Fair price - Labor-only oil change

[zerosoma]

Originally Posted By: JavierG
I don't know about those guys but if you have a Firestone near you the have a $21.95 special. And they use Kendall GT-1 synthetic blend. Great oil.


+1

I had these guys do my oil changes before I did them myself. My shop was always accommodating and those $21.95 specials were pretty great. Occasionally I'd get a $4 off coupon too. Kendall is great stuff.

 

[andrewp1998]

I have gone to BP, couple local shops and the dealer and they only charge 13-15 for labor when I bring my own oil and filter..

 

[NHHEMI]

I bring the oil and filter to my local dealer( Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep/RAM ). They do it for $10 and they check all fluids, check and set tire psi, will collect an oil sample for me if requested, etc... al for that $10. Not worth me doing it myself for that. Not even any charge to dispose of the old oil and filter like so many places add.

 

[Red91]

$10 labor only is plenty fair, especially if it's done on the ground.

 

[dareo]

You can do customer provided oil and filter at WM for a small discount, something like 9 bucks.

$10 is way to cheap considering the overhead and liability of working on someone else's vehicle.

I'd say $20 labor is fair, if a real mechanic does the work and checks a few things on the car while it drains. I've always wondered if there would be a market for higher priced "real mechanic" oil changes.

 

[Eddie]

I agree with dareo. A $10 job is only used as a fill in and will get you a floor sweeper or wash boy to do it. I can't imagined a certified mechanic doing this job for $10 or 15 bucks unless ordered to do it by the manager. JMO. Ed

 

[demarpaint]

Originally Posted By: dareo
You can do customer provided oil and filter at WM for a small discount, something like 9 bucks.

$10 is way to cheap considering the overhead and liability of working on someone else's vehicle.

I'd say $20 labor is fair, if a real mechanic does the work and checks a few things on the car while it drains. I've always wondered if there would be a market for higher priced "real mechanic" oil changes.


I agree, $20-$25 would seem fair for a real mechanic to do the job properly. Even at that price it would be tough to make a living, and would be work I'd rather not do.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: dareo
You can do customer provided oil and filter at WM for a small discount, something like 9 bucks.

$10 is way to cheap considering the overhead and liability of working on someone else's vehicle.

I'd say $20 labor is fair, if a real mechanic does the work and checks a few things on the car while it drains. I've always wondered if there would be a market for higher priced "real mechanic" oil changes.


If you had to make a living doing this, would you do an oil change for $20 labor? Probably not.

If I was actually charging people, I wouldn't do an oil change and full inspection for anything less than $40 labor.

 

[Red91]

I do it for ten and check everything. Never said I was a "Real Mechanic".

 

[dareo]

In my area, mechanics are about $80 an hour give or take, at the retail level. So the shop owner skims most of that and probably pays $20-30 an hour to the mechanics.

If you can spend about 15 minutes on an oil change and charge more for the qualified hands working on it, it could work out. This would be extra work the shop would normally see go to iffy lube type places. You pull in $20.00 pure labor, and some parts markup if they don't bring their own. Actual Labor Cost+Parts by a real mechanic.

If for some reason i could not do my own services i would pay extra for a real good mechanic to service it for me.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: dareo
In my area, mechanics are about $80 an hour give or take, at the retail level. So the shop owner skims most of that and probably pays $20-30 an hour to the mechanics.


$80??
We're at $150/hr here. I've seen some high-line dealers at $170/hr.

 

[Joenpb]

I've done so before when I was unable to do the change myself. I've gone to Midas & Valvoline. They charge anywhere from $20-$30 out here to do the service. Most of the time I do it myself.

 

[147_Grain]

$15.00 labor, including greasing driveline of 4X4 and topping off fluids.

 

[blackman777]

$30 at Pep Boys..... discounted tp $20 Monday-to-Thursday

 

[DGarner211]

My dealer does this for $21 with them providing the filter. With a Motorcraft filter for my car running $6, that's exactly $15 for labor.

 

[supra911]

my infiniti dealer charges $15 if I bring my own oil & filter.

that $15 includes a car wash, a note in the system, and a simple inspection, and a new o-ring.