How Much Does an Oil Change Cost?

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How Much Does an Oil Change Cost?
Here are the factors that affect the cost of an oil change for your vehicle.

https://www.caranddriver.com/shopping-advice/a27380975/how-much-is-oil-change/

By Rich Ceppos May 8, 2019

Even an automotive novice knows that neglecting to change a car's oil can lead to serious trouble. Perhaps the most basic of all basic maintenance items, the humble oil change has spawned many a question. How many quarts does my car take? How often should I change its oil? Should I change the oil by a certain date or by mileage since the last oil change? Is the change interval different for synthetic oil? What's the worst that could happen if I put it off? And then there's the key question being asked here:

How much does an oil change cost?
The price you will pay for an oil change depends on a number of factors. If you haven't cracked open your owner's manual in a while (or ever), this is the perfect opportunity. It'll tell you exactly what the automaker recommends for oil changes. It lists the required oil viscosity (the thickness of the oil), the engine's oil capacity, whether your vehicle takes conventional or synthetic oil, and exactly how often to change your oil based on how and in what conditions you drive. These are the key factors that affect the cost of an oil change, and they vary from vehicle to vehicle.

When to Change Your Oil
Thanks to modern petroleum engineering, some automakers recommend 10,000 miles or more between oil changes. Regardless of what the Peppy Lube Guys' mechanic and their literature says, it's always wisest to go by the book and trust the automaker. Remember, they did engineer your vehicle in the first place, and it's in their interest for the vehicle to run as well as possible for as long as possible. After all, their name is on it.

Why Change Your Oil
What you don't want to do is ignore the need for oil and filter changes. If you do that, your oil could slowly turn into petroleum sludge, fail to flow through the engine, and cause the engine to fail. That could virtually total your automobile. What's more likely is that the oil lubricating your engine will lose some of its all-important lubricity and accelerate wear on the engine's internals. Clean, fresh oil minimizes friction, avoids wear-accelerating metal-on-metal contact between the mechanical bits spinning around inside, and can even help your fuel economy. And even good-running vehicles can burn off slight amounts of oil over time. Avoid oil changes long enough, and you may run your oil level dangerously low, imperiling the engine.

Don't Change Your Oil Too Often
That being said, as important as clean oil can be for the life of an engine, do not allow yourself to be tricked into changing your oil more frequently than necessary. The little sticker Valvo Jiff 'n' Pep stuck in the corner of your windshield saying you need an oil change in 3000 miles? In most cases, that 3000-mile interval is unnecessary and downright wasteful. Most vehicles driven in normal conditions can go 7500 to 10,000 miles between oil changes—which also includes changing the oil filter.

Why the Cost of an Oil Change Varies
As for cost, as with most auto maintenance and repairs, it depends. Synthetic oil is more expensive than conventional oil, and some engines hold a lot more oil than others. For example, a first-generation Mazda Miata's little inline-four will need about 3.4 quarts, while the 3.0-liter diesel in a W123 Mercedes-Benz 300D demands more than double that: between seven and eight. Along with the cost of the golden slippery stuff, you'll need to fork over enough cash for an oil filter and whatever the shop charges for labor. You might assume you'll pay a little more for all of the above at a dealer, but we found that's not always true. Top-quality synthetic oil alone can cost between $20 and $30 for a five-quart bottle, so don't be surprised if an oil-change place charges $50 to $75 for oil and a filter replacement.
To confirm that price range, we checked three locations that do oil changes—one of them a dealer—near our Ann Arbor, Michigan, office. Using a fictitious 2018 Mazda MX-5 Miata, which uses synthetic oil, as our price tester, we found that the cost of an oil and filter change varied from $69 at the dealer all the way to $95 at the more expensive of the two oil-change locations; the middle location came in at $75.

DIY and Save
Of course, if you're even modestly mechanically inclined and have the tools and time, lay down some cardboard, drop the drain plug, and get greasy! Changing your own oil might be the least intimidating way to start learning how to work on a car, and in most cases shouldn't take more than an hour. Plus, you'll save on labor! We found the appropriate oil and filter for our imaginary Miata on Amazon for a total of $33, so the savings can be significant if you're doing it yourself. Either way, now you know how much an oil change can cost.
 
An oil change costs as much as the oil itself, the filter, the wrench and or socket combo to take them off, the ramps to drive the car on, the drain pan to let the oil go into, and the rags to clean it up.

Anything more than that and yer just wastin yer money
 
Originally Posted by talest
An oil change costs as much as the oil itself, the filter, the wrench and or socket combo to take them off, the ramps to drive the car on, the drain pan to let the oil go into, and the rags to clean it up.

Anything more than that and yer just wastin yer money


Yes those oil ramps are going to cost you about .75 an oil change if you have one car and change your oil twice a year.
 
Last edited:
Originally Posted by JohnnyJohnson
Originally Posted by talest
An oil change costs as much as the oil itself, the filter, the wrench and or socket combo to take them off, the ramps to drive the car on, the drain pan to let the oil go into, and the rags to clean it up.

Anything more than that and yer just wastin yer money


Yes those oil ramps are going to cost you about .75 an oil change if you have one car and change your oil twice a year.


I can get them for 45

Quote
To change any of mine, need a funnel


Yeah, that too I forgot. Saves that sometimes first shot where you sometimes miss some of the oil

You use gloves ?
 
I tried gloves … never liked them, do try to minimize oil on skin … use paper shop towels and some Gojo
 
My favorite

5E766942-4BD2-4E77-A4D1-E36F4EE15C33.jpeg
 
I haven't heard of Rich Ceppos in over 25 yrs. He used to be my favorite C&D editor in the 80's-early 90's then, I never heard of him again.
 
Originally Posted by talest
An oil change costs as much as the oil itself, the filter, the wrench and or socket combo to take them off, the ramps to drive the car on, the drain pan to let the oil go into, and the rags to clean it up.

Anything more than that and yer just wastin yer money

the Gerry-jug for the waste oil, the gasoline use din your trucks to drive to the recycling centre, the cost of the use of the vehicle, the dent on your head and trip to the Doc-in-a-Box for stitches because the Wife told you to paint the porch trim - but you just had to change the oil just because ...BITOG!
 
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I just though it was INTERESTING how they mentioned:
"changing more often than every 10,000 miles in unnecessary in most cases"

CLEARLY that author has been spending time on here !!!
 
Originally Posted by Linctex

I just though it was INTERESTING how they mentioned:
"changing more often than every 10,000 miles in unnecessary in most cases"

CLEARLY that author has been spending time on here !!!
And clearly he's not keeping a DOHC engine w/ timing chain for a long time.
 
Originally Posted by tc1446
$39.95 semi-syn/filter at Kia dealer for those who aren't able to do thier own.

Semi Syn. Hmm.

Is that Mobil1 5w30?

Or something that says "Semi-Syn..." on the bottle like MC?
 
ARC.... I believe he's referring to Quaker State semi-syn, common oil at Korean dealers.
BTW.... no such thing as M-1 semi-syn. the "1" represents all / full synthetic oil.
 
Originally Posted by JeffKeryk
I save $$ because I would go crazy thinking about oil shop errors like over tightened oil plugs, incorrect oil level, cheapo filters, etc.


+++ Our Ecoboost engine needs a good 20 minutes to drain if hot. How many oil change places can afford to have a vehicle sitting and draining 20 minutes? I'm no spring chicken but I can still do the oil changes myself, depending on the weather outdoors in NJ
grin.gif
.

Whimsey
 
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