I am considering the Dark Side. Quick Oil Change shops.

Valvoline runs 50 percent off conventional oil change coupon or 25 bucks off Full Syn or Maxlife.

If you search google on a mobile device you can usually get it. I search oil change coupon.

They pour Valvoline Daily Protection. Meets specs on both my cars.

Comes to $22 for the Hyundai, and like $27 for the ford, it takes 6 quarts.

They rebrand the OEM Hyundai oil filter as Valvoline, and put that on. The guy showed me the filter it is the exact same as the OEM, very heavy, just in a Valvoline box.

They call out the torque spec on the drain plug and I hear the torque wrench clicking to spec.

Some of the bays have cameras in them, you can watch the entire service while sitting in your car.

I think they do a better job than many of us in our driveway, and I can get in and out in 20 minutes.

With the current price of oil even at walmart there are no deals. It makes no sense for me to do it myself.
 
I can afford to make an appointment and wait a week (if necessary). My trusted NAPA garage is only 2 miles away. I will drop the car there the night before and pick it up the next day. The L-O-F will cost $31.95 + tax. I've used them for almost everything for over 25 years and haven't regretted it yet.
 
JustinH said:
Valvoline runs 50 percent off conventional oil change coupon or 25 bucks off Full Syn or Maxlife.

If you search google on a mobile device you can usually get it. I search oil change coupon.

They pour Valvoline Daily Protection. Meets specs on both my cars.

Comes to $22 for the Hyundai, and like $27 for the ford, it takes 6 quarts.

They rebrand the OEM Hyundai oil filter as Valvoline, and put that on. The guy showed me the filter it is the exact same as the OEM, very heavy, just in a Valvoline box.

They call out the torque spec on the drain plug and I hear the torque wrench clicking to spec.

Some of the bays have cameras in them, you can watch the entire service while sitting in your car.

I think they do a better job than many of us in our driveway, and I can get in and out in 20 minutes.

With the current price of oil even at walmart there are no deals. It makes no sense for me to do it myself.
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I not quite clear from your post. Do you use Walmart for your oil changes?
 
schwinney said:
They charge a LOT for what they do.

They get a LOT of business because then you don't have to worry about having ANYTHING needed to change your own oil.

But is the experience and value good... no...

Your call.
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It's not all about what they "do". It has more than anything to do with convenience. I still talk regularly to the guy who owns/operates the last shop I worked in some 16 years ago. He recently showed me the invoice for HIS cost of 5W30 and 5W20 bulk oil. It is astronomical compared to what it was when I was in the business...pretty much double what it was 16 years ago. Not to mention the increased labor costs due to raising wages. These facilities are tailored toward people who: are not physically able; don't have the resources, equipment or suitable place to DYI; are not mechanically inclined enough; would rather pay somebody else to do it; simply don't have the time. For those people, the experience AND value are well worth it.

I still change the oil in all 4 of the vehicles in our yard myself. Why? Because I'm able, I'm frugal, and I'm the type who refuses to pay ANYBODY else to do something I'm capable of...even beyond auto service/repair...from income taxes to plumbing to landscaping. Anybody who does their oil changes themselves, consider yourself fortunate that you can.
 
GoldDot40 said:
It's not all about what they "do". It has more than anything to do with convenience. I still talk regularly to the guy who owns/operates the last shop I worked in some 16 years ago. He recently showed me the invoice for HIS cost of 5W30 and 5W20 bulk oil. It is astronomical compared to what it was when I was in the business...pretty much double what it was 16 years ago. Not to mention the increased labor costs due to raising wages. These facilities are tailored toward people who: are not physically able; don't have the resources, equipment or suitable place to DYI; are not mechanically inclined enough; would rather pay somebody else to do it; simply don't have the time. For those people, the experience AND value are well worth it.

I still change the oil in all 4 of the vehicles in our yard myself. Why? Because I'm able, I'm frugal, and I'm the type who refuses to pay ANYBODY else to do something I'm capable of...even beyond auto service/repair...from income taxes to plumbing to landscaping. Anybody who does their oil changes themselves, consider yourself fortunate that you can.
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Assuming you can afford to pay somebody-life is too short. I knew too many people who spent weekends wrenching (or insert activity here)....no thank you.
 
My Titan is still under warranty so I let the dealer do it for simplicity . I use a local shop for my wife's CX-9 .
 
AutoMechanic said:
Well if you really want to know. The company that delivered our oil filled up all the tanks with the same hose for each one so all the oil was the same and their was only one tank on the truck period. Most of the time the oil was so dark we suspect it was used. One time it had metal shavings in it. If a customer paid for premium oil they would give them whatever that they felt like. That is if oil even made it in the car they blew an engine in a Volvo by not putting oil in it. They rarely put oil in cars then blamed the younger guys. That’s not even all of them also rounding off and stripping drain plugs too. And the place that delivered the oil wasn’t even a licensed company so I quickly got out after I seen what all they were doing.
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Not saying this is the case inn your example, but you do realize that some of those trucks have partitions and can hold multiple products, right? It may well have been that your shop was in fact getting multiple grades.
 
The_Eric said:
Not saying this is the case inn your example, but you do realize that some of those trucks have partitions and can hold multiple products, right? It may well have been that your shop was in fact getting multiple grades.
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Yes I do and I’ve seen the ones that have selector buttons or levers on the hose or tank like the one that delivers to my dealership brings Pennzoil and Subaru oil and I see him switch it so I trust them. At the other place I never eeen him do that it was just a fire hose looking nozzle and one tank with no levers anywhere so I don’t trust it.
 
"I am considering the Dark Side"

LMAO!! When I read this title I thought this was going to be another nut case considering going with a car tire on their motorcycle.
 
CKN said:
Assuming you can afford to pay somebody-life is too short. I knew too many people who spent weekends wrenching (or insert activity here)....no thank you.
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The counterpoint is that we who can afford certain things can make choices based on our needs and wants. I get value out of tinkering on my car beyond monetary savings. I choose modest to semi-demanding car care activities instead of golf, bowling, and include it with my other interests of hunting, fishing, gardening, etc.. If or when it becomes otherwise, I can choose to pay someone else. Everyone is different.
 
I have come back to changing my own oil after a 10 year hiatus. I have used VIOC, dealerships and a couple local shops without incident, but with COVID, things got way worse; wait times increased and quality went downhill. I had gone to one quick lube and asked to have the tires checked for air pressure because I had a low tire pressure light. He looked at me and said, 'Which one?" Can you not check them all? Final straw was having a oil pan damaged from an overtightened drain plug. I had the pan replaced and started changing my own oil. Using ramps vs jack and jack stands, I can get the oil changed in nearly the same amount of time as driving to the shop and can do it on my own schedule. Bonus: no upsells, no worry about bulk generic issues, and no damaged threads. In all honesty, I enjoy changing the oil myself, I don't do much manual labor anymore and the task is rewarding.
 
Kurtatron said:
I changed the oil in my civic today. I also changed the oil in my Toyota Van a few weeks ago. I literally did not spill a single drop of oil changing my Van's oil and filter. The civic? It has a detestable oil filter mount location. It's one of those filters on the firewall side of the transverse engine. So when the filter comes undone, oil drips down the side of block and in this Civic's case, onto the exhaust pipe. I spilled about a teaspoon of oil. Not horrible compared to my past spill disasters, but still frustrating. The used oil coated my arm, and stained a jacket. I'm just about fed up with these sort of oil filter locations. I believe I am ready to concede. Most of my life, I have been a devoted DIY addict, but for something as mundane and as cheap as an oil change, I believe I am ready. Ready to discard this infuriating chore to a quick oil change shop. I know there is risk of error, but the risk of occurrence seems so low. I will remain DIY for big jobs, but a simple oil change? I think it's time to throw in the towel. Who else has crossed the line from changing your own oil to enlisting oil change shops to descend into the oily abyss?
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https://formafunnel.com/. These work great
 
Kurtatron said:
I am not buying it. I suspect the vast majority of people use oil change shops rather than DIY, and I don't hear of engines blowing up because of oil change shops. Of course it is possible, but not a common occurrence. All my family members pay for their oil changes. I am the only one who is DIY.
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There are well run lube shops. You just have to find one.
 
Kurtatron said:
I changed the oil in my civic today. I also changed the oil in my Toyota Van a few weeks ago. I literally did not spill a single drop of oil changing my Van's oil and filter. The civic? It has a detestable oil filter mount location. It's one of those filters on the firewall side of the transverse engine. So when the filter comes undone, oil drips down the side of block and in this Civic's case, onto the exhaust pipe. I spilled about a teaspoon of oil. Not horrible compared to my past spill disasters, but still frustrating. The used oil coated my arm, and stained a jacket. I'm just about fed up with these sort of oil filter locations. I believe I am ready to concede. Most of my life, I have been a devoted DIY addict, but for something as mundane and as cheap as an oil change, I believe I am ready. Ready to discard this infuriating chore to a quick oil change shop. I know there is risk of error, but the risk of occurrence seems so low. I will remain DIY for big jobs, but a simple oil change? I think it's time to throw in the towel. Who else has crossed the line from changing your own oil to enlisting oil change shops to descend into the oily abyss?
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Mercedes went to having dealers vacuum extract the old oil because they didn't want oil running down on suspension parts. They even re-designed the dipstick tube to end very close to the bottom of the pan to extract most of the oil.
 
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