Oil Change Best Left to the Professionals

[30valve]

I have only taken a vehicle to get a oil change by a 'professional' once in my 20 years of driving. They spilled oil all over my perfectly clean engine bay. They also almost ruined my air filter trying to check it after I told them it was clean and almost new. Never again.

Saturday afternoon with some cold ones and a baseball game on the radio. The is perfect car maintenance time IMHO.

 

[ag_ghost]

Originally Posted By: Hallmark
Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR
Also, dispose of used oil is not very convenience either.


I live in an Oregon rural area and just put my used oil curbside for weekly pickup. Too bad the rest of the nation doesn't follow suit!

We have curbside pickup of oil and city recycling center takes oil, oil filters, coolant, batteries (home and auto) and fluorescent lights.

 

[ottotheclown]

I think you could find them in Minn. or Utah or even Wisc. After that not possible.
Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Unfortunately, none of the OC professionals work at OC places.

 

[someguy]

Originally Posted By: fdcg27
Originally Posted By: buickman50401
Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Well they do qualify the recommendation by saying "unless you're an enthusiast" and everyone on BITOG is an enthusiast right?

It's also "politically correct" to encourage having a "professional
change it" to presumably make sure the used oil is properly disposed of.

Truth is, it is a pretty messy job.



I think it has more to do with the loss of the renaissance man over the past couple of decades. The "sensitive males" that have come out of this last couple of generations are not just inexperienced with basic mechanical skills, they were never encourage to develop them and are outright scared to even attempt anything.


I think you're right.
Many modern males don't understand the simple joy of weekend DIY work on their cars, their houses or even their lawns and plantings.
Can you imagine paying someone to apply chemicals to your lawn, or to cut it?
The only way to learn how to do things is to do them.
It is both interesting and financially rewarding to do your own repair and maintenance work.
There is great satisfaction in being able to fix things yourself.
Many modern men don't seem to understand that there are better uses for weekends than shopping or watching videos or sports.
No wonder you see so many still young men with serious weight problems.
They never actually get up and do anything requiring physical effort.


I agree that American men can be lazy but I also disagree. Some people can be handy in other ways. My dad is a DIY guy had a technical degree and was a Ford rep, service manager, fleet manager, but on the weekends I was there watching holding the flashlight and handing him tools. I turned out like him and I'm glad I did but I wouldn't take investment advice from him.

On the other hand my father in law has business degrees and did teaching, business, accounting etc.. but around the house they call him two thumbs. He might not change his own oil or be able to rewire a lamp but he can destroy a spreadsheet and really helps us out with budget and investments.

I don't see either as more of a man just different type of men. If everybody could fix stuff and work around the house there would be no side projects for us to take care of and be the hero.

 

[buickman50401]

Originally Posted By: John_K
[
I totally agree. My deceased Dad was a mechanic, built his own house, did his own repairs and taught me plenty. Most guys I know nowdays can't even turn a screw, largely for the reasons listed above. And I am amazed how many times, if I have my hood up in the driveway, a neighbor will run over and say "what's wrong?" Nothing's wrong, I'm just checking on things or replacing a filter or something. They'll reply with "Oh, I take it somewhere for that."

Oh its not even an can't, its a won't. They are too frightened to actually attempt something.

I was asked to help fix a dishwasher a couple weeks ago by my wife's friends husband. Get over there, he's got the door open and racks out but that's it. Beyond sliding out the racks (which aren't attached) he had done nothing. No tools out. He was actually "afraid to do anything else cause I don't wanna break something". 5 minutes of google-fu and I had a parts diagram of the machine and had the upper and lower spray arms off with a torx bit and my fingers. Cleaned out the spray nozzles (clogged with cellophane of some type) and reassembled.

With the amount of information available on nearly anything at everyone's fingertips, there is no excuse for not at least attempting to trouble shoot some around the house issues.

Originally Posted By: fdcg27

I think you're right.
Many modern males don't understand the simple joy of weekend DIY work on their cars, their houses or even their lawns and plantings.
There is great satisfaction in being able to fix things yourself.
Many modern men don't seem to understand that there are better uses for weekends than shopping or watching videos or sports.
No wonder you see so many still young men with serious weight problems.
They never actually get up and do anything requiring physical effort.

This as well.

Then pride themselves on being able to do "fix" their own computers which involves almost zero physical effort. I can fix my own computers. I usually build my own. It is not a skill that makes me feel self sufficient though.
Originally Posted By: someguy

I agree that American men can be lazy but I also disagree. Some people can be handy in other ways. My dad is a DIY guy had a technical degree and...

On the other hand my father in law has business degrees and did teaching, business, accounting etc.. but around the house they call him two thumbs.

I don't see either as more of a man just different type of men. If everybody could fix stuff and work around the house there would be no side projects for us to take care of and be the hero.

Its not about any one activity being "more manly" than the other, its about being too afraid to attempt an activity. At least your F-I-L has been willing to attempt some DIY even if he is Mr. 2thumbs.

 

[fdcg27]

Yeah, and I can also whip up a pretty nice spreadsheet, as well as write queries for the accounting database we use at work.
Working on mechanical things for one's self does not preclude crunching numbers for a living, or the reverse.
This is all part of being well rounded in one's skills.
This is what "renaissance man" means.

 

[jjohn320]

Everyone has different interests. Some people dont find it as satisfying to change their own oil, so it's not that they do not know of the "satisfying feeling of diy oil changes", its simply they do not find it satisfying/interesting themselves.

Just because someone doesnt share the same interests as you doesnt not make them wrong, what generation they belong to is irrelevant.

Now what makes diy oil changes worth it? mostly it's self satisfaction, financial advantage, and learning experience. Now when most of us here on BITOG do oil changes we do a lot more than just change the oil, we check belts, hoses, inspect the water pump weep hole etc.

Financially the advantage of DIY oil changes comes at the cost of time, unless you are assuming that your time is worthless to you or anyone else. Basically there is nothing wrong if someone wants to pay a little more to get their oil changed by someone to save them time. I can relate to this, as a college student when I go home I just usually change the oil myself, sometimes though I get the oil changed at the dealership where I bought the car because Im strapped for time and would much rather spend the time with my family than to worry about squeezing in an oil change.

 

[jjohn320]

Now, to the article itself.

When you think about it, it's not that far off. DIY oil changes are still the way to go we are losing ground in the maintenance/repair category. For example, oil changes can still easily be found for 20-25 dollars. My oil change usually cost me about 15-17 to do myself, so really I might now be saving that much, especially if Im only doing it twice a year.

Modern day vehicles have so many more guards and "tamper proof" nuts, bolts and screws that they are adding time to DIY repairs. So even though we save still doing ourself what we make up financially we lose in time.

Some jobs really are just a mess, and if not done properly can really cost you. Flushing coolant is a complete mess, and most of us dont trust any coolants but the dealers, forcing us to pay a higher price.

The article is not completely off base, I mean most of us learned how to do it ourselves by just diving in and trying. I dont know about you guys, but I learned on an 1989 bronco with 220k miles on it, there was litterally almost no fear of doing something wrong with it because it was already in rough shape when I started.

So if someone has a nicer, newer car, then I can definitely see why they would recommend to go to the "professional" instead.

 

[hhu168]

Originally Posted By: jjohn320

Financially the advantage of DIY oil changes comes at the cost of time, unless you are assuming that your time is worthless to you or anyone else. Basically there is nothing wrong if someone wants to pay a little more to get their oil changed by someone to save them time.


I do oil change myself not to save money, but to save time.

Changing the oil on my driveway takes about 30 minutes, including the time spent on waiting for the old oil to drain, when I could check out other things on the car or just go walk around the house.

It takes at least twice that long from the time I leave home to when I am back, if I have someone else change my oil for me.

 

[jjohn320]

well yes, but you are going to find that to be the case anytime you compare DIY or sitting and watching someone do it for you. I was talking about something such as dropping off a car and going about your business. Or even, I suppose, a quick lube who does it in 15 minutes.

 

[hhu168]

Not really. There are things "professionals" can do much faster than I can. Yet there are things I don't need to be around if I hire others to do them.

Even a 15 minutes quick lube place takes more time than DIY if you factor in the time of getting there and back, unless you live next door to one.

 

[jjohn320]

Originally Posted By: hhu168
Even a 15 minutes quick lube place takes more time than DIY if you factor in the time of getting there and back, unless you live next door to one.

Or if you are already going somewhere and theres one on the way, or not far out of the way...

 

[hhu168]

I am sure it saves time for some people to let others do the oil change, just not for me. I value my time greatly, that's why I do oil DIY to save time.

 

[Trvlr500]

Originally Posted By: buickman50401
I think it has more to do with the loss of the renaissance man over the past couple of decades. The "sensitive males" that have come out of this last couple of generations are not just inexperienced with basic mechanical skills, they were never encourage to develop them and are outright scared to even attempt anything.

+1.

I couldn't have said it any better myself. What's worse? The girls now want to be more like boys.

 

[Trvlr500]

After changing my own oil for decades I was in a position to have it done for a few years. Everything was fine. I found a good Pep Boy's that even used a torque wrench on the lugnuts when needed. At the proper torque I might add. They even filled the filter with oil and oiled the filter gasket before installation.

Then I went to Jiffy lube for an oil change because Pep Boy's wasn't convieient. They over-filled it, put on the wrong oil filter and the rear oil pan gasket blew. Just before a 1200 mile round trip.

I usually carry a drain pan in the trunk. I will, and have pulled over on the side of the road and changed my oil beofre I EVER go to another OC establishment. They are too hit and miss.

If I'm way over the OCI I WILL and HAVE drained it right into the dirt. THAT has only happened twice though and I'm NOT ashamed of it in any way. I did take the filter with me though.

 

[Indydriver]

Originally Posted By: Trvlr500
If I'm way over the OCI I WILL and HAVE drained it right into the dirt. THAT has only happened twice though and I'm NOT ashamed of it in any way. I did take the filter with me though.

Nice of you to pick up that filter!

My satisfaction from DIY oil changes comes from knowing it's a job well done. Especially with my turbo Speed3 which requires the removal of an aero-shield across the underneath of the car plus a cartridge type filter with two gaskets and a drain plug washer, I simply don't trust the guy at the bottom of the seniority/talent ladder to do it right. I once sat in the lobby of a tire service center and watched while the technician completed an oil change on an SUV. As he backed the vehicle out of the bay, ALL of the oil puked onto the floor. Then the comedy began of cleaning up the mess then driving (!) the SUV into another bay. All while the hapless owner looked on. You've got to wonder how many times this scenario repeats itself in every city while no one ever knows.

 

[Lurch]

Originally Posted By: 30valve
I have only taken a vehicle to get a oil change by a 'professional' once in my 20 years of driving. They spilled oil all over my perfectly clean engine bay. They also almost ruined my air filter trying to check it after I told them it was clean and almost new. Never again.

Saturday afternoon with some cold ones and a baseball game on the radio. The is perfect car maintenance time IMHO.



I agree. If you really love your vehicles, you will DIY and KNOW it was done right. Some things, like brake fluid bleeding and power steering fluid, I will let a good local car shop do for me for reasonable prices, but I always do the OCIs and coolant system back flushing, and washing and waxing.

OCIs are easy after you've done so many. I wear disposable gloves and don't even get used oil on my hands. I have a "stash" of high quality oils appropriate for my applications (that were all bought cheap and on sale), oil filters (bought in advance and on sale), and drain plug O rings on hand at all times (about 5 years worth).

 

[FiremarshalRob]

I don't trust anybody tinkering with my vehicles. If its something I simply just can't do, I will bring it to the dealership.

I don't trust anybody, really, on just about any subject matter.

 

[Steve S]

I do all the work on my vehicles as I was a professional. I retired!!!

 

[Steve S]

Originally Posted By: simple_gifts
Unfortunately, none of the OC professionals work at OC places.
They are all posting their expertise on BITOG. No time to be changing oil.