic. But to reduce temporary oil starvation after changing your oil and filter, try this:
1. Pre-fill your new oil filter.
2. Do a "hot" oil change, meaning change it right after the engine has been fully warmed up. This will remove more contaminants (just like washing your hands in hot water removes grime better than cold water), will put some of the settled-out particulates back in suspension and drain them out with the oil, and ensure that a thin film of oil is still on moving parts at start-up (unlike "cold" oil changes in which the oil has dissipated).
If you have a turbocharged engine, check your owner's manual and any model-specific maintenance manuals you might have for special oil drain procedures, although I've never actually heard of such an issue. If for 10 seconds after starting the engine post-oil change, you keep your RPMs low, the turbocharger should be spinning at minimum speed anyway, and relatively unstressed.
[ October 15, 2003, 03:03 PM: Message edited by: TC ]